Call for the Participants for the CDN Resilience Building Summer Camp
We are excited to announce the opening of the call for Participants for our Resilience Building Summer Camp, that will take place from 7th – 12th of July 2025 in Chișinău, Republic of Moldova, hosted by Gutta-Club
(Please note that the arrival date for the participants is 6th of July and departure date is 13th of July)
You can find more information about our Work Plan 2025 that this Summer Camp is a part of HERE.
The Summer Camp intends to equip participants with knowledge and skills related to resilience building for operating in environments characterised by democratic backsliding, and empower them to disseminate that knowledge and skills among their peers.
The objectives we will aim to reach are:
Enhance the understanding of democratic backsliding among participants by exploring topics such as rights restrictions, lack of media freedom, mental health deterioration, and shrinking space for civil society.
Provide a safe space for participants to analyse and understand root causes of democratic backsliding, it’s trends and effects on societies, and possible ways of resisting and countering these trends.
Equip participants with essential skills for resilience-building in autocratic environments, including adaptability, resourcefulness, strategic thinking, community building, and prioritizing mental health and well-being.
Empower participants to apply knowledge and skills gained to their organisational workings, disseminate them among their peers, and implement them in their national and regional contexts.
Who should apply?
We are looking for 35 young people, not older than 35, from any of the eligible countries* either national or resident (full list of countries below).
We encourage applications reflecting diversity in all forms; therefore, we welcome applications from those who identify as women, LGBT+ people, people of colour, with migration background, with a different ability, or with any other disadvantaged backgrounds.
Participants who are active in their local communities and youth organisations, as well as those interested in beginning their activist or political journeys and are having high motivation to learn about the content of the Summer Camp, are highly encouraged to apply.
Practicalities:
The main language of this activity will be English. Nonetheless, not being comfortable interacting in English should not prevent you from applying, majority of us at the event will be non-native speakers and the group will be able to help out if there is some term you might not know!
The full cost of working materials, travel costs, visa and lodging (accommodation, food, and refreshments) during the event will be covered by the CDN.
The participation fee for this event is 30 EUR (base fee) or 50 EUR (solidarity fee). Selected participants will be asked to pay the invoice upon confirmation of participation. Please note that we would not like this fee to be an obstacle to your participation – if you are unable to pay this amount, you can ask for a waiver upon selection.
For selection of travel means we encourage participants to combine the most economic and environmentally friendly way (lowest price + travel time + CO2 emissions). Upon acceptance, you will receive our Financial and travel guide.
DEADLINE for submitting online applications is 27th of April at 23:59 PM CET .
You will be informed about the results of the selection latest by 19th of May.
Note that you will have 2 days to confirm your participation by replying to the email, so be sure to check for emails and respond by 21st of May! Should we not receive confirmation from your side, your participation will be automatically canceled.
Please add project.coordinator@cdnee.org to your contacts, so that you do not receive our reply in spam folder.
Application process:
Below is the link to the Application Form. Please read the instructions on the form carefully!
There is an option for you to answer some questions in the video format, so make sure to check the application some time before you plan to submit responses. Note that the applicants who send a video will have an advantage in the selection process.
Note on AI use:
If you plan to use AI to assist your application writing, we strongly encourage you NOT to generate the text that you will copy and paste into the application or read out while filming. We don’t oppose the use of AI as a supportive tool, but we do advocate for fair and smart use of AI, as per our Keeping Green Values in the Age of AI Resolution.
*Eligible countries are: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo**, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Serbia, Turkey an Ukraine
**All references to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institutions or population, in this text shall be understood in full compliance with the United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.
This activity, as well as the Work Plan this activity is a part of, is carried out with funding from the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe.
