Building Resilience Through Camp
The project aim or developmental goal is: Resilience building amongst people affected by the violent conflicts ongoing in and around Europe, Ukraine especially considered.
Why This Matters
The project aim or developmental goal is: Resilience building amongst people affected by the violent conflicts ongoing in and around Europe, Ukraine especially considered.
The following objective is set to attribute to the above aim: Children and young people are better able to deal with stress and the blows of fate.
Camp Seasons in Numbers
- Pilot Phase 2023 — 16 camp shifts held in 9 countries with 774 participants
- Camp Europe 2024 — 17 Camps, with 724 participants from 8 countries
- Camp Europe 2025 — 17 camp shifts held in 6 countries with 560 participants
- Camp Europe 2026 — 20 camps held in 10 countries with 669 participants
Campacity
YMCA Camp Europe “Campacity” Conference is a joint initiative of YMCA Europe & the YMCA of the USA, hosted by CVJM Germany that aims to: Capacitate YMCA Camp Europe with human resources able to offer relevant and innovation-led ideas on forms and contents of camp programmes, whereby they are focused on trauma-healing or mental health, life-skills or resilience development, refugee rehabilitation or integration, conflict management and transformation, etc. Build capacity for the YMCA Camping Movement to work with war affected young people and families in Europe – with a focus on, but not exclusively limited to Ukrainian IDPs (Internally Displaced Person) and refugees. Bring together camp professionals to discuss, share and collaborate on topics related to camps, camping, outdoor education and adventure-based learning- with a focus on exchange of knowledge, professional development and regional and global networking.- Campacity 2023 — The original “Campacity” project took place in early 2023, at YMCA Camp Duncan, USA and had 23 participants from various American Camps and six European YMCAs, it focused on building capacity for the camping movement in Europe, with a special focus on Ukraine.,
- Campacity 2024 — The first official Campacity Conference was held in Spanin in April 15th-21st. 66 participants from 15 diffrent counties joined the conference.
- Campacity 2025 — Held at YMCA campsite PerspektivFabrik, Germany, on March 27-31, 2025. The event hosted 65 participants from 16 countries
- Campacity 2026 — The last edition of Campacity was held at Camp Brevik, Sweden, on April 14-19th, and it brought together 80 participants from 20 countires
Latest Camp Europe news
October 1, 2026
Youth Matters Camp: A story of Resilience and Light…
The Beginning. Preparation began long before participant recruitment or even the grant application. The YMCA Boyarka team debated: is it worth holding…
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September 28, 2026
YMCA Artsakh Camp 2026: Building Connections Across Borders
What makes a camp unforgettable? Not the schedule. It’s the late-night conversations, the inside jokes, the feeling of finally belonging somewhere. From…
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August 29, 2026
Camp Europe: Wilderness Bilingual Summer Camp 2026
Camp Europe provided participants with a truly transformative experience, shaped by discovery, friendship and meaningful intercultural exchange. Guided by the motto “Camp…
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