The idea grow out of an initiative put forward by the Council of Europe in a seminar hosted by Sweden in Eskilstuna in 1979 under the title, “Children and Culture in Contemporary Europe”. Out of this seminar was born the Council of Europe’s Children’s Drama Encounter. And since then, Encounters have been held in different countries in Europe. The first Children’s Encounter however took place in 1982; the first Youth Encounter was held in 1987.
Ester Mischler: “A seminar of the Council of Europe – and what became out of it” (excerpt)
ENCOUNTERS 1979 – 2022
| Year | Place | Type of encounter | Theme | |
| 1979 | Eskilstuna, Sweden | Council of Europe Seminar | “Children and Culture in Contemporary Europe” | |
| 1982 | La Marlagne, Belgium | Children | link | |
| 1984 | Neuchatel, Switzerland | Children | ||
| 1986 | Vordingborg, Denmark | Children | “Children and Everyday Life” | |
| 1987 | Stratford, Great Britain | Youth | ||
| 1988 | Vienna, Austria | Children | “Tower of Babel” | link |
| 1989 | Bonn, Germany | Youth | “Discover Another Country” | link |
| 1990 | Echternach, Luxembourg | Children | “Tribes – Bridges and Breaking Barriers” | link |
| 1991 | Dublin, Ireland | Youth | “Alivealive-O” | link |
| 1992 | Békéscsaba, Hungary | Children | “You see best with your heart” | link |
| 1994 | Valetta, Malta | Children | “The Sea—A Lifeline” | link |
| 1995 | Ankara, Turkey | Youth | “Sanata Evet / Yes to Art” | link |
| 1996 | Hannover, Germany | Children | “Nature, Technic and Children” | link |
| 1997 | Besancon, France | Youth | “l’innovation” | link |
| 1998 | Helsinki, Finland | Children | “Time” | link |
| 1999 | Vienna, Austria | Evaluation Congress | “20 years’ evaluation” | |
| 2000 | Jerusalem, Israel | Youth | “Communication” | link |
| 2001 | Viljandi, Estonia | Children | “Bridges” | link |
| 2002 | Budapest, Hungary | Youth | “Changes” | |
| 2003 | Pazin, Croatia | Children | “Journey” | link |
| 2004 | Vienna, Austria | Youth | “Space” | link |
| 2005 | Cork, Ireland | Children | “Dreamtime” | link |
| 2006 | Lingen, Germany | General Assembly Meeting | ||
| 2007 | Helsinki, Finland | Alumni Seminar | “EDERED Future” | |
| 2008 | Paris, France | General Assembly Meeting | ||
| 2009 | Zvenigorod, Russia | Children | “Play without limits” | link |
| 2010 | Lingen, Germany | General Assembly Meeting | ||
| 2011 | Kasterlee, Belgium/Flanders | Children | “Kaleidoscope” | link |
| 2012 | Seferihisar, Turkey | Children | “Slowness” | link |
| 2013 | Ipswich, Great Britain | Youth | “Tribes” | link |
| 2014 | Brussel, Belgium | General Assembly Meeting | ||
| 2015 | Rüdlingen, Switzerland | Youth | “Eyes full of colours and secrets” | link |
| 2016 | Joachimsthal, Germany Gryfino/Maszewo, Poland |
Youth | “Fluid Boundaries” | link |
| 2017 | Aalborg, Denmark | Children | “Tivoli” | link |
| 2018 | Toulouse, France | Youth | “Great Explorers” | link |
| 2019 | Hanko, Finland | Youth | “It’s my nature“ | link |
| 2021 | Osijek, Croatia Turgi (Switzerland) Brussels (Belgium) Thessaloniki (Greece) |
Youth
(Hybrid model of the Encounter) |
“Urban Jungle” | link |
| 2022 | Osijek, Croatia | Youth | “220V” | |
| 2023 | Orfü, Hungary | Youth | “Seeking the Way” | link |
