BSRYF Working Groups for the 2025/2026 term

Are you passionate about climate change and how it affects people’s daily lives now, as well as in the near future? Would you like to learn more about pro-environmental initiatives in the Baltic Sea Region? Are you curious about the concept of climate justice and how it can be applied to regional policy-making? If yes, this Working Group is a perfect place for you!

This group will focus on one or more of the following topics, depending on the interest of the selected members: 

• climate adaptation strategies, 
• climate disinformation, 
• green economy, 
• climate finance, 
• climate justice 

The possible outputs include a social media campaign, a policy paper, or a series of events.

The ideal candidate for this Working Group can, but doesn’t necessarily need to have, academic or professional experience with climate issues. The goal is to create a group of people who are motivated to work together on enhancing awareness of the environmental issues in the Baltic Sea Region, while advancing youth voices in the policy-making processes.

The proposed meeting time is Wednesday at 18:00 CET every two weeks, which will be further adjusted to meet the needs of the majority of the participants.

Are you interested in sustainable transport, green shipping & ports and renewable energy? Join our Working Group to share ideas, and contribute to real EU policies while connecting with other young people passionate about a more sustainable future for the Baltic Sea Region.

Our discussions will focus on:

1. Green Energy Transition & Alternative Fuels – exploring renewable solutions; familiarising with EU and international policy and regulatory frameworks (IMO, EU Green Deal, Fit for 55).
2. Sustainable Maritime Transport – green shipping and emission reduction in shipping and ports, with possible extensions to other transport modes.
3. Cross-border cooperation for sustainable transport and green energy (Macro-regional and pan-European cooperation; EU funding programmes; HELCOM)
4. Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation in Shipping and Ports
5. Research and Development (R&D) and new technologies for green transport – best practices supporting decarbonisation, emission reduction and accelerating the green transition.

Outcomes:

By joining, you’ll advocate for sustainable and efficient energy use and transport across the Baltic Sea Region, focusing on renewable energy, decarbonization, green shipping & ports and cross-border cooperation. Activities will include preparing input for the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) Policy Areas Action Plans, joining meetings, events and workshops, and contributing to cross-policy dialogue.

Members get a Certificate of Participation + chances to join key meetings, influence EU policy, and network across the Baltic Sea Region! This is also a chance to discover career or academic pathways in sustainable transport and green energy.

Time commitment:

The WG will meet bi-weekly (day and time will be agreed to meet the needs of the majority of the participants).

Technology is transforming how we engage with democracy, offering opportunities for greater transparency, inclusivity, and responsiveness. Yet without meaningful youth input, social challenges and systemic vulnerabilities may go unaddressed. If you want to shape digital governance, explore AI and cybersecurity in civic contexts, safeguard digital rights, and contribute to policy and innovation across the Baltic Sea Region, this Working Group is your platform.

Our Focus Areas:

1. Digital Literacy & Civic Resilience

• Understand and counter misinformation, algorithms, and hybrid threats.
• Promote safe online practices and meaningful civic engagement in digital spaces.

2. Demystifying AI & Emerging Technologies

• Make AI understandable and promote its responsible, ethical use.
• Assess the risks and opportunities of technological disruption. 

3. Fostering Digital Democracy & Innovation

• Reimagine democratic institutions and public engagement with technology.
• Analyze the impact of digital tools on inclusion, trust, and decision-making quality.
• Explore citizen-driven innovation, decentralized participation, and mission-oriented policy approaches.

What You Will Gain:

• Hands-On Experience: Develop fact-checking campaigns and digital literacy workshops.
• Policy Impact: Contribute to youth-led policy papers, toolkits, and recommendations.
• Networking & Mentorship: Collaborate with experts, NGOs, CBSS government officials, EU institutions, and peers across the region.
• Skill Development: Build expertise in policy strategy, digital literacy, cybersecurity, and democratic innovation – highly valuable for all future careers in policy, academia, journalism, law, and business.

We welcome motivated youth who:

• Are aged between 16-30 years old and nationals/living in a CBSS member state. 
• Are passionate about the intersection of technology, policy, and governance.
• Comfortable working in English.
• Want to develop practical skills and build a regional network.
• Are willing to critically assess technologies and commit to advancing digital literacy and participatory democracy.

We strongly encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds. No prior expertise is required. Curiosity, commitment, and creativity are enough. 

Commitment: The success and direction of this WG depend on the active participation of its members.

Meeting Schedule: Bi-weekly (day and time to be confirmed).

Are you passionate about civic engagement, want to have more debates on the issues in the region and would like to encourage youth to speak up on their interests and organisations to listen? If yes, the Youth Advocacy working group is excited for you to contribute. 

Our work will focus on: 

• Introducing young people to Baltic Sea Region issues and institutions in an accessible way
• Collaborating with local youth organizations and completing campaigns to spread the word on issues and actions in the Baltic Sea Region
• Organising workshops and panels to raise awareness and learn how to speak up and understand complicated matters
• Compiling issues important to youth and submitting policy recommendations
• Raising awareness of regional engagement opportunities for young people

By joining you have the opportunity to raise various topics important to you, your peers and your region. Additionally, you get to collaborate with different organizations, officials and young people to organize events and campaigns on current issues. 

Candidates for this working group should be between the ages of 16-30 and have a good command of English. It would be beneficial, but not necessary to have prior experience with event organization and communications – it is enough to be interested in such matters. 

The working group will meet twice a month online, the exact time to be determined by the needs and availability of the participants.

Catch line:

Are you passionate about cultural diversity and youth participation in shaping cultural life across the Baltic Sea Region? Do you want to connect with organizations, institutions, and people working in the field of culture while promoting intercultural dialogue? Are you curious about how young people can play a stronger role not only in cultural life but also in the decision-making processes within it? If yes, this Working Group is the perfect place for you!

Topics:

• creating an intercultural dialogue
• cultural diversity in the Baltic Sea Region
• increasing the participation of young people in the area of ​​culture, also in decision-making processes within it
• situation and involvement in the area of ​​culture of ethnic, national and linguistic minorities (focusing mainly on the involvement of minority youth) living in the member states of the Council of the Baltic Sea States
• strengthening social resilience in BSR municipalities via culture

The outcome of the WG:

• research on the situation and involvement of minority youth in the field of culture
• active participation in EUSBSR PA Culture and BSR Cultural Pearls meetings, bringing youth perspectives into regional cultural cooperation
• organisation of workshops to strengthen intercultural dialogue and youth participation in cultural life
• involvement in youth and culture events across the Baltic Sea Region to raise visibility of young voices in decision-making
• social media campaign dedicated to promoting youth engagement in culture

If you are…

If you are between 16 and 29 years old, living in one of the Member States of the Council of the Baltic Sea States or holding the nationality thereof, and you are passionate about cultural diversity, minority rights, and strengthening youth voices in cultural life and decision-making in the Baltic Sea Region, join the Culture Working Group!

Time: 

The group will meet on the first Wednesday of each month between 19:00 and 20:00 CET, with the schedule adjusted if necessary to accommodate the majority of participants.

5 sentences describing the WG that we can use as a catch line:

Young people across the Baltic Sea Region are empowered to build practical and ethical AI for Europe. We focus on bringing AI capacity home by developing collaborative skills and infrastructure ideas. We keep sustainability at the core and decrease the environmental footprint of AI. Other WGs and youth events should benefit from our results.

Topics of this WG are (name very concrete 5 topic discussions you plan to have):

1. European AI sovereignty – industrial policies, investments and cross-border partnerships to reduce dependence on non-EU providers.
2. Compute and data resources as public interest infrastructure
3. Making the EU AI Act work
4. Skills, literacy, and inclusion – non-formal education, must-have standards for AI literacy and bridging gaps.
5. Transparency on environmental impacts, incentives for “green AI”

The outcome of this workshop will be:
A portfolio of small-group projects ready for presentation and improvement via the [#b_hack] Hackathon and reusable resources that other WGs and youth events can adopt. We will also respond to AI-related questions from other WGs and events.

Finish this sentence: If you are passionate about sustainable AI in Europe, join the AI Working Group.

Time of WG: Every second Wednesday of the month, 18:00-19:00 CET

Full description (if you got any) and any other notes:

The AI Working Group brings together youth from across the Baltic Sea Region to shape a European approach to AI that is democratic, sustainable and independent from non-EU providers. We discuss how the EU AI Act can be implemented locally, how infrastructure and skills can be built fairly and how AI can contribute without undermining the environment. A central element of our work is that participants form small teams and choose their own projects. These are developed independently by the groups, while the Working Group offers a common platform for feedback, exchange, and coordination. The results will be presented through the [#b_hack] Hackathon in Lübeck (GER), shared with other Working Groups and integrated into youth events across the BSR. Participation is open to everyone: no technical background is required, only the motivation to actively contribute to Europe’s AI future.