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Baltic Sea Youth Platform report 2021

Baltic Sea Youth Platform is an Erasmus+ Programme project aiming at empowering youth and fostering actual participation in decisions and policy-making in the Baltic Sea Region. It started on February 1st 2020 and was prolonged from August 2022 until December 2022. Despite many difficulties and inconveniences caused by the pandemic, the project partnership supported and got involved in many significant youth-oriented initiatives throughout the past year, thus promoting the idea of BSYP.

In 2021 project partners meetings were held online every two weeks, which contributed to building strong engagement and developing new initiatives and great ideas for further cooperation.

On March 1st, BSYP conducted the Youth Forum within the 2nd EU Macro Regional Strategies week hosted by DG REGIO. Julia Orluk, ERB’s Youth Board former Chairwoman, who’s been engaged in the BSYP project from its’ very beginning, was among the panellists of the bottom-up session to empower the participation of Youth and Civil Society Organisations in MRS.

In March 2021, the First Interim Report for the Baltic Sea Youth Platform Erasmus+ project was submitted and approved by the Swedish Agency.

In April, the BSYP project participated in two youth-oriented events:  BSSSC Youth Network on April 14th and Digital Youth Workshop on Green and Social entrepreneurship co-organized with Youth4Nature.

May 2021 was another busy month for BSYP. On May 6th BSYP became a part of a youth panel during a CBSS trafficking conference focusing on human trafficking during the digital era. The meeting was co-organized by TH-TFB and the CAR unit of the CBSS. Next, on 12th – 14th May, the CBSS Ministerial Youth Edition was held, where again BSYP was very active. During the event, young people from the Baltic Sea region came up with great ideas that evaluated the CBSS Vision Statement Beyond 2030, presented to the Foreign Ministers at the CBSS Ministerial on June 1st.

Finally, between 28th and 29th May, BSYP joined the BSSSC Youth Spring Event, where modern democracy, Baltic sustainability and entrepreneurship were discussed with experts from EU Parliament.

On June 22nd, all BSYP project partners and associated partners joined Partnership Day to work on the platform vision with ACTER experts. Project partners discussed further steps regarding virtual platform development, toolkits and guidelines issues within Baltic Sea Youth Power Box, policy recommendations, youth input to the Baltic Sea Cultural Cities and other matters connected to the external report.

August 2021 was also filled with extraordinary events dedicated to Youth, and the BSYP project was proud to be a part of them. Starting up with 41st Hanseatic Days days on 19th -21st August, a hybrid event taking place in Riga and online. Among others, the program included the “Youth Hanza” event, which was a virtual meeting of young people from member cities, during which issues of current issues in the region such as the climate and environment, the participation of young people in these processes, as well as the history and traditions of Hanseatic cities were discussed interactively.

On 28th – 31st August, BSYP joined the ReGeneration Week 2021 – a hybrid event, where people participated physically on the Åland Islands and through the streaming tool Coeo. The ReGeneration Week provided an international meeting place for intergenerational dialogues for a sustainable system change. The theme for the ReGeneration Week 2021 was “ReThinking The System”, which highlights the need for a sustainable recovery after the pandemic. ReGeneration Week 2021 offered interactive lectures and workshops, intergenerational dialogues and provided tools to contribute to a more sustainable life in connection to the five different domains in Anatomy of Action.

On August 29th, the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS)/Baltic Sea Youth Platform, together with the Swedish delegation to the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC) and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden, organized the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Youth Forum to promote dialogue between young people of the region and policymakers.

The Forum gathered young people and members of parliament from the Baltic Sea Region who discussed how to secure a democratically and environmentally sustainable future. It provided an opportunity for young people to give input to policymakers on the issues at hand and gain insight into international parliamentary cooperation.

Furthermore, BSYP was an active participant at the EUSBSR Annual Forum 2021. On September 30th, CBSS organized a panel discussion on Empowering Youth for Green Entrepreneurship, which became a platform for young entrepreneurs from across the BSR to share their insights on how to start a green business and provide their experience regarding existing obstacles and barriers for receiving funding and building a business model. The panel also gave the floor to representatives of financial institutions and programmes. The participants also had an opportunity to discuss how to improve the status quo regarding financial mechanisms and accessibility and provide a more supportive environment for young people to start their businesses in the BSR. The last day of the Forum was entirely dedicated to youth issues. Participants joined a plenary session on Youth’s involvement but also heard more about Klaipėda as the European Youth Capital 2021, the role of Youth in implementing ambitious green agenda of the EU, the presentation of Lithuanian Sea Museum, creative workshop on SDGs, presentations of sustainable solutions of businesses and many more.

In October, CBSS announced a call for the Baltic Sea Youth Dialogue 2021: Looking forward, looking back – 30 Years of Collaboration in the Baltic Sea Region. The dialogue, held between 4th-28th November, consisted of three lectures on the following topics: Safe & Secure Region, Sustainable & Prosperous Region and Regional Identity. All participants of the lectures had an exciting opportunity to dialogue with experts from the region. The discussion was followed by two activities: a cross country assignment and a learning diary. Each activity’s best creative entries were later awarded during the online ceremony on December 11th 2021.

On November 1st, the Baltic Sea Youth Platform partnership announced the recruitment for the Baltic Sea Talent Pool. Young people (18-30 years old) eager to be active in shaping policies within the region could apply to join one of the working groups: advocacy – responsible for writing policy recommendations and taking part in the events,  culture – implementing local actions and being part of the development of the Baltic Sea Cultural Cities and Regions Project Or to become a part of BSYP taskforce for child protection policies.

On November 23rd, CBSS presented the BSYP during the “Connecting minds across the ages” side event at the NDPHS Partnership Annual Conference.

Finally, on 25th and 26th November, the BSYP project partners met physically in Stockholm for the first time after nearly 20 months. At the two day meeting, organized in the premises of CBSS, representatives from Sweden, Norway, Lithuania, Estonia, Germany and Poland, including many youth representatives, had an opportunity to discuss the current status of the Project, partner contribution, funding options, add-ons to be created, development of intellectual outputs within Project as well as Strategy, Vision and Partnership beyond 2022. The second day of the meeting was filled with some great workshops within the Baltic Sea Belongs to Kids project and very fruitful discussions among members of BSYP Working Groups.

  • BSYP Vision Beyond 2022

As a follow-up of the youth involvement in the first CBSS Committee of Senior Officials meeting in mid-September, BSYP was asked to provide a first draft of a vision for the BSYP after the project ended. The document is an internal document of the CBSS to continue the discussions on the institutionalization of the BSYP. It was meant to start a debate amongst the CBSS Member States on how financial support of the BSYP could look like after the Erasmus+ Project ends. On November 23rd, the CSO met and discussed the BSYP Vision Beyond 2022 proposal and how to move on with the BSYP.

This call aims to involve people aged 18 – 30 years old in shaping policies within the region. There are three thematic groups to apply:

Advocacy Working Group

Politically interested young people who want to shape policies in the Baltic Sea Region.

Culture Working Group

Active young people who want to implement local activities and advise decision – makers on cultural projects in the Baltic Sea Region.

Taskforce: Child protection

Young people who are interested in child protection policies and would like to conceptualize a child protection working group.

The deadline for the submission is November 8th, and is held via this link: https://bit.ly/3nRBaDq

More detailed information is available on the CBSS website and the Baltic Sea Youth Platform website.

The next meeting of the BSYP Working Groups is scheduled for November 25th and 26th in Stockholm and via remote tools. Euroregion Baltic will be present in Stockholm, we will have two representatives of the International permanent Secretariat and 3 Euroregion Baltic Youth Board members.

FAQ

FOR WHOM? 

Everyone between 18-30 years old. 
No special knowledge needed.

Do not worry about your level of English, joining our Working Groups is a great way to improve your own personal skills. 

HOW MUCH TIME DOES IT TAKE? 

Every group will meet twice per month.

If you join a group, you should stay active for at least 6 months. There will be tasks distributed within the group.

If you take over such responsibility, please consider carefully if you have the time to fulfil the task. 


IS THERE ANY SUPPORT AND MENTORSHIP? 

Yes, the Council of the Baltic Sea States and other partners of the Baltic Sea Youth Platform will support the groups and provide guidance whenever needed. 

WHY SHOULD I JOIN? 

This is a great opportunity to enhance your own skills in teamwork, international cooperation, the English language and in the topic you will be working in. 

You can learn a lot and share your experiences with others while working for a much bigger purpose: real youth participation in the region. 
You will be the one driving the change, engaged in all our activities and getting all the latest information before anyone else. 

You have the chance to work with mentors and experts in various fields and you can build a network that will help you throughout your life. 

WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THE WORKING GROUPS? 

The aim of the Working Groups is to promote youth cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region and show that young people are active drivers of change. You will get the chance to speak to decision-makers and influence decisions to create a more sustainable, safer and prosperous region. 

IS THERE A DEADLINE FOR THE APPLICATION? 

Yes, we will close the application on

08.11.2021, 23:59 CET Sign-u

Do you want to learn about and practice collaboration in the Baltic Sea Region? Let’s get together, get to know people from abroad and discuss what has happened with experts from the field. Even better – work on what has happened and can happen together with your peers!

The CBSS is calling 18–25-year-olds from around the region (citizens or residents from member and observer states) to join the Baltic Sea Youth Dialogue 2021: Looking forward, looking back – 30 Years of Collaboration in the Baltic Sea Region. The dialogue will consist of three lectures with the exciting opportunity to be in dialogue with experts from the region, and the following activity:

  • Cross-country assignment (group entry based on one of the lectures):
    Get together with three other young people from the region, meet, discuss, create and have fun together with the chance of winning a great prize; Only 36 places are available and an application is required!
  • Learning diary (individual entry based on an aspect from one of the lectures). As 15-25-year-olds, you can follow the streamed lectures and send in your thoughts for the chance of winning a great prize.

Make sure to read through both the terms of participation and the competition rules for both activities.TERMS OF PARTICIPATIONRULES OF CROSS-COUNTRY ASSIGNMENTRULES OF LEARNING DIARY

Apply by 24 October!APPLY HERE!

Applications, participation and creative entries are encouraged and there will be prizes for the three best groups (one in each category), and the three best individual entries. The finalists will be selected by a renowned jury and awarded during the online ceremony on 11th December 2021. The deadline for submission is Sunday, 28th November 2021.

Submissions: competition@bsyp.eu

Our Euroregion Baltic Youth Board and all Baltic Sea Youth Platform members are invited to join 1h fun class on “Fauna and flora of the #BalticSea” organised by us together with Gdynia Aquarium Akwarium Gdyńskie. Discover with us cool and funny facts about our sea!

Sign up, as we have limited no. of seats in our online class:

https://forms.gle/LeyacKTkCqSsPzhT8

During the presentation, students learn about the characteristics of the Baltic Sea, physical and chemical conditions as well as fauna and flora. During the presentation, basic ecological concepts are introduced. 

The Gdynia Aquarium is part of the National Marine Fisheries Research Institute. Our mission is to present aquatic species from around the world, as well as to transfer knowledge about the aquatic environment. The Gdynia Aquarium is a rather unusual zoological garden, in which all animals are bound to the aquatic environment, and in which the entire surface is enclosed in one building. However, despite this uniqueness, the Aquarium fulfils all the functions of a modern zoological garden, undertaking actions for the animals’ protection, propagating the ideas of environmental protection, conducting broadly understood ecological education and scientific research.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), one of the most important factors responsible for the loss of biodiversity on Earth is the excessive exploitation of species by humans. In the early 1970s, a special international agreement was established, called the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, i.e. from the English “Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora” – CITES. The aquarium is a shelter for animals from the CITES list. 

Dear ERB Youth Board members and youngsters from all ERB regions. Please find below the latest Baltic Sea Youth Platform Newsletter.

It contains the registration links to all our events.

Click here to see it:


Please share the information within your networks.
If you did not receive the newsletter, or there are people in your networks who would also like to be updated on our events, please subscribe here. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Aline Mayr, our BSYP Coordinator at CBSS: Aline Mayr aline.mayr@cbss.org 

The newsletter has invitations to meetings like CBSS Ministerial 2021: Youth Edition, Baltic Sea Parliamentary Youth Forum 2021  and many more!

CBSS Ministerial 2021: Youth Edition

This year’s CBSS Annual meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Baltic Sea Region countries under the Lithuanian Presidency will feature a series of events giving a platform for young people to have their say.

If you’re 16-30 years old, sign up to have your say on the future of the Baltic Sea Region in a youth declaration that will be presented to the Ministers, ask all your burning questions in a Q&A session with the Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis and learn about what we do at the CBSS to include young people in decision-making and what you can do.

MORE INFO & REGISTER

Apply to participate in a hybrid meeting for young people and members of parliament from the Baltic Sea Region to discuss how to secure a democratically and environmentally sustainable future. The Baltic Sea Parliamentary Youth Forum on Saturday, 28 August 2021 will provide an opportunity for you to give your input to policymakers on the issues at hand and to gain insight into international parliamentary cooperation. 

The Baltic Sea Parliamentary Youth Forum is organised by the Swedish delegation to the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC), the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS)/Baltic Sea Youth Platform and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden in order to promote dialogue between young people of the region and policymakers. The purpose is also to capture valuable input from the young generation, which is of great importance in our common endeavour to build back our region – better, greener and stronger – after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Open application

You are welcome to apply if you are between 16-30 years old, interested in climate change, biodiversity and/or democracy and the Baltic Sea Region, and based in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, the Russian Federation or Sweden. Please apply by 30 April (noon (CET) and read more in the downloadable information sheet.Baltic Sea Parliamentary Youth Forum

D

 APPLY here! 

All the information is available also here https://cbss.org/2021/04/01/apply-for-the-baltic-sea-parliamentary-youth-forum-2021/

Young people are key in shaping the macroregional strategies #MRS & our future! After great experience during the Youth Dialogue session earlier this week #EUMRSWeek, you can read now the #YouthManifesto here: https://www.eurobalt.org/youth-manifesto-to-shape-european-cooperation-policy/

Aline Mayr from CBSS, Leader of our Baltic Sea Youth Platform project supported by the Erasmus+ programme explained how we engage youngsters from the Baltic Sea Region to become more involved in cooperation activities.

See here:

We also encourage you to see the MRS summary video explaining the macroregional strategies in Europe here:

Did you miss the #EUMRSWeek?

No worries! You can rewatch the open sessions:

  • Involvement of civil society
  • Youth Dialogue
  • MRS & Covid-19 recovery

Go to the event website – https://eumrsweek.app.swapcard.com/event/2nd-eu-macro-regional-strategies-week

A group of young Europeans has contributed to the publication of the “Manifesto for Young People by Young People to Shape the European Cooperation Policy” in October 2020, on the occasion of the 30 years of Interreg, which is the EU’s flagship scheme for cooperation across borders at the regional and national level, to the benefit of all EU citizens. The Manifesto is the result of a truly democratic and bottom-up process to involve young people in shaping the future of EU cohesion policy and especially of Interreg and the Macro-Regional Strategies (MRS).  

Following targeted surveys, polls and online group discussions with young people from all over Europe, the Manifesto presents five areas of concerns for European youth especially linked to:

1) education and training opportunities;

2) employment and job market;

3) digitalisation;

4) climate change;

5) citizens’ engagement.  

12 concrete recommendations are presented mainly addressing decision-makers and administrations at the EU, national, regional and local level to show what they can do to best address young people’s requests.   

core group of young people and organisations interested in European cooperation and/or citizens’, and especially young people’s, engagement, as well as European Commission’s staff, hold regular informal exchanges to best disseminate the Manifesto and ensure its proper follow up with the implementation of the 12 recommendations. 

The Manifesto is in the hands of anyone interested in improving EU cohesion policy and especially its cooperation dimension. Being it for a young person, a politician or someone working in a local, regional or national administration, the Manifesto is a great tool to show that young people’s ideas can only improve the way we build a better, fairer and stronger EU for all. As such, young people’s voices must be heard! 

All Interreg and Macro Regional Strategies actors are invited to implement the 12 recommendations and to further promote the Manifesto with their network!

Youth have their say! Don’t miss the 1 March afternoon session of the #MacroRegionalStrategies week dedicated to the Youth. We will be present thanks to the Baltic Sea Youth Platform project #BSYP and we encourage all Euroregion Baltic Youth Board members to join us! More info about the #MRS week here: https://www.balticsea-region-strategy.eu/…/591151-eu…

Also, if you’re interested in Young Europeans’ involvement in the future of European Territorial Cooperation you should read the Manifesto for Young People by Young People to Shape the European Cooperation Policy. The whole Manifesto is available for reading and download here: https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/brochure/youth_manifesto_interreg_en.pdf you

Baltic Sea Youth Platform is an Erasmus+ Programme project that aims to empower youth and foster real participation in decision and policy-making in the Baltic Sea Region. The platform will enable youth organisations to reach their fullest potential by empowering them to develop new ideas and pursue them jointly, under the 2030 Agenda framework’s guidance. Moreover, it will engage youth at different levels to design a common framework for action and a shared Baltic Sea Region (BSR) identity. The partnership aims to improve youth’s political impact on Baltic Sea policy-making, develop tools for better knowledge transfer, and facilitate various innovative projects relying on the interests and capacities of youth in a broad range of policy areas.

The BSYP project started on February 1st 2020 and will be completed in August 2022. Throughout the past year, it supported and got involved in many youth-oriented initiatives, thus promoting BSYP.

On 2-3rd March 2020 in Elbląg, the first physical strategic partner meeting took place. Partners from CBSS, BSSSC, UBC, ESN Finland and via Skype Lithuanian Youth Council met to discuss budgetary issues, intellectual outputs, and activities planned for 2020 among many Baltic Sea Youth Camp EUSBSR Forum in Turku.

Over the next months, partners focused on intensive preparations for the Baltic Sea Youth Camp 2020, developing youth working groups, recruiting its members, communicating campaigns, and collecting feedback for the BSYP development purpose.

Between 2-5th June 2020 BSYP participated in the BSSSC Spring Youth Event. On the 5th day of the conference, Ms Kaarina Williams and Aline Meyer from CBSS (BSYP Project Leader) introduced BSYP as a new tool for youth participation in BSR. 

Only one week later, on 12-13th June the Baltic Sea Youth Camp 2020 took place. Due to the emerging pandemic outbreak in Europe, the event was held online, instead of primarily planned camp in Turku. The event gathered experts, youth and all enthusiasts of the Baltic Sea Region. It gave them a chance to work on EUSBSR issues and to join the discussion on regional co-operation, climate change, bioeconomy, SDGs, education, culture and youth – leadership and networking.

On July 8th, the first online BSYP working groups meeting was held. Participants who applied for joining Advocacy,  PowerBox, Culture and Cities, Research, IT  or Communication working group discussed each group’s framework and work plan for the next months.

BSYP was also a partner for the BSSSC Autumn Youth Event organised on 22-24th September, which concerned circular economy and plastic-free Baltic, Baltic identity and culture, intelligent transport and mobility and finally co-operation.

At the begging of October, several local events for young people were organised to familiarise youth with the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. One of the hubs was organised by ERB on October 5th in Elbląg Technological Park. Its purpose was to encourage youth to choose science and technology studying path.

On October 17th the second edition of virtual Baltic Sea Youth Camp took place. Again the event gathered many young people who joined an interactive and fruitful discussion with the participation of many decisionmakers who presented their personal experience within the EUSBSR. The event resulted in development of a very promising EUSBSR Youth Declaration which was later explained by Ms Aline Meyer, BSYP project leader, on the 11th Annual Forum of the EUSBSR digital edition on October 20th 2020, during a panel discussion about merging knowledge, skills and working cross-generationally in the BSR.

At the turn of October and November BSYP was also engaged in the Baltic Sea Youth Dialogue Competition initiative encouraging youth to show their creativity in terms of BSR co-operation.

The content of this website is the sole responsibility of the author and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union, the Managing Authority or the Joint Secretariat of the South Baltic Cross-border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020. The project UMBRELLA is partly financed from the Interreg South Baltic Programme 2014-2020 through the European Regional Development Fund.