Practical information: Countering the Militarisation of Youth

International Study Conference, Darmstadt, Germany, 8-10 June 2012

How to get to the conference venue?

The conference venue is the Jugendhof Bessunger Forst near Darmstadt.

Jugendhof Bessunger Forst
Aschaffenburger Straße 183-187
64380 Roßdorf

Please do not go to the conference venue without prior registration with us. We might need to refuse you, if there is not enough space.

By plane

If you arrive from abroad by plane, you will likely need to go to Darmstadt central station (Hauptbahnhof), either by bus or by train. You can check train and bus connections (in English) at http://www.rmv.de/auskunft/bin/jp/query.exe/en?OK#focus. If you arrive at Frankfurt airport, you should choose “Frankfurt (Main) Flughafen Regionalbahnhof” as departure station/stop. Please avoid flying into Ryanair's “Frankfurt (Hahn)”, as it is far away from Frankfurt.

By train

You should book a train ticket to Darmstadt, which will get you to Darmstadt central station (Hauptbahnhof).

From Darmstadt central station (Hauptbahnhof)

The venue can be reached by bus from Darmstadt central station (Hauptbahnhof). On weekdays buses run about every 30 minutes, and on weekends about once per hour, in the direction of Roßdorf/Groß-Zimmern.

From the central station, the following buses go to the Jugendhof Bessunger Forst:

672 (direction Dieburg)
K55 (direction Roßdorf)
K55 (direction Reinheim)
K56 (direction Lichtenberg)

In addition, bus 673 runs from Darmstadt Luisenplatz (direction Gundernhausen).

You can get your bus timetable (in English) at http://www.rmv.de/auskunft/bin/jp/query.exe/en?OK#focus. Put 'Darmstadt Hauptbahnhof' as departure station/stop, and 'Darmstadt Bessunger Forsthaus Jugendhof' as destination station/stop. If you only want direct connections, you have to click on “Advanced Search” and under “Connections” set the number of connections to “No connection”.

What to bring?

Accommodation is basic, in rooms with 3-5 beds (if you didn't opt to bring your own tent). It is important that you bring a bed sheet, a pillowcase, and a duvet cover. Even if you bring your own sleeping bag, and therefore don't use the duvet provided, you still need to bring a sheet and pillowcase for hygiene reason. Although the mattresses do have some protective cover, this doesn't count as bed sheet – so bring your own.

Interpretation uses FM transmitters, so please bring a standard FM radio with headphones, so that you can listen to the interpreters without disturbing others. Nowadays, many mobile phones or MP3 players also include a FM radio.

Please bring short movies/videos relevant to the theme, as we want to organise to show movies and videos on Friday and Saturday evening (multilingual is helpful). Other information or campaigning material can be exhibited on tables, which will be available.

Arrival and departure

Arrival: Please note that you cannot stay at the venue before 8 June. If you arrive earlier, and want us to help you find accommodation, then please get in touch with us as soon as possible.

Departure: If you do not stay for the networking meeting, then you will need to leave the seminar venue on Sunday, 10 June, at about 2pm (after lunch). If you do stay for the networking meeting, then it's Monday, 11 June, after lunch. We only have very limited space for the networking meeting, so we cannot use this space for people wanting to stay just a night longer.
Again, if you want us to help you finding a place to stay, get in touch with us as soon as possible.

Help us when you leave

On departure, all rooms have to be left clean swept, the dustbins emptied, and glass bottles have to be recycled. Final cleaning will be done by the team of the Jugendhof, but if we don't do the basics, we will be charged extra. So please give us a hand.

Problems? Questions?

If you have any problems or questions, please contact us by email on militarisationofyouth@wri-irg.org, or give us a call on +44-20-3355 2364 or +44-20-7278 4040.

In the days before the study conference, it will be safer to give us a call on +44-20-3355 2364. Please use this number to call, and no other number you might have for WRI, as this number will be redirected to a mobile phone prior and during the conference.

We are looking forward to seeing you in Darmstadt.