Act local – connect European – think global: As part of Generation Europe – The Academy, the local youth groups continue to be active in their cities and communities this year. The projects planned by the young people are diverse, but have a common basis: they enable participation and advocate positive change. Here are 22 examples of what the groups are planning across Europe.
Krzyżowa, Poland
The local group is continuing work on the restoration of the memorial of the former concentration camp Groß Rosen in the cemetery of Grodziszcze, a village near Krzyżowa. In doing so, the activists are deepening their understanding of the history of the place and how it is perceived in the local community. They are also planning an awareness campaign on the topic of well-being, neurodiversity and mental health, as well as preparing further international activities. The youth group is supported and organised by the Krzyżowa Foundation for Mutual Understanding in Europe.
Itri, Italy
The local group in Itri is planning activities for 2025 organised by our partner organisation Esplora to promote the social inclusion of young people with disabilities, especially blind young people. The aim is to create a mixed group of people with and without sight, which will also promote dialogue between generations. Organised events include gaming events (online and in-person). These events bring together sighted and blind participants with different abilities to participate in fun and accessible games.The podcast channel created by the group will be enriched with information on gamification for inclusion and help to further promote the events.
Rome, Italy
The starting point for the local activities for 2025 is a proposal that was submitted to the political office of the municipality of Rome VII in December 2024. To this end, the young people had met with the city councillors responsible for the social and school policies and with the committee chairs for the social, school and youth policies. With the new actions, the young people want to work on four topics: gender equality, migration and integration, environmental sustainability, and improving opportunities for young people. For this purpose, public pilot events are organised at the youth centre. The municipal decision-makers welcome the proposal and have promised to support the events. The group is organised by our partner organisation Meta Cooperativa Sociale Onlus.
Évora, Portugal
The local project partner Oficina Fermento is planning to work with two youth groups this year, who will join forces and learn from each other. Together, the young people are creating spaces where the groups can exchange ideas and implement actions. The topics are sustainability, ecology, preparation for the world of work – and civil society engagement. With two major elections in Portugal in 2025, there is great interest in young people’s engagement and participation. Activists are also excited about Évora’s potential as a European Cultural Capital in 2027, which offers additional opportunities for linking local initiatives with international projects.
Larissa, Greece
Following on from a photography project last year , the local youth group organised by SMouTh – Synergy of Music Theatre is networking with other local organisations working on the issue of gender equality. Overall, the young people are looking at how they can inspire positive change in their local community through various art forms. They are planning open workshops for young people on topics such as creative writing, poetry, photography, video documentation, painting and ceramics, coordinated by artists from their own organisation, but also from other cities and especially from smaller communities. In this way, the activists want to create an open youth community that is socially and politically active and can develop freely.
Erfurt, Germany
Organised by Next Level e.V., the local group consists of apprentices from a local vocational school, among others, and is committed to social, political and ecological issues. They plan to continue addressing the issues of mental health and social injustice. The activists want to raise awareness of these important issues and highlight opportunities for support. A network of local initiatives and public institutions should help with this. The group also wants to achieve greater reach with their podcast, both locally and nationally.
Telsiai, Lithuania
In addition to designing new rooms in their youth centre, the Telšių jaunimo centras, offering music and organising events to promote dialogue between the generations, the members of the local group are planning to organise their big community event ‘Dare/Isdrjsk’ again this year, which premiered during the European Action Week 2024. The event concept is to be further refined, but broadly maintained: the group provided catering, organised music performances by young artists, and there were offers such as table football and karaoke – and all in an unusual public place: with the event, the young people are transforming the city’s central bus station into an extraordinary space for social exchange and cohesion.
Bad Liebenzell/Stuttgart, Germany
The youth group, supported by the International Forum Burg Liebenzell, organises young people from the region. Together they publish the VarieTEA podcast, which is a forum for diversity and mutual understanding. For the podcast, the young people interview interesting people over a cup of tea – as a source of enlightenment and to bring society back together. New episodes are planned for this year. In addition, further projects and public events are planned in cooperation with new partners. The aim is to combine their interest in the topic of diversity with the field of local participation and active citizenship.
Ukraine & Munich area, Germany
Part of the network is the Ukrainian organisation Duga, which on the one hand organises a group of Ukrainian youth in the Munich area and on the other hand supports a local youth group in Ukraine. The two local groups are closely connected. Their plans are strongly focused on managing the circumstances caused by the war in Ukraine and strengthening the community of active youth. The plans include group chats and a Discord server, hybrid meetings and presentations in Ukraine and Munich. The group based in the Munich area will also address the topic of belonging (to a new country, a new city, a new community, a new culture).
Weimar, Germany
The local group in Weimar is currently reorganising itself with new members. Through team-building activities such as visits to a climbing garden, escape room games and excursions, the young people can get to know each other. Subsequently, it is planned to work on relevant topics related to civil society and engagement in workshops. The aim is to use analogue and digital games on civil society topics and to obtain additional resources. This work is made possible by EJBW in cooperation with the children’s and youth club Kramixxo & Waggong.
Florence, Italy
The local youth group organised by Centro di Creazione e Cultura (CCC) in Florence is planning further steps to the activities developed in 2024. The focus is on political issues and civic engagement. The project is set to grow and be strengthened in 2025 through the public event ‘Why Vote? Democratic Ideals and Civic Participation in Italy and Europe’. The creation of a temporary pedestrian zone in an urban area is intended to raise awareness among residents and decision-makers in Florence of the issues of sustainable mobility and the integrative revitalisation of urban spaces to improve the quality of life.
Koblenz, Germany
The local youth group, supported by the Caritasverband Koblenz, is also continuing its work this year. The group, which consists mainly of young women aged 17 to 24, is addressing topics such as citizenship law, education and career paths, and developing opportunities for young people to exchange ideas on these topics. The group is building on the activities in the local social environment that began in 2024.
Barcelona, Spain
The local network partner Càlam. Art, Educació, Sostenibilitat continues to work with the youth group that has given itself the name ‘Los Monkeys’. Most recently, they created the exhibition ‘Que Mono’, which deals with topics of sexual education: psychological well-being, hormones, gender, relationships, sexual relationships and values. The next steps will be to create a calendar of monthly events related to the exhibition, to develop a virtual version of the exhibition for institutions and to disseminate the virtual exhibition.
Gdansk, Poland
As in the 2024 project year, the local youth group organised by the Fundacja IRSE is asking, ‘How are you, Earth?’ They are using 2025 to disseminate the results they have gathered in workshops on the topic of ecology. The brochure developed in the previous year with scenarios for workshops is to be made available as a pedagogical tool to other active people in the field. In addition, the group is working on the practical implementation of a community garden and is organising the second edition of the intercultural eco-festival ‘We Plant Ideas’ for the local community of Gdansk.
Ploiesti, Romania
The local youth group, organised by the Asociatia ‘Un strop de fericire’, involves young people aged 13 and up. The aim is to empower these young people to get involved in their own interests and in society. By participating in the project, they should strengthen their skills in the areas of teamwork, leadership and civic engagement. This should help them to create a creative and dynamic space for youth engagement in their local community.
Budapest, Hungary
The local youth group supported by the Subjective Values Foundation continues its work in 2025. Their goal is to involve even more young people in their ‘Nyitott Ablak’ events. This is a monthly peer-to-peer support group for LGBTQAI+ young people organised and delivered as part of Generation Europe – The Academy.
Sintra, Portugal
The local partner organisation Youth Coop continues to work with the young people who have participated in the entire process over the past three years, as well as with those who joined the group in 2023/2024. The aim is to continue the local campaign ‘Those who judge a lot don’t help! Discrimination is not an illusion!’.
Thessaloniki, Greece
The local youth group, organised by the partner organisation Kids in Action, is implementing projects on active citizenship in 2025. The young people want to address ecological challenges using artistic means of expression, combining creative expression with efforts to combat pressing ecological problems in their community. The aim is to involve other young people from Thessaloniki.
Beinasco, Italy
The youth group organised by the Madiba Società Cooperativa Sociale will continue to work on the topic of conflicts, which was already a focus of last year’s international youth exchange. Through a peer education approach, experienced group members will support new activists. Their local action plan includes training on the topics of advocacy, communication strategies and the involvement of interest groups. In this way, the young people want to prepare themselves to present their ideas and concerns to local institutions and authorities.
Oberhausen, Germany
The local youth group will produce new episodes of their podcast this year to discuss as many topics as possible that are relevant to young people. In doing so, they want to integrate the podcast medium as an integral part of the Parkhaus youth club programme in Oberhausen to attract attention to their concerns and make themselves heard. Another topic that concerns young people is the shift to the right, not only in Germany, but throughout Europe and worldwide. The young people also want to use one of their group’s strengths and organise a concert with a special focus on diversity.
Kreis Unna, Germany
The local group at the Werkstatt Berufskolleg in the district of Unna is planning to continue their podcast project in 2025, which covers topics related to happiness and practical life. The focus is on the continuous production of the podcast, which offers opportunities to explore relevant topics while also developing the media literacy of the participants.
Oulu, Finland
The members of the local youth group are very motivated and will continue working on their local project topics this year: industrial hemp, veganism and mental health. With their activities, they want to draw more attention to both the topics and inclusive youth work in order to reach a larger audience. They will make particular use of social media for this task, and will also create a separate plan for how to reach stakeholders and decision-makers. This work is made possible by the local project partner Oulun Nuoret Kotkat Piirijärjestö ry.