50 years of IJAB

In 2017 IJAB celebrated the 50th anniversary of its establishment. In 1967, the Federal Family Ministry founded the International Youth Service as a nationwide specialist organisation for international relations in the field of youth work and youth policy. While reconciliation and international understanding were the underlying objectives during these post-WWII years, curiosity, a sense of adventure and an interest in new horizons were additional motivating factors.

50 years on, the international youth community is facing challenges of a different kind. We live in a globalised world in which borders are blurring both offline and online. At the same time, nationalism and xenophobia are on the rise. IJAB is responding to these developments with a decisively European and international outlook, working to ensure that today’s young people can grow up to become citizens of Europe and the world.