Youth Voices for Europe: Dialogue of Youth with EU Leaders on Career Opportunities
Youth Voices for Europe is a 15-month international initiative led by My Future (Poland) in partnership with Centrinės Europos Tribūna (Lithuania). The project empowers young people (15–21 y.o.) to better understand how the European Union works, discover real career paths inside EU institutions, and take part in meaningful dialogue with decision-makers.
What is this project about?
Young people often say they want to influence Europe’s future but don’t know where to start or don’t see a clear entry point to EU careers. This project responds to those needs by combining youth-led research, practical learning, and structured conversations with EU experts, policymakers, and career advisors. This project responds to those needs by combining youth-led research, practical learning, and structured conversations with EU experts, policymakers, and career advisors. Through these activities, participants will gain knowledge, develop practical skills, explore career possibilities, and build confidence to engage more actively in European civic and professional life.
Key Activities
Research Phase
16 youth leaders explore barriers young people face when trying to access EU careers.
E-Guide
A youth-created digital guide offering practical information on EU opportunities.
EU Simulation
200 young people debate, negotiate, and vote like members of the European Parliament.
World Café
Open discussions with policymakers, experts, and career advisors.
Dissemination Events
Public presentations, expert talks, and youth-led recommendations for improving access to EU careers.
Youth Participation Event in Radom, Poland
The Youth Leaders Event in Radom took place on March 2nd, 2026, and gathered young Polish leaders for an intensive on-site meeting focused on strengthening youth participation in EU career pathways.
The event built on discussions and outcomes from previous online sessions and encouraged participants to explore innovative methods to support professional development within EU institutions.
Participants took part in brainstorming exercises, World Café discussions, role-play workshops, reflection circles, and collaborative idea-generation activities.
Youth Voices for Europe Event in Vilnius, Lithuania
On May 13th, 2026, we organized a large-scale Youth Voices for Europe event in Vilnius, Lithuania, that took place in the European Parliament Office with over 100 participants and 10 stakeholders from media, education, civil society, youth policy, and EU institutions.
The event included an interactive World Café session with participants sharing their ideas about the EU with the stakeholders and an EU quiz with prizes created by the European Parliament Office in Vilnius.
Our guests included:
- Monika Jakimčukė - Journalist at Delfi "Melo Detektorius"
- Daiva Jakaitė - Head of the European Parliament Office in Lithuania
- Arvydas Vainauskas - Shuman Intern at the European Parliament Office in Lithuania
- Dominykas Žvinakevičius - Shuman Intern at the European Parliament Office
- Nazly Gulijeva - Coordinator of the European House Information Center in Vilnius
- Linas Kojala - Lithuanian political scientist, lecturer at Vilnius University’s Institute of International Relations and Political Science (TSPMI), Director of the Center for Geopolitics and Security Studies (GSSC)
- Rėja Toleikytė - Senior Specialist, Coordination of Youth Participation Activities under the Erasmus+ Program, Training for Volunteers and Organizations under the European Solidarity Corps at the Lithuanian's National Agency of the Youth Affairs
- Martina Murzaitė - Senior Specialist for the Coordination of Youth Exchanges under the Erasmus+ Program at the Lithuanian's National Agency of the Youth Affairs
- Evelina Čebatoriūtė - Member of the Vilnius City Municipality’s Youth Affairs and Non-Governmental Organizations Councils
- Vakarė Lazauskaitė - Vice Chair of the Vilnius Branch of the Lithuanian Student Union (LMS)
- Vilma Pundienė - Geography Teacher at Vilnius Pilaitė Gymnasium, Senior MEPA Ambassador
Interactive E-Guide
Explore our new “Youth Voices for Europe” E-Guide, a comprehensive resource designed to help young people navigate EU institutions and actively shape the future of Europe.
This guide opens doors to diverse career paths, internships, Erasmus+ mobility programs, and practical strategies for succeeding in EPSO selections.
Lithuanian Dissemination Events
Dissemination Event #1 — May 25th, 2026
The first dissemination event took place in Vilnius Pilaitė Gymnasium. Young people interested in EU institutions had the chance to join the discussion about the whole project, the Youth Voices for Europe Event that had just happened in Vilnius and explored the E-Guide. We have discussed the barriers between young people and EU institutions, lessons learned during the event and a brainstorming about how can we make the EU careers more accesible locally.
Dissemination Event #2 — May 25th, 2026
The second dissemination event took place in Vilnius Pilaitė Gymansium and it involved the debating club participants and focused on EU opportunities and youth engagement. We had the chance to discuss Youth Voices for Europe: Dialogue of Youth with EU Leaders on Career Opportunities project, the recent event that took place in Vilnius and our E-Guide. Together with the Debating Club of this school we discussed what could be the barriers of young people and the EU institutions, what were the key takeaways from the event in European House in Vilnius and debated about accesibility of EU careers.
Dissemination Event #3 — May 28th, 2026
The third dissemination event welcomed Vilnius University international students from Italy who are active youth in the EU world. Together we explored this project, talked about Youth Voices for Europe event in Vilnius and explored the E-Guide which is available online. We took some time to discuss the barriers that young people have to overcome to work in EU institutions, what they have noticed while living in Lithuania, explored the lessons that young people who participated in our event learned and had a small brainstorming session about how the EU careers can become more accesible.
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