On the 24th of April, YMCA Europe was represented at the European Parliament in Brussels for the opening of European Youth Week by Advocacy Officer Dragos Tarta, alongside EYRN Members Lorna Szamosi (Greece) and Oleksandra Poklovska (Sweden).
The opening ceremony marked the start of one of the most significant moments in the European youth policy calendar, an occasion that reaffirms the place of youth within the broader framework of European governance.
YMCA’s participation reflected the organisation’s sustained engagement with EU institutions and its commitment to contributing to policy dialogue at the highest levels.
European Youth Week serves as a focal point for the entirety of the European youth sector, convening civil society organisations, policymakers, practitioners, and institutional stakeholders around shared priorities and policy directions.
YMCA Europe has long been an active participant in this process, engaging constructively with partners across the sector to advance evidence-based approaches to youth policy. The diversity of civil society represented at this year’s edition underscored the continued vitality of the European youth field and the importance of coordinated action in shaping its future.
The YMCA delegation also engaged in an exchange with Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport Glenn Micallef on the trajectory of EU Youth Policy and the Erasmus+ programme.
The discussion centred on three institutional priorities: ensuring that dedicated funding streams for youth organisations are protected and maintained, improving the structural accessibility of the programme to reach underrepresented groups of youth and strengthening mechanisms for young people’s participation in the policy processes that govern their lives.
YMCA Europe remains committed to advancing these priorities through ongoing institutional dialogue, in line with its broader advocacy mandate on behalf of young people across Europe.
Engagements such as this one are central to how we fulfil our role as a voice for young people and the entire YMCA movement, and we continue to work towards a policy environment in which young people are recognised as essential contributors to Europe’s democratic future.
