Applications are now open for the Idea Camp 2015.

50 people will be chosen to work on their ideas at the Idea Camp, co-hosted by the ECF Networked Programme hub Subtopia from 22 to 25 September 2015 in Botkyrka, Sweden.

The theme for this year's edition of the Idea Camp is Build the City. 

Build the City is about people creating sustainable cities through social cooperation and active participation with culture at its heart. It is about applying the principles and ethics of the commons to the transformation of the city, its communities and its economy.

More than urban environments, 'The City' can also refer to a neighbourhood or community where people are working together through cultural activities to shape their environments, improve their common life and develop new social and economic relationships.

To apply for the ECF Idea Camp 2015, visit our dedicated Lab. Please note ECF will only publish all related content of the Open Call and the Idea Camp in this Lab! 

After the event, participants can submit proposals for the research and development of concrete projects (R&D Grants).

To find out more about last year's Idea Camp and Idea Makers browse through the archive material in the ECF Library, accessible from the Idea Camp 2014 page.

NEWS: Arab media urged to focus on youth related issues

The need to focus on youth related issues and to reflect their hopes and aspirations in the Arab satellite channels was highlighted by several participants at a four-day seminar that concluded in Doha yesterday.
The final communiqué issued after the Arab Media for the Youth conference called for among other things: setting up of a ministry for youth affairs in every Arab country; a charter of principles and programmes for implementation; to make the media an effective tool in guiding the youth; and to have a balanced approach towards sports and non-sports activities. It also called for presenting plausible alternatives to the current negative image about the Arab youth in all the media channels, according to reports published in the local Arabic press.

“It is unfortunate that the sports clubs in the Arab World pay very little attention to cultural matters,” said the director of youth affairs department Khalid al-Mulla in his presidential remarks. It is imperative he said that equal attention should be paid to the mind and the body in order to nurture a generation of well rounded youth.

“The media has a vital role to play in instilling the right ideas and concepts in the young minds” said Ms. Samar Kaldani, the director of the “al-Hasan Youth Award” of Jordan. The Arab media must address the problems, hopes and aspirations of the youth. And the academic curriculum for all levels of education should also project these goals, she said.

full article