We have great news: At the last meeting of the European Steering Committee on Youth (CDEJ) of the Council of Europe on October 21, 2024, in Strasbourg, it was decided that we will be awarded the Quality Label of the Council of Europe for Youth Centers ! The Quality Label is tied to high standards and has only been awarded once before in Germany, and only 14 times across Europe so far. We are enormously proud to now be part of this network of first-class educational centers.

Why is this so special for us?

The award of the Quality Label is the result of a demanding application and evaluation process lasting several years. In September 2024, we were visited by a five-member expert group from the Council of Europe, who took a close look at us and our offerings. A total of 65 criteria were evaluated — from our pedagogical work to the qualifications of our team to our facilities.

What does this mean for us and for you?

The award is initially valid for the years 2025 to 2027, and we have big plans during this time! We want to further expand our offerings and start new projects that are oriented towards the needs of young people in a globalized world. Through the Quality Label, we are now even better integrated into European networks and can offer you even more exciting opportunities. Our educational and advisory program for professionals should also noticeably benefit from this.

At the same time, the Quality Label, once you have it, is not a given: We are now subject to recurring quality control. At regular network meetings and trainings with the other Quality Label educational centers, we can exchange new approaches and ideas — always with the goal of enhancing our standards and increasing the value of our work for young people, professionals, and our region.

Our director, Christian Scharf, puts it in a nutshell:

We are delighted that we were able to convince the Council of Europe delegation of the quality of our work. The quality label is not only a great honour for us, it also marks Magdeburg out as a cosmopolitan and innovative city in the heart of Europe and strengthens our commitment towards our objective of enabling all young people to have learning and educational experiences that give them the opportunity to fully realise their potential in terms of creativity, openness, resilience and entrepreneurial spirit.

Christian SCHARF, Director of EJBM

Dr. Carlhans Uhle, Managing Director of the German Red Cross Saxony-Anhalt, also shares our enthusiasm:

As a shareholder in EJBM, we are extremely pleased about the award and congratulate the entire team. EJBM does valuable work in important areas for our association, such as human rights, international dialogue and international cooperation. The diversity and quality of its programmes are unique in Saxony-Anhalt and of particular importance for democratic education and international youth work in our federal state.

Dr. Carlhans Uhle, Managing Director of the German Red Cross Saxony-Anhalt e.V.

Thanks to everyone who supported us

We would like to thank everyone who accompanied and supported us on this journey. Without your help and commitment, this success would not have been possible. We would especially like to highlight the following supporters:

We look forward to working with you to develop the future of international youth work in Magdeburg and Saxony-Anhalt!

We especially want to mention Dr. Roman FRÖHLICH and the colleagues from the wannseeFORUM, the first Quality Label educational center in Germany, for their support during our application process.

We would also like to express our special thanks to the Quality Label Expert Team of the Council of Europe, who accompanied our application process with a critical eye, but also with many important suggestions and best practice examples. The exchange with them has shown us numerous opportunities to further develop our educational institution and our pedagogical programme – we are already busy implementing them!