Author: Andrea Rodriguez, RIPESS Europe

In a context of profound economic and social crisis, with a significant rise in the far right, the You(th)Care project has initiated a sub-granting process to directly finance youth initiatives in the 12 countries participating in the initiative.

Among the countries from which we have RIPESS Europe members involved in the project,  Spain, Hungary, Luxembourg, and the Czech Republic, young collectives already started putting their ideas into action. With the support of our national members — REAS Red de Redes, Fekete Sereg, Transition Minett, and Ekumenika Akademie, we will accompany the initiatives not only in launching their projects but also in learning how to manage resources, care for their teams, and share their impact.

This call was open to youth-led, care-driven initiatives from the countries that make up the YOU(th) CARE community: Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Greece, together with Albania, Serbia, Tunisia, and Morocco. The call supports initiatives that challenge the status quo and build a better future, in line with the YOU(th) CARE Agendas’ priorities and recommended actions.
The response was overwhelming: 101 proposals arrived. Because of this richness, we decided to increase the total budget from €280,000 to €321,970, allowing more youth initiatives to implement their projects.

Here is the list of projects funded within the RIPESS Europe membership:

SPAIN
1. “Queer Lives on Stage”
“Queer Lives on Stage” is a six-month social and artistic initiative that aims to make visible the realities and needs of the LGBTIQ+ community through collaborative learning and theatre. Its main goal is to empower queer youth (ages 18–30) and create safe spaces for self-expression in venues such as NUA and La Horizontal, fostering sustainable support networks based on mutual care and inclusion.
The project combines education, art, and performance to encourage critical reflection, combat marginalization, and highlight the diversity of experiences within the community, taking into account intersectional factors such as race, age, class, ability, gender, and sexual orientation.

2. “LAB ON ROAD”
“LAB ON ROAD” is a youth-led initiative that seeks to empower rural youth through documentary photography as a tool for eco-social activism, community regeneration, and critical storytelling. It aims to strengthen creative expression, political agency, and critical thinking, connecting social and environmental justice to issues such as rural depopulation, inequality, and invisibility. The project is designed for rural youth aged 16–25, with a special focus on women, LGBTQIA+ people, and other non-normative or dissident identities who face multiple layers of exclusion—limited access to cultural and political participation, lack of safe spaces, and few economic or creative opportunities.

3. “Purna”
“Purna” is an educational youth project that aims to develop personal and social skills among 15 adolescents aged 14–17 from educational centers in Madrid and Aragón, through experiential outdoor learning. It promotes a culture of care, community participation, and co-responsibility, while raising awareness about ecofeminism, gender equality, and social justice. The project runs from October 2025 to July 2026.

HUNGARY
1. For “Solidarity and Inclusive Communities”
The aim of the project is to enable Roma young people aged 12-18 living in extreme poverty in Somogyszentpál to function as a community, to strengthen social cohesion, to reduce prejudices and stereotypes, and to enable young people to learn from each other during the project period, to strengthen their identity, self-awareness, and vision for the future.
Our goal is to implement a successful series of programs in Somogyszentpál using informal education and the tools of theater and drama pedagogy, dog therapy, participatory film making workshop.
In partnership with Adománytaxi Foundation, we organize a youth-driven community market offering essential goods (clothing, utensils) at minimal cost, redirecting proceeds into further youth activities.

2. Creating and holding Youth Community Space in Gyenesdiás
The aim of our project is to create an open, inclusive, and safe community space in Gyenesdiás that offers opportunities for young people and the local population to connect, grow, and engage in collective thinking. This community space will serve as both a physical and intellectual meeting point, where programs are implemented based on the principles of social equality and intersectionality. We are committed to acknowledging and sensitively addressing gender, economic, social, and cultural differences.
The programs in the space will be built around three core pillars:
1. Self-development and Knowledge Sharing
2. Development of Community Competencies
3. Local Values (environmental and cultural) and Sustainability

LUXEMBOURG
1. BoostReading
BoostReading is an inclusive educational and cultural initiative designed to reconnect young people, especially those from underprivileged or diverse backgrounds, with the joy of reading. By introducing innovative speed reading techniques, the project aims to transform reading from a school-related obligation into an empowering, engaging, and collective experience that promotes well-being, confidence, and cultural inclusion.

2. MindFuel
MindFuel is a youth-led project that aims to promote mental health and emotional well-being among young people in Luxembourg. It provides participants with the tools, knowledge, and safe spaces they need to manage stress, express emotions, and build resilience in their daily lives. By combining creative arts, sports, and peer-to-peer dialogue, the project fosters a holistic approach to mental health, helping young people reach their full potential as they transition into adulthood.

CZECH REPUBLIC
1. The Regional Care Network: Everyday Heroes
The core objective of the project is to activate the unused capacities of individuals and create new connections across age, gender, professional, and social divides. By utilizing these “hidden superpowers,” the project strengthens resilience, social cohesion, and regional identity.
The project weaves play, imagination, and care into a collective experiment for social change. It brings together youth and adults through “Hide & Seek,” a participatory platform using games and storytelling to challenge stereotypes and build dialogue. The “Club of Anticipatory Superheroes” invites communities to imagine futures where care and work intertwine, while the “Superpower Flea-Market” celebrates shared skills, food, and creativity. Finally, “Greetings from the Future” captures these stories and visions, spreading inspiration to other communities ready to act with care.

2) School for Communal Responsibility
How do we hold space for conflict that is safe and empowering for individuals involved and people close to them? How do we address actions that cause harm, while caring for relationships that were damaged in the process? How do we strengthen our capacities to listen to hurt, see consequences of our actions, and take responsibility?
This project develops transformative justice (TJ) practices within and in collaboration with activist collectives in the Czech Republic with the aim to strengthen infrastructures of mutual care, skills for conflict resolution and intersectional thinking and acting. TJ fosters community care and accountability through encouragement of active participation, building skills to navigate and address interpersonal harm and creating safe and more courageous spaces. TJ is inherently intersectional, stemming from Black abolitionist movement in the USA. It acknowledges different layers of care – care for our friends and kin, care about our environment and structural injustices, and care with those around us to create a shared sense of responsibility.

For more information You(th)Care project