Call for Prep Team Members - Taste the Change: Sustainable Food Transition in Eastern Europe

The call for Prep Team members for the International Activity TASTE THE CHANGE: The Sustainable Food Transition in Eastern Europe is open!

The activity will take place from 23-26 September, Brașov (city TBC), Romania. The PT meeting will be prior to the activity, on 21-22 September.

The Taste the Change training programme aims to strengthen the organisational and advocacy capacity of youth-led and civil society organisations in Eastern Europe to engage in advancing sustainable and more plant-forward food systems in their municipalities, regions and countries.

This will be reached by meeting the following objectives:

1. Increasing knowledge of food systems as a practical, accessible dimension of the green transition and its relation to climate change, sustainable policies, and environmental democracy.

2. Strengthening participants' organisational, policymaking and advocacy capacities in relation to food systems and green transition.

3. Understanding the local and regional contexts, barriers, and opportunities for implementing sustainable policies in Eastern Europe.

4. Support of participants in developing and implementing a realistic local action plan (e.g. awareness raising activity, advocacy campaign, dialogue with municipality).

The Taste the Change programme consists of this activity, two smaller follow-up international events and an online course (see more details below). The Prep-Team members will have the opportunity to participate or be engaged in the other phases of the project, upon their willingness and availability (not a selection criterion).

If you are young person aged 16-35 from any of the eligible countries* and you are interested in the topic of the event, we invite you to apply to be a member of this preparatory team. 

The draft agenda of the activity.

Subject to modifications and changes during the preparation period.

• Taste the Change Programme

  Taste the Change is the one-year programme realised with the support of Green Forum Foundation. Besides the main activity, the Taste the Change programme will consist of:

  -  Online Course consisting of 8 lessons increasing the theoretical knowledge of participants, and bringing other dimensions of food transition (such as vegan-friendly places in Eastern Europe, etc.)

  -  Two follow-up activities:

  • Environmental Democracy Workshop (14-15.11.2026 in Poland, location TBC) focusing on counter- and alternative narratives (CAN), participatory and deliberative democracy methods, and designing awareness-raising initiatives.

  • Policy Writing Workshop (24-25.01.2027 in Zagreb, Croatia, location and dates TBC) focusing on creating and implementing sustainable food policies on the local and national levels.

  -  Micro-grants (200 EUR, one-time) for participants to start implementing their local activities, granted upon completion of 5 online lessons.

  The Prep-Team members can be engaged or participate in one of the follow-up activities depending on their willingness and availability, and are eligible for micro-grants.

• Why it is important?

  The training programme will focus on food systems as a practical and accessible dimension of green transition, with particular attention to plant-based transition, where relevant.

  The implementation of the plant-based food systems in the Eastern European cultural, political, and economic context. Culturally, meat and animal-based products are often traditional to many Eastern European countries, and the alternatives either do not exist or are less local (eg, vegan burgers). Politically, the region has a low level of trust in political institutions and often low political participation. Economically, many Eastern European countries face structural challenges, such as low incomes, limited public subsidies to environmentally-friendly businesses, or depopulation in rural areas. Hence, the food transition process risks alienating communities and being considered as externally imposed agendas. Even a small change in the direction of sustainable food systems, such as a meatless day in school canteens, needs to be consulted with people and ensure that no one is left behind. Therefore, transition policies need to prioritise inclusive dialogue, engagement of society or transparent communication.

  Across Eastern Europe, many youth and civic organisations are motivated to engage in climate and sustainability issues, yet they lack theoretical knowledge about the basis and awareness about the links to other areas. The policy area is also lacking in a broader context in the advocacy of Green parties in the region. While many parties in the region originate from pro-ecological movements and climate and environmental issues have played important roles in their activities in recent years (eg, protests against proposed Jadar mining in Serbia), the topic of food transition is missing in their advocacy. 

  Hence, food transition is necessarily linked with environmental democracy. Besides the topical knowledge, participants will get the skills necessary to work with citizens, politicians and civil society, and to implement community-engaging actions and create sustainable policies possible to implement in the regional and local contexts, which will be useful in every area of their work.

Prep Team members should:

• have a working level knowledge of English

• be familiar with non-formal education methods and session facilitation,

• have some experience with international events, either as participants or organisers,

• have knowledge of CSOs and youth movements structures and functioning,

• be active in their local communities and familiar with the political context of Eastern European countries,

• be available during the preparation and realisation period (July-September),

• be responsible about fulfilling their tasks,

• have good organisational skills,

• be a team players,

• be committed to the aims of the project and CDN’s values

We especially encourage young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and communities to apply to be a part of our Prep Team.

Main responsibilities of the prep-team include:

1. Participation in in a two-day live prep team meeting prior to the activity (21-22th September 2026)

2. Active participation in the regular bi-weekly online meetings prior to the event (July-September / ca. 2 h each);

3. Preparation and facilitation of the program of the event; designing and preparing sessions based on non-formal education methodology, invitation and communication with speakers, experts, and partners in accordance with the activity aims (ca. 4 hours  a week);

4. Dissemination of the call and selection of participants, preparation of participants for the event and providing them with all the necessary information regarding the program;

5. Helping with the promotion of the event and ensuring social media visibility;

6. Taking care of practicalities and of the general well-being of the participants during the event;

7. Full participation during the entire event and prep team meeting before and evaluation meeting after the event,

8. Helping with the reporting of the event.

Being a prep-team member at this event would offer you:

1. Working in a lively and youthful international environment;

2. Experience in managing international activities – preparation, implementation and reporting;

3. Getting familiar with Green and progressive values, and the work of CDN;

4. Getting to know activists and young politicians from different European contexts;

5. A possibility to develop your leadership and group work skills;

6. Opportunity to participate and/or co-create other phases of the project: follow-up international activities and micro-grant of 200 EUR for the local follow-up actions (upon participation in the online course);

7. A lot of work and a lot of fun!

Practicalities: 

Accommodation, food, working space, travel, and visa costs for the preparatory team will be fully covered.

For selection of travel means for both Prep Team meeting and the activity, the condition is to combine the most economic and environmentally friendly way (lowest price + travel time + CO2 emissions).

More information about travel regulations will be shared upon acceptance.

DEADLINE for submitting online applications is 22 June, 23:59 CEST. You will be informed about the results by email approximately two weeks after the deadline.

You will be informed about the results by email approximately one weeks after the deadline.

Please add programme.manager@cdnee.org to your contacts, so that you do not receive our reply in the spam folder.

Below is the link to the Application Form. Please read the instructions on the form carefully!

There is an option for you to answer some questions in the video format, so make sure to check the application some time before you plan to submit responses.

*Eligible countries are Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Serbia, Türkiye, and Ukraine.

The Taste the Change programme is organised with the support of Green Forum Sweden.