The European Youth Representative Network (EYRN) concluded its ground-breaking “Community Solutions Hub: From Issues to Impact” international activity on September 13, 2025, marking a significant milestone in youth-led advocacy across Europe.
The five-day intensive programme in Brussels successfully brought together 30 young leaders from across the continent to develop innovative approaches to community engagement and evidence-based policy advocacy.
This transformative initiative, co-funded by the European Youth Foundation, represents the next evolution of YMCA Europe’s commitment to empowering young people as agents of change in their communities. Building upon the success of previous EYRN projects such as “Know Your Say“ and “Beyond Borders, Building Change,” this programme equipped participants with sophisticated tools and methodologies to translate community needs into concrete policy solutions.
Strategic Institutional Engagement
The programme demonstrated YMCA Europe’s growing influence within European policy circles through carefully curated institutional visits that positioned participants at the heart of democratic decision-making. A tailored visit to the European Commission provided unprecedented access to EU policymakers, enabling direct dialogue between young advocates and institutional representatives on policy development and European governance.
This engagement reinforced the EYRN’s role as a credible voice in European youth advocacy, building essential relationships for future policy interventions.
Furthermore, a dialogue with representatives of the Government Affairs team of Microsoft at their Brussels office connected participants with private sector innovation and artificial intelligence applications for civic participation. These high-level interactions positioned EYRN members as informed interlocutors capable of engaging across diverse institutional landscapes, from EU institutions to driving technological transformation.
The Needs Assessment Framework: A Revolutionary Tool
At the programme’s core was the development and piloting of the Needs Assessment Framework (NAF), a standardized methodology designed to ground youth advocacy in empirical evidence and community-driven data. This comprehensive tool represents a paradigmatic shift from intuition-based advocacy to systematic, research-informed policy development.
The NAF incorporates multiple analytical dimensions, including demographic analysis, issue prioritization, stakeholder mapping, root cause analysis, and community asset identification.
The framework’s significance extends beyond methodological innovation; it establishes a common language and approach across the European YMCA movement, enabling comparative analysis of youth needs across diverse national contexts. By standardizing data collection and analysis processes, the NAF creates unprecedented opportunities for cross-border collaboration and evidence-based policy development at both local and European levels.
Experiential Learning Through Simulation
The programme used immersive simulations to build practical advocacy skills. In the Policy Escape Room, participants navigated complex regulations, strengthening their understanding of institutional processes and legal interpretation.
The Community Service Marketplace exposed them to barriers faced by marginalized youth, deepening awareness of systemic inequalities and reinforcing the need for inclusive policy design.
Transformative Network Evolution
The programme marks a significant evolution in the EYRN’s mission and capabilities, transitioning from awareness-raising campaigns to evidence-based policy development. This transformation builds upon previous initiatives including “Know Your Say” and “Beyond Borders, Building Change,” establishing a progressive trajectory of increasing sophistication in advocacy approaches.
The integration of advanced analytical tools, institutional engagement strategies, and systematic data collection methodologies positions the EYRN as a leading example of youth-led advocacy in Europe. This evolution demonstrates YMCA Europe’s commitment to empowering young people not merely as participants in democratic processes but as architects of evidence-based policy solutions addressing community-identified needs.
Pan-European Implementation Strategy
The programme’s impact goes beyond the Brussels training, with the NAF piloted across Europe to build a database of youth needs and community assets. This pan-European approach ensures local insights shape broader advocacy and policy recommendations.
A standardized methodology enables cross-country comparisons, highlighting shared trends and region-specific challenges, and strengthening the evidence base for inclusive European-level advocacy.
Expert Guidance and Methodological Rigor
The programme benefited significantly from the presence of HP Inc.’s Director for Global Policy & Strategy, Dr. Markus Schwertel, providing expert input in developing robust theoretical frameworks for community engagement and data-driven advocacy. The integration of theories of change methodology provided participants with sophisticated analytical tools for mapping pathways from community problems to policy solutions, ensuring that advocacy efforts are grounded in clear logic and measurable outcomes.
This methodological approach, combined with training in data collection techniques ranging from quantitative surveys to qualitative stakeholder interviews, elevated the programme beyond basic advocacy skills to high-grade research and policy development capabilities.
The Community Solutions Hub programme represents a watershed moment in the evolution of youth advocacy across Europe, demonstrating YMCA Europe’s commitment to evidence-based policy development and institutional engagement at the highest levels. By successfully combining rigorous methodological training with strategic institutional access, the programme has equipped a new generation of young advocates with unprecedented capabilities for community-driven change.
The introduction of the Needs Assessment Framework as a standardized tool for European implementation promises to revolutionize how youth organizations approach policy development, creating opportunities for comparative analysis and coordinated advocacy that extends far beyond national boundaries.
This activity is supported by the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe, a unique initiative promoting activities developed with, for & by young people.
Co-funded by the European Youth Foundation
