Numerous projects have also already been carried out in almost ten different places all over Poland. Since 2023 the first national section of socioMovens has been established. But before studying the present, it is worth to have a look at the beginnings of the work on site:

From September 8 to 13, 2014, the first youth social project week took place under the motto: “Confronting the addictions of our time from a social consciousness” with 20 students from four different high schools in Poznan. Each morning, the group gathered in the chapel to start the day with a Gospel reading and the motto of the day. After breakfast, the actual program began. The participants first worked in small groups on the topics of dependency and addiction. Building on this, they then met with speakers and representatives of various social institutions (such as Caritas, addiction prevention initiatives, etc.) for an exchange, which they also visited in their local institution. The day ended with a joint reflection in the evening. Full of joy and enthusiasm about this week, the group decided two months later to travel together to Berlin from November 7 to 9, 2014, to live there for three days at the “Fazenda da Esperanca” Gut Neuhof. The visit to the addiction-therapeutic farm was a wonderful way to complete the exploration of the central theme that the students had chosen during their project week.

We wanted to get to know the fazenda so that we could live with the people who live there for a while and experience their community. We had already heard a lot about addiction problems beforehand. In Berlin, we were able to “feel” the problem together, so to speak, and observe how the Word of God can work in each person. In addition to the time we spent with the residents of the fazenda (both the men’s and the women’s fazenda), we were able to go on smaller excursions. A walk in Potsdam and a small excursion in the center of Berlin were a nice break and helped us to integrate even better with each other in the group. We returned to Poznań on Monday evening. Everyone was really tired, but also very satisfied. We are already thinking about seeing each other again – in August 2015 at the Cross Cultural Youth Meeting.” (Grzegorz Zbiorczyk, co-organizer of the project weeks in Poznań)

Since these beginnings, development in Poland has been very dynamic – project weeks have already taken place at five different locations, and young people have come together almost twenty times to discuss various social issues. And the work continues: there are now also regular activities and volunteer assignments by former participants, who travel together to fill “Giving Europe a Soul” with life. Two highlights were also the host role at the international youth meeting in 2022 and the establishment of a separate Polish section to secure the work in the long term.