Learn. Share. Inspire.
Do you want to make a difference but don’t know where to start? Do you have ideas for making your community a better place? Then this project is for you!

Join young people from Germany and mountain region Svaneti, Georgia, and discover how you can turn your ideas into action. Together, you’ll learn how to plan and manage projects, work in a team, and make your voice heard. With support from experienced mentors, you’ll develop and carry out your own small projects to improve your local community.

You’ll also help create and run youth spaces where you can meet friends, share ideas, learn new things, and make plans together. Through this international exchange, you’ll get to know new people, explore Berlin and Hamburg, and discover how young people can face challenges and create change together.

A highlight of the project will be organising the respekt* festival in Hamburg and another in Mestia 2027, bringing people together around participation, respect, and the power to act.

Your ideas matter. Your voice counts. You have the right to act! Join us, meet inspiring people, try new things, and become part of a team that turns ideas into real change.

Dates
Saturday 7 November to Monday, 16 November 2026 (Germany)

What to expect
The group from Georgia will arrive in Berlin on 7 November. Together with the German participants, we will first spend two days exploring Berlin and learning about the special significance of 9 November, known as the ‘Day of Destiny for the Germans’. On Monday, we will all travel together to Hamburg. 

In Hamburg, we’ll work together to develop ideas for our own micro-projects and learn about the necessary project management methods. We’ll also help organise the respekt* Festival, which we’ll attend and help run from 13 to 15 November 2026. 

We will be staying in shared rooms at the BDP guest accommodation in Berlin and at the CISV seminar house in Hamburg. We will prepare our meals together. 

Following the exchange in November, we will implement our own projects in small groups. A youth centre is also to be established in Mestia. If everything goes according to plan, we will meet again in Georgia for a return visit from 25 March to 6 April 2027, where we will organise a youth festival together.

You can participate if you …
… live in Germany.
… are between 16 and 26 years old and keen to meet new people.
… want to discover new insights, perspectives, and experiences.
… want to engage with a group and contribute to the project(s).
… speak English at a basic level or above. English will be our main working language. We expect participants to help each other out with language and the team will also provide some support.

You can also participate if you …
… can’t attend all the project days. 
… are a little short on money right now. We will try to find a common solution. Please feel free to get in touch with us!

The respekt* festival 
respekt* is a self-organised festival by and for young people. The respekt* team aims to provide food for thought on topics such as discrimination and privilege, as well as respect and solidarity in everyday life, within an open setting, and to create a space for discussion and networking.

In 2026, the festival will take place at the „Gängeviertel“ in Hamburg.Whether it’s the open stage, the workshops, a concert featuring the rapper “Finna”, a conversation with a holocaust survivor and eyewitness or a discussion with the former Minister of the Federal Chancellery: the program is packed with highlights. But the real highlight is your participation, your ideas and your energy for change.

Participation fee and what‘s included
The programme is supported by the City of Hamburg.  Your personal contribution is 80 Euro for the part in Hamburg. This includes accommodation in shared rooms, program and transportation costs during the project, as well as health, accident, and liability insurance.

The project begins and ends in Hamburg (Start in Berlin, if closer for you). Travel costs to and from Hamburg (Berlin) must be covered by the participants. The train to Berlin will be early mornig on Saturday, 7 November. The project will end on Monday 16 November in Hamburg. It‘s possible to join us even if you can’t attend all the project days.

Further information and conditions of participation:
All important information about participation fees, cancellations, and insurance can be found in the terms of participation. By submitting the application form, you explicitly agree to those terms.

http://www.agfj-hamburg.de 

Application form
Please fill out our application form by using the free Acrobat Reader on your PC, save it on your computer and send it back to us as an attachment by mail.

Contact 
inspire@agfj.de (Emilia and Claus)

Next year‘s preview: Youth exchange and festival in Georgia
…save the date: We’re planning a return visit from Thursday 25 March to Tuesday 6 April 2027 to the wonderful town of Mestia in Georgia. There’s supposed to be a youth festival there in early April. Will you be joining us?

Photos: © AGfJ in Hamburg e.V., Jahanzeb Ahsanby and Artem Makarov by unsplash

A project by
AGfJ in Hamburg e.V. and Local Action Group of Upper Svaneti (LAG) 

Funded by
Bildungsbehörde Hamburg