National Network Meeting in the Netherlands
January 16-19, 2025 at Hof van Moeder Aarde, Netherlands
Each year, the National Network Working Group of GEN Europe organizes their annual meeting to meet, connect, and engage with each other. It is an inspiring space to co-create and ignite new projects that serve our ecovillage network. Read here the article of last year’s NN meeting in ecovillage Pourgues (France). This year in 2025, the National Network Meeting took place in the beautiful project of Hof van Moeder Aarde, in the Netherlands! It brought together representatives from 15 National Networks across Europe: 35 passionate changemakers, each bringing their unique perspectives and experiences to enrich our collective journey for ecovillage culture and project creation.
National & Transnational Networks in attendance came from the Baltic Ecovillage Network (BEN), Lithuania, LØS (Denmark), GEN Netherlands, GEN Germany, Red Ibérica de Ecoaldeas, Next GEN Europe, South-Eastern European Ecovillage Network (SEEN), SKEY (Finland), RIVE (Italy), GEN Slovenia, GEN Belgium, Coop. Oasis (GEN France), GEN Suisse, and GEN Ukraine.
Furthermore, various working groups were present, including the GEN Europe TECH Group and the GEN Europe fund project team, consisting of the Les Pas-Sages team.
Growing Together: News from around the Network
The three days started with a National Network market. This session has now become a little tradition, it gave us sneak peeks into the newest updates and developments across different networks. We are e.g. amazed by the growing and founding National Network in Lithuania and their efforts in weaving this network while becoming more connected to GEN Europe. GEN Suisse reported about their very active NextGEN Suisse movement! SEEN, together with the founding network of GEN Hungary, is more than happy to be able to host the Ecovillage Gathering this year!
But we also shared our challenges and doubts with each other. The meeting is a valuable space to connect, as maintaining a network has its particularities, bringing us similar questions and small mountains to climb.
“We deeply exchanged about the kind of challenges all of us are facing to understand how can we build a stronger, supportive Network.”
— Participant Quote
Updates
GEN Europe presented updates on current activities while checking in on how to best serve the members and the network. Fanny van Hal (Project Manager of GEN Europe) reported about GEN Europe’s Project Area and shared encouraging news about GEN Europe’s financial position, which has created space for strategic development. In the later days, we held a World Café session on feedback from the members of the two strategic focus streams of GEN Europe’s project area:
- Social tools and community building
- Climate resilience and mitigation
She also reported about several exciting ongoing projects, including:
- ECOPRISE: Developing an eco-preneur education curriculum
- COM4LGD: Supporting network participation through CERV funding
- Sustain-ability: Adapting the GreenComp Framework for youth work
- Various E+ trainings and ESC programs
A significant development is the approval of the Adult Education Exchange Program, securing funds for staff, council, and volunteer mobility opportunities. We want to encourage members to explore this “new” and promising funding call as well! Reach out to: membership@gen-europe.org to learn more.
Digital Infrastructure Updates
Angel presented new developments in GEN Europe’s digital presence:
- Launch of an enhanced Ecovillage Map and Directory
- New interview features highlighting member communities in the Ecovillage directory
- Development of the IT toolbox with open-source solutions
- Plans for a single sign-on system for member organizations
If you want to integrate a map into your webpage or want your ecovillage members to be shown on our extensive map – reach out to angel@gen-europe.org!
GEN Europe Fund Initiative
Johannes Kübel and Vincent Rueda presented the emerging GEN Europe Fund concept, which evolved from discussions at previous meetings in Torri Superiore and Nature Community. The GEN Europe Fund meeting happened partially parallely to some sessions of the NN meeting sessions. During the meeting the group decided to pursue a two-streamed application strategy: maintaining a small-scale partnership submission through BEN in Sweden, while simultaneously developing a larger cooperation partnership to be submitted by GEN EU in Germany. A new writing team emerged and will lead the application development, with additional partners contributing content expertise.
GEN Europe Tech Working Group
The NN meeting also hosted the first in-person meeting of GENTech, the recently established GEN Working Group on Sustainable Technology!
The Working Group is giving itself a shape, and during the meetings has discussed the first activities that will be carried out during the spring, around the topics of Energy Communities, ethical Digital Technologies (including the GEN IT Toolbox), and the fascinating Biomimicry approach to tech design.
The group will also support the co-creation of the EXPO (Ecovillage Exposition of Sustainable Technology), a part of the 2025 European Gathering that will bring together tech, arts and crafts from the ecovillage world.
If you want to know more about GENTech and its activities, you can reach out to francesco.godano3@gmail.com.
Working Sessions Outcomes
The working sessions yielded rich discussions and meaningful outcomes across several formats. During the Open Space sessions, National Network representatives delved into various topics affecting our networks: They explored different membership schemes currently used across networks and discussed the important theme of political diversity within our movement. Significant time was dedicated to developing the Ecovillage Day and Open Days project, while also examining various support mechanisms for ecovillage involvement. The discussions also encompassed youth initiatives in communities and an exploration of the Mietshäuser Syndikat model.
The World Café format proved particularly effective for addressing three key areas of network development. NN reps explored the possibilities and challenges of creating funded positions within National Networks, examined ways to improve information flow between GEN Europe and National Networks, and provided valuable feedback on project strategy.
“Beautiful co-creation, really lots of space and time to go deep into subjects and questions.”
“I liked the open and flexible schedule with space to add and change topics based on what felt the most alive.”
Celebration
Saturday night brought a special highlight to our gathering – a vibrant celebration showcasing the joy and creativity that flows through our network. Under the spirited guidance of Francesco and Riccardo as our Masters of Ceremony, the Open Stage transformed into a space of shared laughter, music, and connection. Network members took turns sharing their talents, from heartfelt songs to playful performances, reminding us that our movement is not just about projects and plans – it’s about celebrating life and human connection in all its forms.
Next Steps & Invitations
The meeting established several action points for strengthening our network:
- Development of national fund initiatives
- Enhancement of communication channels
- Implementation of the Adult Education Exchange Program – write us at membership@gen-europe.org
- Expansion of the digital infrastructure – write angel@gen-europe.org
- Join the National Networks online meetings! For more info contact: membership@gen-europe.org
The meeting was an amazing event that demonstrated the growth of our network! Thank you for this co-creation, which is a great base for collaboration in 2025.
For more detailed information about specific projects or initiatives, please contact your National Network representative or GEN Europe at membership@gen-europe.org. GEN Europe at membership@gen-europe.org.
