From 29 September to 5 October 2025, 49 participants from SCI branches and partners around the world gathered in Bonn, Germany, for the Exchange Platform Meeting 2025, hosted by our partner branch SCI Germany. This year’s theme — “Common Ground for Peacebuilding & Youth Work” — set the tone for a week of deep reflection, creative collaboration, and collective action. This annual gathering is essential for us as an international peace movement to evaluate and plan together our activities for the upcoming years. It allows us to strengthen our closer cooperation for the improvement of our volunteer projects. Do you want to know what our exchanges were about? Keep reading the following sections!
đź‘Ą Intergenerational activism and youth participation
Together, we explored how to strengthen intergenerational activism within SCI, ensuring that young voices and experienced activists work hand in hand. One of the key outcomes was the discussion around the creation of a Youth Committee, aimed at empowering young volunteers to play an active role in shaping SCI’s future.
🧠Towards a shared ethical framework
Throughout the week, we co-drafted a Code of Ethics, designed to strengthen cooperation and ensure that all SCI spaces — from international meetings to volunteer camps — remain inclusive, respectful, and safe for everyone.
🔄 Building bridges across working groups
The meeting provided fertile ground for new collaborations across working groups and projects, allowing participants to share methodologies, discuss challenges, and imagine innovative paths for joint initiatives in peace education, volunteering, and solidarity.
🕊️ Peace activism and global solidarity
A major focus was the development of key messages and actions for SCI’s Peace Activism Campaign. Together, we exchanged perspectives on sensitive global issues, including the situation in Palestine and the challenges of global solidarity.
As participants of this year’s EPM, we jointly wrote a statement addressing the blockade of the Global Sumud Flotilla and the peace plan proposed by the US administration, reaffirming our commitment to nonviolence and human rights.
On 2 October, the International Day of Nonviolence, some participants joined a Palestine solidarity manifestation in Bonn, symbolically linking our work for peace with global grassroots movements for justice.
You can read our joint statement here: https://sci.ngo/stop-the-occupation-not-the-flotilla/
🌿 Environmental sustainability in action
Our discussions also reaffirmed SCI’s commitment to climate justice. We reviewed and strengthened the implementation of the SCI Climate Justice Manifesto, ensuring that environmental sustainability remains a cross-cutting priority in all our projects and practices.
The Exchange Platform Meeting 2025 was more than just an annual gathering — it was a space of co-creation, learning, and mutual empowerment. Together, we continue building bridges across generations, regions, and movements, standing united for peace, justice, and solidarity worldwide.
