“Your action does not need permission to matter”

“Your action does not need permission to matter. Don’t wait until the system invites you in. Find or create your own spaces, find allies, and start your own conversations and communications. The planet needs us [the youth] to show up, and showing up even in the hardest conditions is what young Belarusians do every day.”

These were the words of BNYC “RADA”’s International Secretary, Yuliya Ralko at the opening of the European Youth Week 2026 at the European Parliament in Brussels! 

This year’s event is dedicated to ‘Solidarity and Fairness’. The opening day has gathered over 1000 young participants, policymakers and youth work professionals, who have exchanged their ideas and views during a full day of activities. 

European Youth Week is organised by the European Commission every second year to celebrate and promote youth engagement, participation and active citizenship all over Europe and beyond.

This panel focused on youth participation, decision-making and climate justice. For us, it was important to bring in the Belarusian perspective and show that climate justice is also about access to information, meaningful participation and the possibility for young people to influence decisions that affect their future.

For RADA, this moment really mattered. There were more than 1000 young people from across Europe in the room, and for many of them, it may have been the first time they heard about what young people in Belarus are still going through, and why the consequences of 2020 are not over.

It may look like just another nice photo and a short speech from the outside. But these moments are part of keeping Belarusian youth present in the European conversation, not only as a memory of 2020, but as a living political and human reality that still needs to be seen, understood and supported. That is why RADA keeps speaking about Belarusian youth wherever there is space to do so. And this time, we think we really managed to make that voice heard.

A huge thank you to the organisers for extending the invitation to this great event, Nela Reihl, Magnus Lenngren, Glenn Micallef for conversation and Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen for moderating!

• More on European Youth Week and ways to participate.
• Contribute to the next  EU Youth Strategy by filling out the consultation questionnaire.

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