From Participants to Multipliers: MIJARC Europe at the KLJB Bundestreffen in Vrees
MIJARC Europe | Rebooting the Food System | August 2026
After four days of training in Bremen, our School of Influencers group moved on to Vrees in Lower Saxony for the Bundestreffen, the national gathering of KLJB, the Catholic Rural Youth Movement of Germany and one of our member organisations. From 6 to 9 August, around 700 young people camped, celebrated, discussed and worked together, and our participants were right in the middle of it.
A stand, a workshop and a human library
MIJARC Europe had its own stand at the festival, where our participants talked to visitors about rural youth in Europe, food systems and the Rebooting the Food System project. For many of them it was the first time presenting the work of an international organisation to strangers, and after the days in Bremen they did it with a lot of confidence.
Instead of a classic talk show, our group ran a workshop for around 20 guests built around a food system simulation. Players took on different roles in the food chain, from farmers to traders, retailers and consumers, and had to negotiate prices and make decisions. The game made it very clear who holds the power in the chain and why farmers so often end up with the smallest share, and it led to a lively discussion afterwards.
In the open space we also set up a human library. Instead of books, visitors could 'borrow' a person and listen to their story: growing up on a farm, doing youth work in another country, what food means in their culture. Because it was open the whole time, festival participants kept dropping by during the day, and some conversations lasted much longer than planned.
More than a festival
Between sessions there was time to enjoy the Bundestreffen itself: the camp, workshops by other groups, a baking session, a visit to the alpacas and long evenings with music. For our international participants it was also a chance to see from the inside how youth work in rural Germany looks.
For us, Vrees was the best possible test of what we learned in Bremen. Our participants arrived as learners and left as multipliers, with real experience of talking to hundreds of young people about the future of food. Many thanks to KLJB for welcoming us so warmly.
This activity was co-financed by the European Union through its Development Education and Awareness Raising (DEAR) programme, as part of the project Rebooting the Food System.
Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
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