JUGEND RETTET e.V.

About us

The non profit association JUGEND RETTET e.V., founded in 2015, is a network of young people who have organized themselves to fight against dying in the Mediterranean. We bought a ship, the IUVENTA, and have already saved more than 14,000 people from maritime distress. In this way, we are countering the humanitarian catastrophe and collective European failure.
We educate about the situation on the Mediterranean and search for solutions. Here you can find information on our work.

The Iuventa: With our ship, the IUVENTA, we are rescuing people in maritime distress since July 24th 2016. In 2016 and 2017 we managed to carry out 15 rescue missions and save more than 14,000 lives. Our IUVENTA is a concrete field of action and a symbol simultaneously. We ourselves are active and make a change. We're showing that it's possible to do something against the dying. We are breaking through the sensation of powerlessness which is dominating politics.
our claim: As young Europeans we cannot - and don't want to - accept the status quo of the European asylum policies. Of the political actors we demand to ease the distress of refugees and to offer practical help. We need a program focussing on rescue from maritime emergency and we need to decriminalise the seek for asylum and refugees.
Instead people are kept away from 'Fortress Europe' by newly built walls and are generally restricted in their mobility - we oppose those measures.

Our concrete actions
• With our network of ambassadors we're building a platform for young people to exchange national and European positions on asylum policies and maritime rescue missions on a long-term basis. The organisation is engaged in the concrete and highly symbolic actions of our ship on the one hand, and providing a political platform on the other hand: our network of embassies.
• With our IUVENTA we are patrolling on the central Mediterranean route since July 2016 near Libyan territorial waters. We search for boats in maritime distress and put the people in safety. On board of the IUVENTA we provide First Aid as well as water and food.
• In our first years of action 2016 and 2017 we carried out 15 missions in which we rescued more than 14,000 people from risk of death.

Our concrete plans
• Besides our rescue missions we want to take a stand against the status quo of European asylum policies with our European network of embassies. We are counting on young Europeans to engage in political work. As a young generation we want to actively create a society worth living in. Together we raise awareness for the disgraceful situation on our outer borders and on the Mediterranean and mobilise supporters in all of Europe. We want to put pressure on state actors to enforce the fundamental right on life and security even on the Mediterranean.

For other net participants we can offer an expert guidance through trained staff, give an expert opinion, procure expert information and establish new contacts in the field of our work.