The Baltic Youth Camp

The Baltic Youth Camp is a three-day festival where youth representatives from the Baltic Sea Region gather to explore friendship, culture and politics through workshops, small seminars and social activities. We welcome you to the first Baltic Youth Camp gathering! Join us and explore cultural identity and friendships in the Baltic Sea Region. Raise your voice and learn how to influence politics, share your viewpoints on cultural and political topics, meet politicians and stakeholders face to face, join in several interesting workshops on art, technology, human rights, ecology, sustainability and heritage. Enjoy excursions, sports and music.

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Why have a Baltic Youth Camp?

Young people are the decision makers from tomorrow. Despite of this, youths seem to be low on the agenda in the Baltic Sea Region. Youth voter participation is low in many countries, several countries lack tools, institutions and funding for youth politicians, and still we barely see youth involvement at the EUSBSR Annual Fora.

Therefore, the Baltic Sea States Subregional Co-operation (BSSSC) together with the Union of Baltic Cities (UBC), the Euroregion Baltic (ERB) and the Baltic Sea Cultural Centre (BSCC) in Gdansk, with support of PA Culture, started an initiative for increasing youth participation in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) by establishing an inspiring Baltic Sea Region Youth Camp 2019. The original idea came from the BSSSC Youth Board Members at the end of 2017. This Youth Camp will take place for the first time just some days before the next Annual Forum (AF) of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) in Gdansk 2019. The Youth Camp will begin Saturday evening June 8 and continue until the evening of June 11. The EUSBSR AF will be from June 12-13.

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The Youth Camp will bring together youths from the whole BSR to promote cultural understanding and a feeling of togetherness in the BSR. At the same time, it is meant to offer a forum for debate and discussions for young people on issues important for the future of the region and raise awareness for its sustainable development. We will highlight the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and have a special focus on SDGs related to the work of the Regeneration 2030 movement. In Gdansk we will focus on the topic of the EUSBSR AF (Circular and Sharing Economy). We consider SDG12 – responsible consumption and production as especially crucial in this regard.

The Youth Camp will take place at the hotel and conference centre ORLE on the island of Wyspa Sobieszewska just outside of Gdansk. This location area is very attractive and offers space for a broad variety of different activities.

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Why create friendships and understanding?

The political landscape in Europe and in the Baltic Sea Region is demanding and ever changing. We face challenges like: citizens’ lack of trust in the political systems, threats to independence and freedom of speech, poor EU-Russia relations, refugee crisis, border controls, extremism and environmental issues. At the same time, countries and regions are more dependent on each other than ever before! This is why collaborations, friendships, understanding and joint actions of countries and regions are of great importance. We believe this to be crucial to keep the Baltic Sea Region peaceful, sustainable and prosperous for the future.

 

Who, when and where?

The Baltic Youth Camp is open to all youth within the age group 18-29 years. To be one of the about one hundred participants, you must be from one of the 11 countries in the Baltic Sea Region or from Iceland. Participation is decided based on applications. Registration is open now!
 

The Youth Camp will take place on the Island of Wyspa Sobieszewska, at Hotel Orle, right outside the city of Gdansk, Poland. The hotel has all facilities, and a beautiful outdoor area. 

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Registration is now closed. Almost 200 people applied, unfortunately we can only fit 100. We will start contacting applicants this week. 

However, follow the Baltic Youth Camp webpage, our Facebook page - and BSSSC Communication Channels to stay updated on the event.