Study Session 2025 Evaluation Report

From 5–9 May 2025, the European YWCA hosted a transformative study session at the European Youth Centre in Budapest, bringing together 35 young women from 12 countries under the theme Empowering Change: Advancing Gender Equality and Peacebuilding in Europe. 

The week created a dedicated space for participants to deepen their understanding of peacebuilding, anti-discrimination, intersectionality, feminist leadership and the importance of well-being in activism. A flexible and participatory educational approach ensured that learning remained engaging, accessible, and reflective to participants’ lived experiences.

The outcomes were highly positive: 96% of participants rated their overall experience as very positive, 90% found the methods fully or mostly appropriate and 100% felt fully or mostly safe to express themselves. The study session also strengthened participants’ sense of community and commitment to collective action, with strong interest in continuing engagement and future opportunities within the European YWCA network.

This study session would not have been possible without the generous support and partnership of the Council of Europe, whose funding and hosting made this entire experience a reality. We are also deeply grateful to the incredible team at the European Youth Centre Budapest for ensuring our stay was smooth, enjoyable, and inspiring. We extend our thanks to our partner organisation, World YWCA, for their invaluable collaboration, and to the manylocal YWCAs whose support made it possible for participants from around Europe to join us. Special appreciation goes to our wonderful preparation team — Anila, Ainya, Inez, Leila, and our dedicated Course Director Erika — for their hard work and commitment in shaping and delivering this study session.

Most importantly, heartfelt thanks to all of the participants.Your energy, knowledge, openness, and willingness to share made this journey truly meaningful and transformative.

Please read the full report here.