ESC: Freiwilligendienst beim Globalen Ökodorf-Netzwerk Europa

GEN-Europe is the European branch of the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN), a network of grassroots initiatives and civil society organisations that was founded in 1995 with the purpose to support community projects that make an active contribution to environmental protection and the conservation of natural resources through an ecological way of living. The GEN Europe office is based at the Arterra Bizimodu eco-village in Spain, and consists of a vibrant staff complement working alongside the GEN Europe council to make its vision a reality. An eco-village is an intentional or traditional community that is consciously designed through locally owned, participatory processes to re-generate social and natural environments. The four dimensions of sustainability (ecology, economy, the social and the cultural) are all integrated into a holistic approach. As such, ecovillages are dynamic and hands-on living and learning centres that strive to develop solutions for society as a whole. Many of our members share their developed skills and best practices in seminars held at their premises, whereby the skills as well as the personal attitudes needed for a societal change toward long-term sustainability are experienced directly and therefore deeply recognised. One of GEN's most important aims is to spread these exemplary solutions to a wider audience worldwide. GEN currently has an NGO and consultative status in the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) and is a partner of UNITAR, the United Nations; Institute for Training and Research. GEN Europe puts an equal emphasis on every one of the four above-mentioned dimensions of long- term sustainability. Our work focuses on networking, information dissemination and promotion of best practice examples, education and advocacy: NETWORKING – facilitating sharing of experience, expertise and best practice between members of the network and interested individuals and other organisations, online and through networking events like our annual GEN Europe conference with about 600 participants from the majority of the European countries. EDUCATION – promoting the development of curricula derived from good practice within eco-villages and organising international educational and networking events like conferences, workshops and training. INFORMATION DISSEMINATION – transmitting in person and through online gathering and distributing news stories, articles and research from within eco-villages that help share the models, methods and innovations developed with the wider world. ADVOCACY – promoting policies and practices for a more just, green, sustainable and equitable society. A part of our work is to promote the eco-village concept and vision gained through our exemplary experiences at UN events, such as the COP. What we see, when we look into the future we strive for, is: A conscious, resilient and sustainable Europe where ecovillage and community values and lifestyles are widely adopted to promote transformation and life-generating culture. We build a network of ecovillages across Europe, including regional and national ecovillage networks, which promote ecovillage strategies and ecovillage values, share knowledge and support the realisation of thriving communities.