Every community deserves Empowerment Self Defence.
Across more than 100 communities in and around Europe, Empowerment Self-Defence (ESD) instructors are helping young people, survivors, displaced and marginalized communities, and women build safer, stronger lives. They teach practical physical, verbal, and emotional skills that help people recognise danger, trust their instincts, use their voice, set boundaries, and reclaim their power.
Many of these instructors are volunteers, working in communities where the need is greatest but resources are limited. ESD Europe supports them through training, mentoring, and professional development so they can continue delivering life-changing programmes.
Each year, our Advanced Learning Seminar gives instructors a unique opportunity to connect, grow, exchange best practices, and recharge. They return home with new skills, renewed energy, and stronger networks to better serve their communities.
For many instructors, attending the seminar is only possible with financial support. Travel, accommodation, and participation costs are beyond their reach.
Your donation does more than sponsor an instructor's participation. It helps bring life-saving knowledge, confidence, and safety skills to hundreds of people who might otherwise never have access to Empowerment Self-Defence.
Together, we can empower those who empower others - and help more people live free from violence, fear, and intimidation.
What is ESD and ESD Europe?
Empowerment Self-Defence is a research-backed, trauma-informed approach to violence prevention education. Unlike traditional self-defence, ESD is holistic. It combines awareness, boundary-setting, verbal assertiveness, and physical techniques to help people of all backgrounds navigate unsafe situations with confidence.
Participants stories speak for themselves:
"I was really surprised that I reacted so fast. I moved his hand away, yelled 'no' and left. I was still shocked that he would dare touch my body – but I was also feeling really empowered, realizing ESD deeply taught me how to be aware and react fast." — Julie, ESD participant
"After the workshop, when it happened again, I didn't dare to react on the spot – but after I remembered you saying that telling is important. So I went and told my mother. She didn't believe me, but I didn't give up. My uncle was arrested and made to go to treatment. It really helped the family." — A teenage participant, shared by an ESD instructor
"I asked my cousin if she wanted to go with him – she seemed pretty uncomfortable. He got angry that I came back for her, but I didn't respond to him and I just took my cousin and left. She was very grateful." — Livie, ESD participant
These stories happen because a trained instructor walked into a classroom, a community center, a youth shelter and shared their skills, confidence and knowledge.
A 2016 report commissioned by the European Parliament's Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality identified Empowerment Self-Defence as the most effective approach for preventing and reducing gender-based violence. Based on an analysis of dozens of studies from across the European Union, the report recommends that EU institutions and member states implement ESD programmes to advance gender equality, empower women, and reduce gender-based violence.
ESD Europe is the network of Empowerment Self Defence instructors in Europe and the world. We aim to establish Empowerment Self-Defence (ESD) as a key primary violence prevention strategy for women and populations in a vulnerable situation. Our programs include preparation of Empowerment Self-Defence Instructors to teach in their local communities
The seminar
From October 7-10 2026 (traveling days 6 and 11), ESD Europe is hosting its 3rd Advanced Learning Seminar in Golem, Albania, organized by ESD Albania.
30 ESD instructors who are also youth workers, educators, and violence prevention advocates from across Europe will gather for four intensive days of:
- Advanced trauma-informed teaching techniques
- Scenario design and real-life application
- Working with youth, survivors, and vulnerable populations
- Leadership, mentorship, and professional development
- Community building across borders
These are people who are already doing the work and will come back to their communities, better equipped for years to come.
What Past Seminar Attendees say
"Although I was already working in the field when I attended my first ESD Europe seminar, it proved to be one of those experiences that genuinely shifted my perspective. The opportunity to spend time with instructors from across the world, sharing ideas, challenges, and different approaches to teaching, reminded me how much we can achieve by learning from one another. Many of those conversations have continued beyond the seminar, leading to ongoing collaboration and a supportive international network.
The programme combined thoughtful discussion with practical learning. I particularly valued the sessions on adapting ESD creatively and effectively for different groups, including people with disabilities, those who identify as transgender, and those in the sex work industry. Revisiting pragmatic physical techniques and games also gave me fresh ideas and renewed confidence in methods I continue to use in my own work.
What stood out just as much was the sense of community. Anat and Gentiana were conscientious mentors throughout, offering practical support not only during the seminar but also afterwards with programme design, delivery, and operational questions. Knowing that support was there made it easier to put new ideas into practice.
I came away with more than new techniques. I left feeling connected to an international community of practitioners, with renewed enthusiasm for the work and relationships that continue to enrich my practice today." - Maya D'Amour, ESD Instructor in the UK
"I attended the ESD Advanced Seminar last October because, although I had been teaching trauma-informed self-defence in the UK for some time, I felt there were areas where I still needed to grow — particularly around verbal de-escalation and boundary-setting. ESD's principles and aims also resonated strongly with my own values, so I was excited to learn more.
What I took away from the seminar was so much more than a chance to build my skills. I found a supportive community of mentors and instructors who shared my belief in a more effective, trauma-informed approach to self-defence for vulnerable groups. Meeting the other delegates was one of the highlights for me: hearing their stories, learning about their backgrounds, and discovering the projects they hoped to develop in their own countries was genuinely inspiring.
The seminar itself was very well organised and wide-ranging, with engaging talks on delivering ESD training to diverse vulnerable groups, alongside practical sessions on branding, developing roleplays and physical techniques. It opened my eyes to the wider possibilities of ESD, both in my own practice and internationally. Most importantly, it gave me a network of amazing mentors and fellow instructors I can turn to — to share challenges, develop ideas, and feel part of a wider movement working to make self-defence more trauma-informed, empowering, and accessible." - Tamsin Davis, ESD Instructor in the UK
We don't want financial hardship to stop growth
The seminar fee covers five nights of accommodation, meals, training materials, and the full program. For many instructors, this cost, combined with low-paid or volunteer work or personal circumstances, makes attendance impossible.
That's why we've created this GoFundMe.
What your donation does
We're raising money to award partial or full scholarships to ESD instructors who would otherwise not be able to attend.
Every donation goes directly to covering seminar costs for scholarship recipients — accommodation, meals, training materials, and program fees.
Your donation impact:
€25 Covers one instructor's materials and certificate
€50 Covers one day of accommodation for an instructor
€267 Covers one instructor's full accommodation and meals
€600 Sends one ESD instructor to the full seminar
€3000 Funds 5 instructors; 5 communities strengthened
Each instructor who attends will return home with new tools, renewed confidence, and deeper skills, and pass all of that on to the people in their community who need it most.
A thank-you for your support
We're offering a few rewards for donors:
- €30+ We'll email you a digital handbook on boundary setting, packed with practical ESD techniques you can use in everyday life.
- €600+ You'll support an instructors attendance. To thank you for this significant support, you'll receive a free exclusive web seminar, led by experienced instructors about Empowerment Self-Defence principles. We'll reach out to schedule a date and angle that works for you.
These are our way of saying thank you for your support. Of course, the real reward is knowing you helped an instructor reach the seminar this October.
Who we are
This fund is organized by ESD Europe, the network behind the seminar. ESD Europe coordinates Empowerment Self-Defence education and professional development across the continent, supporting instructors who work with women, youth, survivors of violence, displaced communities, and more.
For questions, don't hesitate to reach out through this page or www.esdeurope.org
Our instructors help people change their lives, because they invest in their training. Please invest in ours.
Donate today. Share this page. Help us get 15 instructors to Golem this October.