Working Groups

The Baltic Sea Region Youth Forum (BSRYF) Working Groups for the 2024/2025 term were established in collaboration with the CBSS. These activities aim to create space for active youth from the Baltic Sea Region to broaden their horizons by exploring specific topics. Together with an international team, participants discuss relevant issues and work to raise awareness about them.

Activities 2024/2025 

➔  Culture Working Group: Focus on cultural minorities around the Baltic Sea Region and also will touch around the topic of youth councils and representative bodies at cultural institutions. The group’s capacity is 10 people.

➔ Safe & Secure Working Group: 

• Focus Group on Anti-trafficking: This group will work to: 
  
  1) Provide support in reviewing and editing materials produced by the project to ensure they are understandable from a youth perspective,
  2) Collaborate with the CBSS Team and the CYR’s Advocacy department to produce a joint position paper (political statement) addressing the issue in the Baltic Sea Region, and
  3) Participate in a live study visit (maximum four days) in Stockholm during the autumn season (expenses paid by the organisers). 
  
  This focus group has been established in collaboration with the CBSS Task Force against Trafficking in Human Beings (TF-THB) to support the PEX-BSR project.  

• Focus Group on Child Participation in Disaster Risk Reduction: This part of the group will work to: 
  
  1) Provide support in reviewing and contributing to the child participation mechanism produced by the project to ensure they are understandable from a youth perspective, and
  2) Participate in the hybrid Final Conference in Stockholm and online, on 28 January 2025 (expenses paid by the organisers).
  
  This focus group will be established in collaboration with the CBSS Civil Security team and the Children at Risk Unit (CAR) to support the Secure Kids project. 

The overall working group will consist of a maximum of 15 people, and anyone interested is welcome to apply between the ages of 18 and 29. Relevant experience will be considered when evaluating applications. 

About

Working Groups are dynamic bodies composed of 5 to 20 young people who focus on specific topics each year. The decision to establish these teams is made by the Baltic Sea Region Youth Forum’s Committee of Youth Representatives (CYR), who collectively make the decision. The topics can range from ecology and sustainability to advocacy or security. Some working groups are formed through collaborative efforts with various partners of the BSRYF and CBSS.

Originally, these groups were established within the framework of the Baltic Sea Youth Platform Erasmus+ project and were called the Baltic Sea Youth Working Groups. After the project’s conclusion, these groups have continued in a very similar format, remaining youth-led with guidance provided by the CBSS. They continue to play a significant role in the youth work of the Council of the Baltic Sea States. The aim of this work is to support young talents (aged 16–29) in becoming region builders and to provide youth with the opportunity to share their knowledge and discover ways to apply it in an international environment.

Mission  

The Working Groups shall:

• Foster exchange and facilitate discussions among young people in the Baltic Sea Region;
• Facilitate intergenerational dialogue by inviting experts to provide input and engage in discussions with young people;
• Draft policy statements addressed to decision-makers in the Baltic Sea Region;
• Develop new initiatives and innovative approaches to tackle challenges at the macro-regional level;
• Are an integral part of the Baltic Sea Region Youth Forum and work in collaboration with the Committee of Youth Representatives.

Commitments  

Participants of the Working Group commit to:  

• Act with good intentions and good faith towards their peers, experts;  
• Respect the values and support the mission of the Council of the Baltic Sea States;  
• Attend bi-weekly online meetings and communicate with their peers and experts in English;.  
• Be active between online meetings and contributing to policy papers drafted by the group.  

Activities  

Activities differ according to the focus of the group. A common plan of action will be developed in collaboration between the members of the group and the CBSS Secretariat. 

Templates and administrative support can be requested by the CBSS Secretariat and shall be provided according to available resources.  

The group decides among themselves if members shall be assigned specific roles, such as spokesperson, communication officer or project developer.