The focus of the FEIF Youthwork Committee was very much on looking back and evaluating past activities such as the 2023 FEIF Youth Camp, which took place in Finland, and looking forward to the next FEIF Youth Cup. We can now confirm that the Cup will take place from Sat., 13th– Sat, 20th of July 2024 at the Icelandic horse Centre Solfaxi in Münsingen, Switzerland. The formal invitation with a lot more detail will be sent out early next year but for a sneak preview you can visit https://www.fyc2024.ch/.
Other matters that continue to concern and inform the work of the committee are how to combat sexual harassment, and how best to ensure child protection. Of course, the legal aspects of these matters must fall within the laws of member countries, but we found that in some areas there are significant differences in the level of protection, and the committee feels that by continuing to raise awareness at every opportunity, some of these differences can be levelled out.
All FEIF Departments constantly re-evaluate practices and discuss necessary changes to keep up with current thinking. This is also true for FEIF Youthwork, and we are in the middle of various transitions: the FEIF Youth Camp now has a much stronger focus on education by way of theory and workshops in the context of best practice in horsemanship. Equally there will be some changes to the next FEIF Youth Cup, one of them is shortening the programme by one day, which will hopefully result in less exhausted participants and helpers alike.
