About us

About Us

Copenhagen Youth Network (CYN) is built on trust.
On curiosity, inclusion and commitment.
On long lasting friendship(s).

Our History

Copenhagen Youth Network was founded in 2012 in Frederiksberg, Denmark by two best friends.

Even before we started CYN, since we were teenagers, we cultivated a vision of somehow – on a small or big scale – empowering the next generation to shape a diverse and prosperous future. At that time we were that generation, and we formed our friendship and CYN with that exact sentiment.

Because as friends and future founders we had benefitted from being able to challenge and support each other despite ethnic and religious differences and because of a strong will to make a positive impact on each other and on our surroundings.

We wanted to somehow influence others with that same spirit and feeling of intercultural connectedness. So in 2012 we decided to establish an NGO with that specific goal in mind.

Humble beginnings meant that we initially teamed up with the Municipality of Copenhagen to create football festivals for inner city kids ages 5 to 15. Back then we also had a third partner who today is a specialist in intercultural relations working for Danish Red Cross in the Middle East.

Slowly but surely we gained invaluable experience in intercultural project management, and we gladly played a minuscule part in nudging potentially marginalized kids in a right direction. Not only via playing and teaching sports but especially via informal interaction, discipline and knowledge sharing.

But in 2015, after years of working solely with kids and youths and facilitating intercultural inclusion projects in Denmark, we decided to restructure our organization to fit an international setup. Still, we were students and part time workers.

By chance, we took part in an Erasmus+ sponsored mobility project in Turkish Kurdistan and that amazing experience inspired us to create our own intercultural exchanges for young adults.

So, in March 2016, we hosted our very first international mobility project for young adults from around the world via Erasmus+, and we have not looked back since.

More About Us

In the process, we’ve gotten bright and ambitious people onboard in the form of project coordinators, trainers and facilitators, and we’ve grown as an organisation in both physical and mental form. We have always been a multi ethnic organisation, and we cultivate the energy that is created from the natural friction between us to facilitate exciting, inclusive international projects.

To connect the dots and form a full circle, you could say that we have been creating frameworks for constructive intercultural interaction from day 1. At least, that has always been our interest and focus. Just with different target segments through the years.

With Copenhagen Youth Network you get intense social learning experiences that you will not find anywhere else. We facilitate mobility projects, training courses and educational programs.

With us you get a chance to strengthen your international network, form long lasting friendships and learn from people from all over the world.

Make our journey part of yours. Join a Copenhagen Youth Network project.

You’re more than welcome.

Halmat Faraidon
Managing Director

A Great Place to Grow