RADA participated in the EU Youth Conference during the Polish Presidency
The EU Youth Conference during the Polish Presidency took place from 2nd to 5th March 2025 in Lublin, former European Youth Capital in 2023. The conference is an integral part of the youth dialogue consultation, bringing together young people from across Europe and EU candidate countries to discuss how Youth Goal #1 could be implemented at a European level.
The EU Youth Conference brought together 300 young people from almost 40 countries: from the European Union and the EU Candidate countries.
During 2,5 days delegations of young people and policy makers worked together and came up with valid recommendations towards (youth) policy makers. Experts and decision makers were invited to give input on the topic and support this process. Outcomes of the EUYC will feed into Council documents.
RADA participated in The EU Youth Conference for the first time.
What happened at the conference?
- Panel discussions and working groups;
- Developing policy recommendations for the EU;
- Debating youth participation in politics and European values.
Belarusian National Youth Council “RADA” and the National Youth Council of Ukraine (NYCU) were part of a group focusing on European values, where we discussed:
- Euroscepticism and radicalization among youth;
- The role of youth in strengthening European unity;
- Access to EU education and youth programs.
It was truly inspiring to see so many young people from different countries coming together to be heard and talk about their needs. At first, working in our group was not easy – our topic, «European values», was very broad, and everyone had different opinions and challenges.
Yulia Ralko, the International Secretary of RADA
But when we raised the issues of Belarusian youth, like access to Erasmus+, people in the group supported us, saying, «Yes, yes, this is important, let’s write it down!». It was clear that European youth stands with us and sees us as equal partners.
Yulia also highlights the importance of Belarusian contributions to the conference:
One of the most powerful moments was seeing our ideas appear on the screen in the final conference document. It really made us feel that Belarusian youth can and must influence EU processes and decision-making.
Together with the National Youth Council of Ukraine delegate we strongly advocated for the inclusion of Eastern Partnership countries in the Youth Dialogue mechanism. We didn’t just talk – our ideas became part of the official recommendations!
Why should Belarus be included in the Youth Dialogue?
- Access to the European political process;
- A chance to raise Belarusian youth issues at the EU level;
- Support for youth organizations and initiatives;
- Stronger international advocacy for Belarus;
- A political signal of EU solidarity with Belarusian youth.
A huge thank you to our partners – the Polish Council of Youth Organisations (PROM), the European Youth Forum (YFJ) and everyone supporting Belarusian youth internationally!
Belarus is Europe! Belarusian youth must be part of the European dialogue!
