News

From 22 to 27 June, twenty-two young activists from across Council of Europe member countries and beyond gathered in Vienna, Austria, for a week of collective learning, strategy-building, and solidarity. The activity, "Fighting Antifeminism and Queerphobia – Building Youth Resistance Across Borders," was organised by the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY) with the support of the European Youth Foundation  of the Council of Europe.

The six-day programme brought together young people actively engaged in feminist, queer, and social justice movements to respond to a shared and urgent reality: the growing wave of anti-rights, antifeminist, and anti-queer movements spreading across the globe. Rather than facing these challenges in isolation, participants came together to think, learn, and organise across borders.

Through non-formal education and peer-to-peer exchange, the group spent the week analysing and deconstructing the narratives and tactics used by anti-rights movements, and identifying how these strategies show up differently across countries and regions. Participants also exchanged intersectional approaches drawn from feminist, queer, anti-racist, and other social justice movements, strengthening their political literacy and advocacy skills along the way.

A central part of the week was dedicated to building strategies of resistance: learning from successful organising practices, developing counter-narratives, and designing advocacy campaigns rooted in solidarity rather than fear. This collective work fed directly into the group's shared output — the "Mapping the Anti-Rights Movement" brochure, a resource of case studies, counter-strategies, and best practices that participants will be able to bring back to their own communities.

Beyond the workshops, the week was also about relationships: shared meals, late-night conversations, an evening of celebration, and the kind of trust that only builds when people show up honestly for each other. Many participants arrived as strangers and left as part of an international network of young people committed to gender equality, queer rights, and inclusive democracy.

As the activity came to a close, the focus turned outward. Participants are now encouraged to bring what they learned back home,  through local workshops, campaigns, and community organising, carrying Vienna's lessons into their own contexts.

This activity reflects IUSY's ongoing commitment to feminist and queer solidarity worldwide, and to building the kind of youth-led, cross-border resistance that meets this political moment with clarity, care, and collective strength.

This article was produced by the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY). The opinions expressed in this publication are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the Council of Europe.