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Game that invites telling stories from your life. Some easy-going, some deep. It is available as an online resource.

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A deep story-telling game. It is for older youth and adults who have the ability to talk about their lives and feelings. It contributes to build trust and confidence or as a warm-up for a difficult topic. The game evokes many different emotions. The game creates a lot of empathy. For groups of approx. six persons, who are interested in each other and have a basic feeling of safety together.

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Social Rights Game

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It is a game about how to balance human rights and budget. It is good for youth and adults. It is engaging and helps to learn how to develop consensus, practice how political decisions are made and how democratic society is build. The game allows for interesting discussions and also fun. The players should stay the same and focused for around two hours.

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Enter! Access to Social Rights for Young People

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In the framework of the Enter! project, the youth sector of the Council of Europe has published in 2012 the Enter Dignityland!, a card game on social rights.

Players, as Members of Parliament in an imaginary country called Dignityland, have to decide on the social policies concerning social rights within a development plan for the next five years. Through argumentation and decision-making processes, players learn more about social rights and their links to social policies.

The game can be played in different contexts, in formal and non-formal educational settings, as part of a training course, in schools, in peer groups or within any educational activity.

Enter Dignityland! is based on an original game about social rights, created by the Community Volunteers Foundation in Turkey, Toplum Gönüllüleri Vakfı (TOG) and Istanbul Bilgi University NGO Training and Research Unit from Turkey, called "Life is hard" ("Hayat Zor!"), and has been adapted with their contributions and permission.
Order the game

Translate the game in your language

The availability of the educational game Enter Dignityland! in the wide variety of the languages spoken by users and beneficiaries plays a central role in disseminating human rights education in youth work and the promotion of access and information about social rights for young people. The availability of the game in the everyday language of educators and young people is crucial to make it used, usable and truly relevant.

Guidelines for the translation of the game

Form for expression of intent to translate the game

The educational game was translated into Portuguese, into Armenian by KASA Swiss Humanitarian Foundation and into Ukrainian by the International Charity Partnership for Every Child.

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Enter Dignityland! - Enter! Access to Social Rights for Young People - www.coe.int

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In the framework of the Enter! project, the youth sector of the Council of Europe has published in 2012 the Enter Dignityland!, a card game on social rights. Players, as Members of Parliament in an imaginary country called Dignityland, have to decide on the social policies concerning social rights within a development plan for the next five years.

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You can check the zoom activity that we did on the first day of the training here. The original resource is by Istvan Banyai. The webpage is unknown to us. Please use at your own discretion.

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Zoom Out Remote Online Team Building Game - MICE Makers

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Not really that Zoom you’re thinking about right now. Zoom is a game used by us during various team building events. This game is a great way for small teams to boost communication skills while solving complex tasks together.How to…

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The card game "Cards in Favor of Humanity" developed by the Youth Peace Ambassador Network. This is the printable file.

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A game where you answer questions/starts of sentences with short statement cards. It allows to go in deeper conversations. It is quite soft and indirect for a shy group that is not ready to share a lot yet. But well integrated group can enhance their gentle evening activity and open up soft conversations, but still it might feel too fluffy and boring.  Some rules are too complicated.

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A classical, simple board game set up where you talk about dilemmas.

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The game was boring, the dilemmas were strange. There were no surprises in the game. The game has too few elements that contribute to poor gaming experience. 

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Printable card set with quotes around peace that can spark conversation, developed by Service Civil International

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Interesting, fun game and can take quite a lot of time. There are quotes around peace, humanity, and values that are openly discussed by the group, making the game very versatile. The game opens for laughter, deep conversations and sharing personal stories and experiences. The game is not restrictive and gives space to think about other people thoughts, feelings and positions on the topic.

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Presentation of the E+ and ESC YOUTH 2025 

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Presentation of the E+ and ESC YOUTH 2025 

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E+ and ESC for YOUTH 2025 How to talk about war.pptx

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Training course “how to talk about war” 30 Nov. – 5 Dec. 2025, Parnu, Estonia.pdf

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Conflict transformation has been widely explored by practitioners and researchers, yet a dedicated T-Kit is needed to meet current political priorities and practical demands in the youth field. This resource compiles European experiences and methods to support youth workers who frequently address conflicts but often lack adequate tools and information.

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Skip to Content

1. View the entire issue in a single PDF File 2. Download T-Kit 12 chapter by chapter to avoid long delays
Published by the Council of Europe and the European Commission.

Reproduction of texts and pictures is authorised provided the source and author are quoted.
The views and opinions expressed do not necessarily express the official view of the European Commission or Council of Europe, their member states or the organisations co-operating with the institutions.

To receive further information about Partnership projects, please contact the Partnership Secretariat.

Our publications Our publications

Coyote is a magazine about important issues in and around youth work in Europe and beyond published by the EU-CoE youth partnership.

Read More

The youth knowledge books are the outcome of research seminars and expert workshops on priority topics of the EU-CoE youth partnership.

Read More

Perspectives on youth is a new series on youth policy, research and practice supported by the EU-CoE Youth Partnership, moving forward debates on youth and having a European/ international relevance

Read More

Advanced Training for Trainers in Europe (ATTE) is a part-time programme for trainers active in training youth multipliers. ATTE was implemented successfully as a pilot course from November 2001 to October 2003, involving 30 trainers from 21 countries, it is innovative in its approach,...

Read More

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Skip to Content 1. View the entire issue in a single PDF File 2. Download T-Kit 12 chapter by chapter to avoid long delays Published by the Council of Europe and the European Commission. Reproduction of texts and pictures is authorised provided the source and author are quoted.

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Open, self-paced online course “Talking about war and peace”

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Open, self-paced online course “Talking about war and peace”

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The online course is based on the materials from the seminar “How to talk about war” implemented in 2022

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"Talking about war and peace" is a self-paced online course that guides you through a process of reflection and practical activities on how to approach this topic in your work, locally or in transnational events.

As a facilitator, trainer or youth worker that works with interculturally mixed groups of young people you know that it is difficult to address this topic. Indeed, talking about war and peace is a challenge.

This course aims at preparing and supporting you facing this challenge. The activities and reflections guide you through a process of self-clarification and introduces tools to work with young people locally or in transnational events.

How to facilitate learning in times of war and crisis?

To answer this, the course is focusing on three areas:

Me as a facilitator, trainer and youth worker (the personal level): This is all about how you can prepare yourself and create a safe space for yourself and the people you work with.

Me and others (the interpersonal level): This is about you, the young people you work with and the question of how to facilitate the learning process of individuals and groups in the context of war and crises.

Me and community (the local level): This is about you, your community and small actions that can be implemented by and in your community.

Additionally, this course has a toolbox with various approaches and tools on how to facilitate learning in times of war and crisis as well as a list of additional resources.

The context of this online course

This online course has its origins in the transnational seminar "How to talk about war? - Working with young people in times of war crisis", which took part 11-16 of July 2022 in Toruń, Poland. The seminar offered a space to reflect on how to talk with young people about the war, its consequences and how it affects our lives. And it inspired participants to take small actions and be impactful in their work as facilitators, trainers or youth workers. This online course also includes content from another residential event in Poland: "Social Inclusion of Young Refugees", a training course from 27 till 30 September 2022 in Gdańsk.

*******

Course authors: Michael Kimmig and Marta Brzezińska-Hubert

Course provider: SALTO Eastern Europe and Caucasus

Course duration: self-paced (approx. 3-4 hours / module)

Course language: English

Target group: facilitators, trainers, youth workers

Requirements: none

Learning recognition: HOP Certificate
Last update: 27. November 2022

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talking about war and peace. facilitating learning in times of crisis

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Talking about war and peace. Facilitating learning in times of crisis

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"Talking about war and peace" is a self-paced online course that guides you through a process of reflection and practical activities on how to approach this topic in your work, locally or in transnational events.

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Article “Can we talk about peace in times of war?”

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Article “Can we talk about peace in times of war?”

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The article was written by the trainers team of the seminar "How to Talk about war" that happened in 2022 as an outcome of the seminar. It describes the methodology and approaches used during the seminar.

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Can we talk about peace in times of war? - Beyond Borders

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Insights from the international seminar11-16 July 2022, Toruń – Poland Yuliya lelfimova, Dagna Gmitrowicz, Tomasz Szopa Beside reading our article, you are very welcome to enrol to the open, online course“Talking about war and peace. Facilitating learning in times of crisis” at the HOP platform. With this article, we would like to share a collection […]

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Article "Peace work. How to talk about war? 

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Article "Peace work. How to talk about war? 

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The article of two participants of the 2025 edition of the training course, including 7 short video interviews with participants.

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The article in the Coyote magazine "The role of youth work in conflict settings"

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The article in the Coyote magazine "The role of youth work in conflict settings"

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by Yuliya Ielfimova
In conflict settings, I often remember the quote from Harry Potter:

Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light", as it resembles a lot the role of youth work.

The role of youth work in conflict settings encompasses a wide range of activities aimed at supporting and empowering young people in challenging and conflict-affected environments, and creating a safe space for young people for recovery, reconnection and resilience, normalising the life of young people, supporting their development and shaping their future in crisis conditions.

My life, as the lives of other Ukrainians, is divided before and after the large-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. Before... since 2011, I had started to explore and work with the topics related to youth work in conflict. I got involved in the Youth Peace Ambassadors long-term programme of the Council of Europe's Youth Department. The programme in the end led to the creation of an independent network of peacebuilders, the Youth Peace Ambassadors Network. Later, I joined another project of the Youth Department as a facilitator and a senior trainer: the Youth Peace Camps. The knowledge and expertise I acquired during these experiences, coupled with the practices I had accumulated since 2011 while working in the field, including various approaches, methods and educational materials proved to be invaluable in the period of "after". These materials included Youth Partnership resources such as T-Kit 12: Youth transforming conflict, Step-by-step together: support, tips, examples and possibilities for youth work with young refugees, T-Kit 4: Intercultural learning and T-Kit 8: Social inclusion.

The needs of young people in conflict settings

In the current context of the war in Ukraine, a total of 82% of young people indicated a loss due to the war ( "Impact of war on youth in Ukraine"). Young people are grappling with a multitude of challenges, including reduction or loss of income, deterioration of mental health, death of friends or family members, damage to housing, sustaining injuries related to military actions, concerns about physical safety, lack of opportunities for self-realisation, concerns about the impossibility of employment, displacement within Ukraine and beyond, severed connections, uncertainties, social isolation, disruption of their education, and the daunting task of overcoming the traumatic impact of the conflict, which has divided their lives into distinct "before" and "after" periods.

During the spring and autumn 2022 we carried out the Voices of Young People in Ukraine project in collaboration with colleagues and five partner youth centres across different Ukrainian regions. The findings from the needs assessment conducted by young people within this project underscore the critical role that youth work can play. The study conducted among the youth centres in Ukraine by the Council of Europe project Youth for Democracy in Ukraine (2022) contributes to this understanding. These findings emphasise the importance of:

creating spaces that foster the growth and self-realisation of young people, enabling them to connect with peers who share similar interests, exchange experiences, implement successful strategies, and pursue their own initiatives, organising peer support for each other "to distract themselves from the war";

providing psychological support and establishing a sense of safety;

ensuring the protection of rights and facilitating integration by actively listening to their voices, promoting social connections, aiding the integration of internally displaced persons (IDPs), and creating an environment where young people can explore and express their identities without judgement;

recognising and appreciating the significance of volunteer work, being involved in volunteer projects, cultivating a sense of value and purpose among young individuals;

access to non-formal education, civic education, basic military training (focused on self-defence), workshops on providing first aid and civil protection, working with counter-narratives on pro-Russian narratives and propaganda.

Youth work plays a pivotal role in this scenario, offering crucial support for young individuals to navigate the extraordinary circumstances they face daily. It serves as a safe haven for youth affected by the war, allowing them to preserve their youthfulness and receive assistance in the process of integrating into host societies. Through youth work, young people can develop their self-confidence, resilience and the ability to build positive relationships, including with their peers. This form of support necessitates flexibility and a capacity to embrace ambiguity while striving to integrate youth into society.

Internally displaced youth: nurturing integration and resilience through youth work

Youth work provides a dedicated space for young individuals to express themselves and actively participate in society. Furthermore, it offers an opportunity to uncover and recognise the unique talents and contributions that young people bring to their communities. Importantly, youth work serves as a vital stakeholder in fostering cross-sectoral collaboration among various services involved in the integration of young refugees and IDPs, spanning areas such as legal assistance, education, housing, employment, and more.

According to official statistics, Ukraine currently registers 4.8 million IDPs, but the actual number is estimated to be nearly 7 million. In addition to the people who are internally displaced inside Ukraine, more than 8 million Ukrainians left the country and became refugees (UNHCR 2022). Many young people who have relocated to new communities have experienced feelings of disorientation and isolation. In the spring and summer of 2022, in collaboration with the Donetsk Youth Debate Centre and youth centres from five different regions of Ukraine, we initiated a project with a primary focus on providing mobile youth work and support in shelters for IDPs. The project aimed to facilitate the inclusion of the internally displaced young individuals into their host communities and support their participation in the life of the communities.

Youth workers faced multifaceted challenges when operating in conflict-affected settings. These challenges necessitated the development of specific competencies and skills, including:

Intercultural competence: the ability to listen, reflect, empathise, tolerate ambiguity, understand young people's group dynamics, display cultural sensitivity, and recognise the presence of oppression or discrimination.

Understanding conflict dynamics: proficiency in comprehending conflict dynamics and possessing conflict analysis skills, along with an awareness that any involvement in conflict-related situations makes one an actor within that conflict.

Mental health and trauma: knowledge of mental health and trauma issues among young people affected by conflict.

Inclusion: creation of inclusive safe spaces for young people with different backgrounds and addressing intersectionalities.

Access to social rights: ensuring access to social rights and enabling participation in local community life.

Furthermore, youth work practitioners required opportunities for sharing best practices and thematic capacity building to strengthen the above-mentioned competencies and skills. To facilitate this work, youth workers needed tools and resources, since they often lacked prior experience in working with IDP young people.

In collaboration with our colleagues, we developed a manual for youth workers titled Youth work in wartime. This manual contains theoretical content, practical tips and guidance for youth workers, along with a collection of practical activities. It was greatly enriched by educational resources drawn from materials produced by the Youth Partnership, specifically related to conflict transformation, a trauma-informed approach and the access of displaced young people to rights, which are theoretically and practically provided in materials earlier mentioned in this article. The most useful were practices related to tackling mental health and trauma.

The examples of the forms of work with young refugees gave ideas for activities which were organised by the youth workers for young IDPs in the hosting communities: integration quests with local young people getting to know the new environment, engaging young IDPs in initiating projects with local young people, engaging young IDPs in emergency response, peer support and buddy activities bringing together local young people and IDP youth, providing a safe space for young people organising their own initiatives and activities for local young people in the youth centres and spaces. All these initiatives shifted the perspective from providing humanitarian support to IDPs to involving young people who had arrived in new communities to participation in the life of the hosting communities.

The practices related to the work with young IDPs, which included a trauma-informed approach in youth work, was in high demand from the community of youth workers in Ukraine. The Youth Partnership translated into Ukrainian a series of their publications at the request of the Council of Europe project Youth for Democracy in Ukraine which was based on the results of a series of meetings of youth workers from Ukraine in April 2022. The publications which were translated are: T-Kit 12: Youth transforming conflict, Step-by-step together: support, tips, examples and possibilities for youth work with young refugees and separate chapters of Youth Knowledge Book #24: Between insecurity and hope: reflections on youth work with young refugees. Additionally, a special series of Under 30' podcast episodes was launched in solidarity with Ukrainian young people and the youth sector. The Youth Partnership also published an issue of Coyote magazine dedicated to young people and conflict.

The Youth for Democracy in Ukraine project launched the development of the educational programme Trauma-informed Youth Work. We developed the programme and the Guide on the educational course of trauma informed youth work. Some of the materials, related to the practical cases of trauma-informed youth work, were adopted from the Youth Knowledge Book #24: Between insecurity and hope. Reflections on youth work with young refugees" of the Youth Partnership.

Two dimensions of youth work in conflict settings

In November 2022 we started the long-term international project Youth Work for Rehabilitation of Young People Affected by War and Armed Conflicts, which was a reaction to the crisis in Ukraine and the accumulation of efforts of the international community of youth workers from eight countries (Kosovo, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine) who work with young people either in the conflict settings or with those who are affected by the conflict (such as refugee young people). Building on the experience, we put youth work in conflict settings into two dimensions, based on the perspective of its reply to the challenges faced by young people:
1. Emergency youth work, which takes place during violent hostilities
In emergency youth work, the efforts of youth work are put towards the support of young people dealing with the crisis they face, linking young people with different services, returning normality to the life of young people, providing psychosocial support, as well as supporting internally displaced young people and refugees in the process of integration. The role of youth work in this context is also about making the voices of young people heard. Youth work reacts to the conditions and changes accordingly in order to support young people in emergency situations and the crisis caused by the war. Being a youth worker in Ukraine in wartime, I see the importance of youth work as a social practice.
2. Long-term youth work, which mainly takes place in pre- and post-conflict settings
In long-term youth work in a conflict setting, the focus is put more on the work that is implemented in the post-conflict phase. Various types of youth work activities directly address the conflicts young people experience or are affected by, regardless of the conflict setting. These activities encompass trust building, peacebuilding initiatives, projects focused on reconciliation, and efforts to promote non-violence, among others. Youth work is a tool for conflict transformation, as the role of young people in peacebuilding and conflict transformation is inevitable.

Key topics

Having the consortium of international youth organisations, we identified the key topics which have to be considered when working with young people affected by war and armed conflict (young people in the communities of a conflict, refugees/IDPs, local young people), either in emergency or in long-term youth work:

Identity: addressing identity and diversity, focusing on understanding own identities, their dynamics, feeling safe in practising the identities young people have and at the same time appreciating and dealing with diversity in the communities.

Maintenance of the relation between past and future and dealing with uncertainties: the post-war period brings uncertainty about the future, making psychological support and engagement in local projects crucial, especially for young people. These initiatives focus on providing hope, normality and a sense of identity. They encourage individuals to rediscover past interests and work, seek financial support for their plans, and promote professional identification. Community involvement, including language clubs and joint activities, is emphasised, along with physiological support for war-affected youth.

Socialisation and integration in communities: developing skills of intercultural sensitivity, conflict transformation, creating spaces for sharing joint activities (leisure, sport, cultural activities), living libraries, training on human rights, city quests, implementation of joint projects involving local and IDP/refugee young people.

Empowerment in front of violence: offering workshops on peacebuilding, media literacy, countering propaganda and combating hate speech, providing training in non-violent communication, conflict transformation, along with information on legal procedures in cases of violence, supporting long-term resilience and the normalisation of "normal life", raising awareness about institutional violence, public radicalisation, and power dynamics, educational programmes on violence prevention, conflict transformation, human rights and gender equality, providing psychological support to victims and witnesses of violence, educating against stigmas related to gender, ethnicity and other factors, advocating for rights and amplifying individual and community voices through memorialisation, art, culture and storytelling.

Outreach of young people affected by armed conflict: implementation of street and outreach youth work, building trust in the places where young people are.

Building the social fabric and network of help .

In conclusion, the experience of the community of youth workers in Ukraine and other countries working in conflict settings and working with young people who are affected by conflict shows the paramount importance of youth work as a social practice. Youth work supports the empowerment of young people, creating opportunities for their active citizenship, self-realisation and participation in their communities. In a conflict setting, youth work also brings a sense of normality, belonging and engagement of young people in the process of decision making on why and how to engage with conflict, and how to transform it into something meaningful and beneficial for the individuals and communities concerned. However, the integration of conflict-sensitive and trauma-informed approaches is vital both in the context of emergency and long-term youth work. Another aspect which should not be forgotten and which needs to be taken into consideration is the well-being and security of youth workers working in conflict settings.

The practical and theoretical materials of the Youth Partnership, which is mentioned in this article, can be a support for frontline youth workers and bring added value in different realities. However, we should consider the principle of not harming when applying any tools and methodologies and adapt them to the context.

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The role of youth work in conflict settings - Coyote Magazine - pjp-eu.coe.int

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by Yuliya Ielfimova In conflict settings, I often remember the quote from Harry Potter: Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light", as it resembles a lot the role of youth work.

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Toolkit "Peace Fellowship. Methods and practices for peace education"

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Toolkit "Peace Fellowship. Methods and practices for peace education"

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The toolkit includes: methods for peace education, examples of peace initiatives, framework of competences for peacebuilders, testimonies of the participants of the long-term project. The publication “Methods and practices for peace education" is based on the materials of the long-term project "Peace Fellowship - Promoting culture of peace via strengthening cooperation of youth peace workers implemented by the Youth Peace Ambassadors Network.

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Peace Fellowship Toolkit | Youth Peace Ambassadors

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You can find it here originally in English but also translated parts in Albanian, French, German, Serbian, Spanish, Polish Turkish and Ukrainian.

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GUIDE on the Educational Course of Trauma Informed Youth Work

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GUIDE on the Educational Course of Trauma Informed Youth Work

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Youth work in conflict. Comprehensive Toolkit for Youth Empowerment and Rehabilitation

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Youth work in conflict. Comprehensive Toolkit for Youth Empowerment and Rehabilitation

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"Teaching Controversial Issues through education for democratic citizenship and human rights" is a training kit aimed at teachers. But a lot of the methods can be used or adapted to youth work settings.

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An overview of the Competence Model, it´s history and the different competences and their aspects.

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Both cards from Zaedno:

"Talk Together" is an engaging game that fosters interaction and connection. It is designed for school children, including those from diverse cultural and language backgrounds.

"Imagination cards" is a set of 63 imagination-boosting picture cards designed to inspire storytelling, foster connection, and encourage reflection.

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Association card that help participants to reflect, connect with their emotions and share their experiences in the group. This creates a space of listening and solidarityThis game allows for sharing people’s life experiences, their values and what is important for them. I wouldn't play it with a group of people who aren't much respectful with each other or wouldn't guarantee the safety feeling with all the participants, especially if during the time a sensitive info was shared. It helps to see individuals behind labels.

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Bookmarks: A manual for combating
hate speech online through
human rights education

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Bookmarks: A manual for combating
hate speech online through
human rights education

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Home - Toolkit for human rights speech - pjp-eu.coe.int

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Tackling hate speech can be a daunting task, do you ignore, report or engage? What is your message, who do you address and how?