Fifteen young people from seven Central and Eastern European countries—Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland —met from 6 to 9 October 2025 in Szarvas, Hungary, to take part in the first international Sourdough C(h)amp held as part of the annual international PeaceBread Conference. Four days full of exchange, new perspectives and forward-looking ideas shaped the programme.
For the Andreas Hermes Akademie, it was a special pleasure to accompany the first international Sourdough C(h)amp and bring it to life together with the young people from the agricultural sector. The workshop was moderated by Dr Andreas Quiring, who, with great experience and intuition, succeeded in guiding the group of young participants into becoming an engaged team capable of articulating clear messages.
Before the official workshop day began, we used the first evening for a relaxed get-to-know-you session. Over a shared dinner and spontaneous mini-speeches—each based on a randomly assigned topic—everyone quickly started laughing, discussing and easing their initial nervousness. This humorous start laid the perfect foundation for the work of the days ahead.
The workshop day on 7 October quickly sparked lively dialogue within the group. Under the guiding theme “The Future Balance between Food Sovereignty and Sustainability”, the young participants developed ideas together, shared experiences and formulated initial impulses for agricultural and societal policy discussions. They each drafted statements related to social challenges, ecological issues and economic perspectives—mirroring the three sides of the sustainability triangle
In the plenary that followed, the results were discussed, refined and ultimately reduced to three core statements per topic area. The outcome: impressive and independent messages placing ecological responsibility, international youth cooperation and the strengthening of European economic sovereignty at the forefront.
The next day, the participants presented their statements for the first time to the representatives of the partner countries of the international PeaceBread network—including the Bulgarian partners who will host the 2026 camp. A joint excursion to a young farmer running an innovative rice operation added practical and personal insights to the programme.
The second day of the conference focused on dialogue with political partners. Here, the young participants presented their results to political representatives from the partner countries. Both the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture and the German BMELH acknowledged the professional depth of the work and emphasised the importance of the youth perspective. A special highlight: a Bulgarian camp participant was selected by the ministry to take part in the Youth Forum of the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) in January 2026 in Berlin.
The Hungarian ministry honoured the work of the Sourdough team with an award for each topic area.
To conclude the conference, the Hungarian PeaceBread—baked from rye contributed by all partner countries—was ceremonially handed over from Hungary to Bulgaria. This traditional and symbolic moment of every PeaceBread Conference stands for unity, dialogue and shared responsibility in Europe.
With a strong first Sourdough C(h)amp, new friendships and clear visions, the week came to an end—showing the powerful contribution young voices can make to shaping the future of agriculture.
Ceremonial passing of the baton in the form of the PeaceBread to Bulgaria.
Special thanks go to everyone who made this first Sourdough C(h)amp and the conference in Hungary possible, and to photographer Christian Horn, who captured the special atmosphere in impressive images and a film.
The PeaceBread network has for many years linked European peacebuilding, remembrance culture and sustainable agriculture. The initiative recalls the historic impact of 1989 and strengthens dialogue among the countries of Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe.
At the heart of the initiative is the PeaceBread project: since 2005, rye has been grown along the former Berlin Wall at Bernauer Straße—a powerful symbol of new life and reconciliation. From this idea, the association FriedensBrot e.V. was founded in 2012, driven by the vision of holding an annual conference together with the former states behind the Iron Curtain and symbolically baking a European PeaceBread. The core of the international cooperation is therefore the annual PeaceBread Conference, which has rotated among the partner countries since 2014. It brings together political decision-makers, agricultural professionals, educational institutions and civil society actors to exchange ideas on peace, sustainability and European cooperation.
Further information and opportunities to get involved can be found via the German PeaceBread Association at friedensbrot.eu.