SAFER SPACE for queer young people at the youth centre
Encounter ° Exchange and community-building ° Empowerment and visibility
This is a pilot project, designed to grow and spread across South Tyrol: regular meet-ups in a Safer Space for and with young people between 12 and 25 who identify as queer and/or are interested in the subject.
The fortnightly meet-ups are embedded within the youth centres and are accompanied by one or two adult professionals who are themselves part of the queer community. With the Safer Space we want to offer you a protected setting — somewhere to be together with respect, and where we also work on awareness and violence prevention. Beyond that, the format focuses on strengthening the self-worth, identity and visibility of young queer people.
In cooperation with the Jungle youth centre in Merano, Streetwork Burggrafenamt, netz Bolzano (OJA) and other youth organisations, this pilot project creates opportunities for encounter and exchange, with a particular focus on intersectionality and on including queer people, people with a migration background and people with disabilities.
The project starts in summer 2026 with an initial 12-month phase, taking the form of fortnightly meet-ups at the Jungle youth centre in Merano. It makes a real contribution to inclusion and diversity in South Tyrol and allows the queer community to build a province-wide network through youth organisations.
In future, youth centres will be able to approach the social cooperative EKLEKTIKA to commission the organisation and delivery of a Safer Space. The experience gathered during this phase will sharpen the project we go on to offer.
Project lead: KATHARINA BURGER
