Associations
Jena is a cosmopolitan, international city and not only because of our numerous foreign students, who enrich Jena with their exciting cultures and different ways of life.
Committed associations in the city also ensure that the desire for a united and strengthened Europe lives on, especially in times of instability and uncertainty. There are various contact points for Jena residents who would like to actively participate in a just, democratic European Union with uniform legislation or a direct exchange between the EU countries and their inhabitants. Relevant topics in Europe can be informed and exchanged in detail at any time.
Get an overview of associations in Jena, which deal intensively and multilayered with the problems around the topic Europe.
europe direct - Information Centre Jena
The europe direct - Information Centre Jena offers free information material on EU topics, such as EU institutions, EU funding or rights in the EU. The information office is under the management of the European Commission.
The web presence of europe direct is under the management of the ÜAG gGmbH Jena - across all borders - . Here you can find newsletters every two months with the latest news from the region, current contributions to events, surveys and competitions around EU - topics and also contributions to the radio show"Exploring Europe", which was broadcast on the Open Channel Jena (Radio OKJ).
Eurowerkstatt Jena e. V.
The association Eurowerkstatt Jena e. V. was founded in January 2006. The starting point of the foundation was the work of the Stadtteilladen Nord, which has been initiating and implementing European projects within the framework of the "YOUTH Programme" of the European Union for many years - following the tradition of the KinderVilla.
The Eurowerkstatt is the result of a long tradition of the institutions and associations of youth work/youth social work in Jena. For many years they have been organising international youth meetings. The Eurowerkstatt bears - to emphasize this tradition - the name of one of these past projects. Already since 1998 actions in the programme YOUTH are used by some institutions of youth work in Jena. The decisive factor for the orientation of the association towards European projects is the promotion of intercultural aspects within the youth work of the city, especially the examination of the possibilities of a united Europe. The basis of the work of the association is to integrate into the existing structures of youth work in Jena. For this reason, a cooperation agreement was made with the youth department of the city of Jena, which welcomes and supports the work of the association.
The aim of the association is the creation of school and extracurricular offers in Jena and the surrounding area in order to develop social and professional competences - especially intercultural competences. Among other things, this is intended to create the conditions for young people to understand and also make use of the possibilities and opportunities in Europe.
One of the most important tasks is to support the work of all associations and institutions by providing advice and guidance in order to stimulate and promote projects with a European dimension at local and regional level.
Eurowerkstatt is a sending organisation for the European Voluntary Service, a coordinating organisation for host projects in the European Voluntary Service, supports volunteers in development aid in Europe and the world, builds stable relationships with social work institutions around the globe and supports youth initiatives as well as international youth encounters.
There are also regular information events, exhibitions about the volunteer experience and an annual festival for former and future volunteers.
International Exchange - Erasmus Student Network Jena
The Erasmus Student Network Jena (ESN Jena) makes an active contribution to establishing European ideas in Jena. The non-profit association ensures the smooth integration of international students in Jena and creates contacts between them and German students.
The ESN Jena was founded in 1996 as a student group at the Friedrich-Schiller-University J ena (FSU) and joined the Erasmus Student Netwerk in 2000 as the 5th section in Germany. Today there are already 25 independent German sectors. Throughout Europe, more than 450 European universities are part of the network.
The members work on a voluntary basis and are mostly students of different disciplines at the FSU. They organize welcome weeks at the beginning of each semester, excursions for international students, events in a social, cultural or sporting context and also parties, at which German students are of course also welcome.
With the participation in the SocialErasmus project of ESN, the Jena section tries to integrate the international students also in social and voluntary activities in their host country.
Young European Federalists Thuringia
The Young European Federalists Thuringia (JEF) is a group of young people who are committed to a united and democratic Europe and strive for a European federal state.
The association organizes cultural events and political discussions on current topics, which are carried out by and in university groups, district associations, state associations, the federal association and the European association.
The Association of Young Europeans is also represented in Jena and is committed to the European exchange between young people. In general, with the help of workshops, seminars and congresses, greater interest in Europe is to be awakened in the city on the Saale.
Everyone can get involved and participate in the weekly meeting of the association in the Intro Office on the Wall.
Law in Europe e. V.
The non-profit association Recht in Europa e. V. was founded in 2013 and deals with historical and legal issues to be discussed on a European level. The aim is to develop legal pan-European concepts for current social problems. In this way, a stronger growing together of the European states and a more intensive civil dialogue is aimed for.
The association Law in Europe organizes exhibitions, workshops or also panel discussions, as for example to the Europe for Citizens - Remembrance Project "Overcoming Walls between People in Times of Crisis - Shaping Europe's Future". In Jena, for example, an exhibition on this topic was organized together with students of the Christian Gymnasium Jena, which was opened in May 2018.