Dorf der Jugend Grimma

Dorf der Jugend (Village of Youth) was conceived as an emancipatory project of public youth work. It is located in Grimma, a town near the city of Leipzig, in an old lace factory along the river Mulde. This documentary film features footage and interviews shot on location.

The project's aim has been to create a vibrant, sustainable, and self-sufficient structure for youth work in rural areas and to ensure its long-term establishment. Open spaces are crucial for young people in developing their individual personalities as they foster and strengthen social development.

The endeavour has been set up by a group of young residents of Grimma. They manage it themselves, finance it with a café built in a shipping container, have built a skate park, opened a bicycle workshop, and play football on their own football ground. Since 2000, it has hosted the annual music festival Crossover.

Due to its decidedly anti-racist stance, the project has repeatedly been the target of right-wing extremist attacks.

In 2019, Dorf der Jugend won the Saxon Democracy Prize for youth work in Saxony. The jury honoured the group's “commitment to creating alternative, democratic, and creative leisure opportunities for young people”.

Further information can be found at: https://dorfderjugend.de/

Special thanks to the Polylux network.

In many places, people are committed to a strong civil society. Polylux financially supports local associations, initiatives, and projects of critical civil society through sponsoring memberships. Further information can be found at: https://www.polylux.network/