EDIT: Due to unforeseen circumstances, the venue and dates of these activities have been amended since this article was written. The Lets Talk About Sex parallel seminars will now take place at the Kinderfreunde Falkencamp Döbriach, Austria, on 20-27 May 2018.

Put this date in your diary now: 18-25 May 2018! During this week, 40 young people will come together in two parallel seminars as part of our Let's Talk About Sex project (you can find out more about the project here). The seminars will take place at the Kurt Löwenstein Education Centre (KLH), in Werfpfuhl, near Berlin. The KLH is one of the international education centres run by our member organisation in Germany, SJD-Die Falken. Participants will take part one of two seminars that will use non-formal, participatory methodologies to explore the topics of sex education, gender, sexuality, bodies and body positivity through workshops, discussions, simulations and expert inputs. Each seminar will be open to 20 participants from IFM-SEI and other partner/sister organisations. As an output, participants will come up with activities that will be trialled at Participation Island, an international camp taking place in Hanko, Finland, in July. The project is generously funded by the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe. 

The aim of this seminar is to explore sex education in relation to the participants’ own experiences of their identity, bodies, gender and sexuality and analyse how society shapes these identities. This will be a beginner level seminar where participants will reflect on their own experiences with sex education and their own identities in terms of gender, sex and bodies. This seminar will involve a lot of personal reflection, exploration of your own identities and sharing of experiences. 

The participants will engage in a dynamic and inclusive non-formal education programme, looking at the topics of identities and how they are constructed, bodies, body positivity, sex versus gender, our perceptions of sex and a critical look at sex education. Other topics covered include the theory of gender and sexuality, discrimination, the impact of media and pornography, sex - getting what you want and need, sexual rights as human rights and identifying good practices for sex education. 

The aim of this seminar is to explore sex and sex education in relation to patriarchy, societal hierarchies and systemic oppression and come up with tools and activities to create inclusive sex education guidance and activities. This will be an advanced level seminar where participants will reflect on sex education and inclusion from a structural based approach and with a reflection on oppression and discrimination. Participants will focus particularly on marginalised identities and how they are excluded or erased in mainstream sex education. 

Participants will think about how marginalised identities are discriminated against, reflecting on sexual identities and expression in relation to pornography, the mainstream media, culture and religion. The participants will encounter challenging topics such as disability and ableism, critical sex positivity and sex work, as well as coming up with guidance and activities for progressive sex education from an intersectional approach.

The seminar is open to young people aged 16-30 who reside in Council of Europe member states. Participants can be from other youth organisations and sister organisations of IFM-SEI, as well as from IFM-SEI member organisations. Participants will have to attend the whole of the seminar in order to attend. Travel costs will be reimbursed (so long as it's the most economical route) and accommodation, substance and programme costs will be covered by the project. There will be a participation fee of 20€, 40€ or 60€ depending on the participant's country of residence. The application process will be launched at mid-end February, and participants will be selected based on their motivation, experience and how they plan to follow-up on their work after the seminar. Geographical, organisational and gender balance will be considered in the selection process. Keep your eyes peeled for more information!