Looking back on two years in the EUSALP Youth Council

As my two-year mandate on the EUSALP Youth Council comes to an end, I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on my experiences and achievements that I’ve made during this time.

The EU Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP) is one of four macro-regional strategies in Europe. The aim of the strategy is to promote cooperation between the 7 countries and 48 regions of the Alpine Space to address common challenges, promote sustainable development, protect the environment and improve the quality of life of its inhabitants.

Having been actively involved in setting up the Youth Council in 2021 and in laying the groundwork for youth participation in EUSALP, I am glad to see that we have acted as a guiding example for youth involvement in other international strategies, such as the EUSDR and ALCOTRA.

I firmly believe that involving youth in policy making leads to more sustainable and effective policies. Young people can not only bring new perspectives, but also point out problems or grievances in established processes.

The Youth Council fulfils several tasks within EUSALP and the Alpine Space Programme. Its members represent the youth in panel discussions, conferences and meetings. I personally took part in the General Assembly of EUSALP 2021 in France, which was attended by political representatives from all member regions and states. I have participated in several EUSALP Executive Board meetings as well as several Action Group meetings and thematic conferences. Participating in such meetings and panel discussions with experts and renowned politicians is an invaluable experience for me.

In addition to these representative tasks, the Youth Council also works on its own projects related to economic development, mobility, the environment or, in my case, the broader involvement of youth. I organised and led a workshop at the EUSALP Annual Forum, where I presented and discussed the idea of a network of local youth initiatives in the Alps with the participants. Following that, we collected more data on existing youth projects and the data is now being integrated into our new platform for youth participation.

Over the last two years, we have seen an incredible demand from various related institutions that want to involve youth and have found a contact point in the EUSALP Youth Council. With limited staff and resources, we realised that the Youth Council has a third important role to play: to be the link to other youth organisations and interested young people. Therefore, we created the EUSALP Youth Satellite Network for interested individuals and the network of local youth initiatives.

I would like to thank everyone who has accompanied me on this journey over the past two years. All the friends I’ve made along the way and all the places I’ve seen during this time - diving deep into an EU institution and seeing the world of politics from the inside has been a truly enriching experience outside the usual scope of my studies. I will stay connected to the Alps and continue to do my part to make the voice of young people heard.