Europe Changemakers Jam
July 3 – 7, 2026 – Near Plum Village, France
Application Deadline: May 20th, 2026
Something is stirring.
Across Europe and far beyond it, the world is moving through a time of deep upheaval and quiet transformation. Polarization sharpens. Old systems strain. And yet in communities everywhere, something is emerging. People are finding each other. They are building, healing, organizing, and reimagining what it means to live and work together. Positive change is coming from community, from the ground up, from the relationships between us.
For over 35 years, YES! has held space for changemakers to connect across divides, to strengthen their root systems, and to sustain the fire that keeps them going. Across four continents, our Jams have woven a global web of friendship, solidarity, and shared purpose among thousands of leaders working for a thriving, just, and regenerative world.
And now, for the first time, we are bringing the Jam to Europe.
We invite you, changemakers connected to Europe in any way, and those whose work ripples outward to the rest of the world, to step into a brave space for deep connection, honest reflection, and collective renewal.
Why Europe? Why Now?
Europe holds a particular complexity. It is a place of ancient cultures and contested histories, of colonial legacies and ongoing movements for justice and dignity. It is also where people from vastly different traditions have been learning — imperfectly, painfully, beautifully — to live together.
Today, Europe finds itself at a crossroads. In a polarized world where different truths compete and unresolved differences can escalate exponentially, the need for places where people can speak freely, listen deeply, and hold complexity together has never been greater. What happens here can impact everyone, everywhere.
And so we ask: What would it mean to create a Jam space in Europe, one that is both rooted in this place and radically global? What becomes possible when changemakers from across and beyond this continent come together to practice the kind of community, honesty, and love that our movements so deeply need?
We believe this is the right moment. And we believe you are part of the answer.
Why Gather?
Doing social change work can be draining. The weight of injustice, the pace of crises, the isolation of working across time zones and borders, it takes a toll on our bodies, spirits, and relationships. Too often, the people working hardest for a better world are running on empty.
The Jam is different. It is a space where you can taste, practice, and experience your ideal way of being in relationship and creating community. Where your ability for interconnection; with yourself, your community, and your world is strengthened. Where what your heart knows is possible becomes vivid and real, even when you may sometimes doubt it.
At the Jam, you don’t need to perform or produce. Things flow simply. You are enough. And in that simplicity, something extraordinary opens up: the capacity to connect, collaborate, and strengthen our shared work in ways that sustain us for the long journey ahead.
When we see what is happening beyond our own horizon, across four continents, across many countries, we remember that we are not alone. That there are people everywhere who share this vision of a world that works for all. The Jam makes those connections visible, tangible, and lasting.
Together, we will hold these questions:
- How do we sustain ourselves and each other in the long arc of social change — personally, interpersonally, and systemically?
- What does it mean to build partnerships across the historic divides that mark Europe’s story, and the world’s?
- How can we create brave spaces where our truths can be spoken, heard, and held in a polarized world?
- What role does Europe play in global movements for justice, regeneration, and peace, and how do we honor both its contributions and its wounds?
- How do we strengthen the web of connection among changemakers so that the work itself becomes more joyful, more resilient, and more alive?
- What is possible when we stop, slow down, and let our deepest knowing guide us?
What questions are alive for you? Bring them to the Jam.
What is a Jam?
YES! Jams are spaces where diverse changemakers bring together their passions, openness, and unique perspectives. In spontaneous connection, we weave layers of experience, wisdom, heart, and spirit to create something none of us could create alone.
A Jam is not a conference, a seminar, or a typical retreat. It is a co-created, immersive experience — part deep dialogue, part creative expression, part collective practice, part joyful play. Through facilitated circles, visioning exercises, art-making, storytelling, movement, quiet reflection, and generous amounts of hanging out, we build the kind of trust and friendship that transforms not only our individual lives but the way we move through the world together.
The Jam works on three interconnected levels of change:
The Personal. A space to reconnect with your inner wisdom, tend to your wellbeing, and come more fully into your authentic self, so you can be more effective and more whole in your work and life.
The Interpersonal. We build real relationships; across languages, cultures, sectors, and stories. We practice what it means to truly listen, to hold difference with care, and to discover the solidarity that emerges when people see each other fully.
The Systemic. By becoming clearer about the structures that shape our lives, we co-create visions and strategies for the world we want, and we leave with a stronger, wider web of allies to build it with.
Who is Invited?
This Jam is for changemakers who are connected to Europe in any way, living here, working here, rooted here, or carrying Europe’s stories and complexities with them wherever they are. It is European and also global, because what we create together will ripple far beyond any single geography.
We welcome:
- Social entrepreneurs, community organizers, activists, educators, facilitators, artists, healers, and builders of all kinds working for a thriving, just, and regenerative world.
- Emerging and seasoned changemakers who feel called to cross-pollinate their work, strengthen their networks, and explore what becomes possible in brave community.
- YES! alumni from across the globe who want to deepen their connection to the Jamily and bring the Jam spirit to a new continent.
- Anyone for whom this invitation resonates, if these words speak to your heart, you are invited.
We actively seek diversity in identity, geography, age, area of focus, and lived experience. We believe the Jam is strongest when it brings together people who might not otherwise meet — and weakest when it only gathers the like-minded.
Dates, Logistics, and Contribution
Dates:
Arrival on Friday, July 3, 2026 by 2pm / Departure on Tuesday, July 7, 2026 by 11am
Location:
The Europe Jam will be held in the town of Thénac in France, a few kilometers from the famous Plum Village Monastery, on a private property surrounded by nature and 2 lakes.
Contribution:
The Europe Jam is being offered on a sliding scale: €250 – €800
Organizing and facilitation require resources. The at-cost price per person for this Jam is €800 — most of which covers food, lodging, transportation and supplies; in addition to honoraria for our organizers and facilitators.
We offer tiered pricing based on your financial situation. You can read more about that in the application.
As with all YES! Jams, we are committed to making participation accessible to all. We offer sliding scale pricing, scholarship support, and payment plans. Please do not let cost be a barrier, if you feel called, apply, and we will work out the finances together.
There are only 12 spots available for this inaugural Jam, so apply soon especially if you need financial support.
Ready to Jam?
Application Deadline: May 20th, 2026
Have questions?
Reach out to us at europejam@yesworld.org. We’d love to hear from you.
With love, and the deep belief that what we create in community is more powerful than anything we can do alone.
Kalindi, Nour, Ayse and Uma
The Europe Jam Organizing Team
Organizer
Ayşe is a magical soul in a female body raised in Ankara, Turkey. Having grown up in Turkey in a more “European” community, she has always felt in between two worlds, two cultures and enjoying the deep dive into her “Eastern” roots. Love, connection, exploration, reconnection with self, nature and the divine are what she strives for.
Her first jam was in Anatolia in 2014, a week she describes as “life changing”. Since then she has been involved in the facilitation and co-creation of several jams. She is a designer(interaction), an artist(illustrations), an engineer (materials), a yoga facilitator, a community builder, a shell breaker and much more, yet she is also not any of those. She is a girl with a big heart that wants to touch life with whatever she can offer through loving service and a big smile!
Uma is mostly made of water. She is probably breathing right now, and definitely invites you to take at least one breath (or three) – deeply into your belly – right now. During this lifetime on Earth, Uma is the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants to the U.S. and is currently sensing if roots will sprout in Ireland. To Uma, collective thriving likely requires recovering and cultivating our human ability to “do interdependence” well and to see ourselves as part of a whole. Her approach to being alive on the planet right now includes: creating conditions that enable authenticity and a wider range of human sensing (beyond knowing); practicing skills that generate trust, connection, and creative collaboration; and building resilient and regenerative systems that metabolize conflict/harm and orient to ecological thriving.
Uma draws on 20+ years of this work with leaders, groups and communities – as an organizer/activist and later as a coach and facilitator/trainer focusing on collaborative leadership, and navigating conflict across power differences. She has worked with NGOs, farmers, doctors, schools, and businesses. Most recently, she has been on a journey navigating neurodiversity and birth trauma, and exploring somatic practices that support nervous system regulation at community-scale.
Kalindi Attar is a cultural bridge-builder and second generation spiritual seeker raised in the US with “American,” Iranian, Indian, and Turkish heritage. Since her first Jam in 2006, she has been deeply involved with YES!, organizing and facilitating transformative experiences.
For three years, Kalindi and her family lived near Plum Village in France, the mindfulness center founded by Thich Nhat Hanh, where they deepened their connection to practice and community—an experience that continues to shape her work and ties to Europe.
Now based in Bali with her husband and two children, drawn by the Green School, Kalindi is exploring a vibrant phase of expansion, healing, and creative expression—particularly through her facilitation of mindfulness practices and The Artist’s Way.
Prior, Kalindi spent 16 years in Oaxaca, Mexico, where she co-founded several ecological projects: Khadi Oaxaca (sustainable textiles), Ananda Learning Center (alternative education), and Casa Maitri (nature-connected retreats).
Nour Elkhattaby Strauch is a community organizer and facilitator from Casablanca, Morocco. Nour has been organizing and facilitating YES! Jams since 2012, including the Middle East Leadership Jam, the North America Leadership Jam, the Men Raised as Men Jam and others. He is currently serving as Executive Director of YES!, and hopes to continue growing the work of this organization which expands the impact of social and environmental leaders by equipping them with the tools to build community, navigate conflict, and create resiliency in their lives and projects.
Nour has also worked with many other notable non-profits in Morocco, the U.S., and beyond including Neighborhoods Association Idmaj, LifePath, Seeds of Peace, CorpsAfrica, Casablanca-Chicago Sister Cities, among others. He is a former member of the National Administrative Council of Amnesty International Morocco.
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