conference

YEC (Young Explorer’s Club) Forum

It's a yearly celebration of our programme. YEC supervisors and partners meet once a year in Warsaw, during a two-day conference in Copernicus Science Centre.

The YEC Forum is the annual meeting of the international community of facilitators and partners who, together with the Copernicus Science Centre and the Polish-American Freedom Foundation, develop the Young Explorer's Club program in Poland, Georgia, Ukraine, Armenia, Romania, and Ethiopia.

The essence of the Young Explorer's Club program lies in building a learning community. On a daily basis, we usually see just a small segment of it: our club, and sometimes clubs from the nearby area or region. Meanwhile, the YEC Forum is an opportunity to view our community from a broader perspective and feel part of a greater transformation. During this event, individuals who may not know each other personally come together, united by shared values and a common mission: supporting children and youth in developing essential skills for the modern world, such as critical thinking, creativity, openness to the world, readiness to face challenges, and problem-solving abilities.

The Forum is a place where diversity, creativity, and potential come together.

14th YEC Forum "Know-how, not somehow!"

28-29.11.2025

Following last year's edition of the YEC Forum, which focused on the role of mistake in the process of effective learning, this year we invite you to take a closer look at an integral part of YEC: quality. It stems from improving one's skills in a given field, from constantly asking questions, checking, observing and acting. Therefore, following the YEC motto: “Everyone Can Discover” – at the 14th Forum we will explore what quality is in the Young Explorer's Club.

At YEC, diversity and multiculturalism play a key role, which is evident in the way the clubs operate. Each of them is different because they function in a different environment and have their own needs and interests. However, the pursuit of quality is common to the entire YEC community.

What is quality in YEC? How to determine it? How to take care of it and always include it in the clubs' activities? How to demonstrate and pass it on? How can we inspire others to do the same? We will seek answers to these and many other questions together on 28 and 29 November in Warsaw, at the Copernicus Science Centre. Because, as educational effectiveness researcher John Hattie points out: "The strongest influence on learning comes from teachers who are willing to learn themselves."

What can we expect at the 14th Young Explorer’s Club Programme Forum?

Preliminary programme for the event

DAY I Friday, 28.11.2025, 12.00-21.30

My first Forum

Meeting for those who will be at the Forum for the first time. It is intended to help participants establish new relationships, smoothly introduce them to the specifics of the event and help them to (qualitatively!) navigate the event. (The meeting will start one hour before the official start of the Forum, at 11.00 am.)

Opening panel

Official start of the Forum. Together with experts and mentors, we will return to the fundamentals of YEC – the research method, constructivism, animation and engagement, feedback and reflection, without which there is no learning – to better understand and strengthen them in everyday practice. This format will remind – and also help – to consolidate understanding of the basics of YEC. This will be a starting point for a conversation on quality in Young Explorer’s Clubs.

Workshops

These are activities that will help us translate the above-mentioned ideas into concrete actions! In smaller groups, we will explore the chosen premise in greater depth and examine its quality in all its forms. We will develop both hard skills and a mindset that leads to quality activities with young explorers.

Power of the Regions

It is a space for networking, making (quality!) friends and deepening existing relationships. It is a time to exchange experiences and ideas, share challenges, engage in conversations, and get to know local and international communities of mentors and YEC Partners. Expect much to come!

YEC Champions Gala

The results of the ‘YEC Champions’ competition, a celebration of the clubs' successes. It's going to be the quality!

Evening entertainment with a surprise show.

DAY II Saturday, 29.11.2025, 09.30-15.45

Opening panel

We will begin the second day of the Forum together, and then we will disperse to visit the stands and gather ideas for the coming year.

Inspiration Exchange

Yes, this year's Forum will feature a space for sharing experiences, beloved by the YEC community! It is a place where ideas, experiences and experiments from different clubs will meet. And not only from all over Poland, but also from Armenia, Georgia, Kenya, Moldova, Romania and Ukraine! We will examine how the YEC principles discussed during the opening panel and explored in depth during the workshops are implemented in practice. The Inspiration Exchange is an ideal opportunity to experience quality in every aspect, including in the context of giving and receiving constructive feedback.

Author meeting with dr Zuzanna Michalska regarding her newly published book about YEC (meeting will be held in Polish)

Our coordinator not only defended her doctoral thesis on YEC but also published her (first!) book this year: "Changing Education. On the example of the Young Explorer's Club programme coordinated by the Copernicus Science Centre". This publication is about you, dear YEC community, about how you make a difference in the everyday lives and futures of club members and how – with this book - you can influence others with the quality of YECs. Be sure to talk about it!

A visit to the Exhibitions and Planetarium show

Tickets will be available for those wishing to visit the Copernicus exhibitions and the Planetarium show. (Admission to the Exhibitions will be possible after the Forum, i.e. at 15.30. The Planetarium show is scheduled from 17.30 to 18.15).

We are delighted to invite you to the 14th YEC Forum!