The 2025 edition of Your Europe, Your Say! (YEYS), the European Economic and Social Committee's (EESC) annual youth event, took place on 13 and 14 March under the theme 'Giving youth a voice', focusing on the role of young people in collectively shaping a resilient future. 

This year's event brought together nearly 100 young people from across the EU, the EU's nine candidate countries, and the UK. The participants represented youth organisations, national youth councils and secondary schools, highlighting the concerns of a wide range of groups. While many are experienced youth advocates, for others, this event marked an important first step in engaging with participatory democracy in their communities and beyond.

During several workshops, young people, guided by facilitators, identified the most pressing issues they believed political actors should address. These issues ranged from the fight against corruption to developing a coherent climate strategy and ensuring equal rights for all. As corruption erodes trust in institutions and weakens democracy, it is imperative to support investigative journalism and to improve transparency in the use of taxpayers' money.

'We must ensure accountability. We cannot afford to be bystanders because the cost of inaction is too high. We must fight it and win it,' one YEYSer said.

Young people also expressed the need for common goals in the fight against climate change, highlighting the need 'to enshrine an existence free from the adverse effects of climate change.' They called for a values-based curriculum design, which would positively impact online behavior and mitigate disinformation. The YEYS participants also advocated equal rights, treatment and opportunities, in addition to inclusion for everyone in all spaces. Regarding the lack of youth representation in political decision-making processes, they stressed that a democracy requires all voices to be heard.

The one-and-a-half-day event culminated in the closing youth plenary, where a committed and engaged crowd presented their recommendations to EESC president Oliver Röpke and EU youth coordinator Biliana Sirakova. Following a vote, YEYSers ranked five focus points in order of importance.

(1) Fighting corruption through transparency and youth participation.

(2) Active citizenship: from classroom to community.

(3) IN for equality.

(4) Youth deserves a seat.

(5) Developing a coherent climate change strategy.

President Röpke stressed that these recommendations could shape the EESC's advisory work, highlighting gender equality as a key priority for the Committee. Ms Sirakova noted that these recommendations would also help inform the work of the EU. (cpwb)