Youth

Empowering young voices in the Baltic Sea Region, the CBSS fosters active engagement and meaningful participation, making youth a cornerstone of regional identity and cooperation.

Overview

The CBSS fosters active and meaningful youth participation and representation in institutions and decision-making processes in the Baltic Sea Region through intergenerational dialogue on topics affecting young people. The CBSS functions as a forum for policy dialogues and supports actors in aligning ongoing processes. Furthermore, the CBSS as an intergovernmental structure provides relevant educational resources for young people and decision makers to support the implementation of the Vilnius II Declaration and the CBSS Action Plan.  

Mandate
  • Senior Officials: coordinate youth activities during the CBSS Presidency and between Ministerial Conferences.
  • The Baltic Sea Region Youth Forum (BSRYF) is the central platform for youth leadership and coordination in the Baltic Sea Region established in 2023. It empowers young individuals and organizations to actively participate in decision-making, fostering collaboration and addressing regional challenges. It supports the goals of the Vilnius II Declaration.
Key engagements and initiatives
  • Baltic Sea Youth Dialogue (BSYD): a one-week in-depth seminar bringing together young and established experts on a specific and timely topic relevant to macro-regional cooperation.
  • Youth Hackathons: an annual event for young innovators to create digital solutions for regional challenges.
  • Youth Working Groups specialized teams of young individuals dedicated to exploring critical topics that shape the Baltic Sea Region’s future: Culture Working Group, Safe & Secure Working Group (Anti-trafficking, Child Participation in Disaster Risk Reduction).
  • CBSS Youth Ministerial: an avenue to elevate youth voices to high-level ministerial discussions. Co-organized by the CBSS Secretariat and the presidency for a given year.
  • Baltic Sea Parliamentary Youth Forum (BSPYF): enables young people to participate actively in the Annual Conference of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC) and share their views in a common policy recommendation paper.  
  • Baltic Sea Youth Camp (BSYC): a prelude to the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region Annual Forum. Various youth formats are cooperating to update the Baltic Sea Youth Declaration presented to all stakeholders of the EUSBSR.
Partners/Members

Project partners are mentioned in the specific activities and project tabs. You can become a partner or member of the BSRYF by signing up here. 

Facts & Figures
  • Over 150 young people have participated in the Baltic Sea Youth Dialogue since 2014.
  • The Baltic Sea Youth Platform emerged from the Baltic Sea Youth Dialogue in 2018, expanding youth participation in regional politics.
  • More than 200 young contributors shaped the 2022 Baltic Sea Youth Declaration.


For further details, visit the CBSS Youth page and explore their youth engagement initiatives.

CBSS Youth’s Website

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