The first international online meeting of the Youth4Values project officially launched a new phase of cooperation between young people from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Greece and Spain. The meeting brought together the national groups selected after the project’s international mobility activities, creating a cross-border working network committed to strengthening youth participation, democratic engagement and respect for European values.
The session opened with introductions by the participants and national coordinators. Each group presented its background, local experience and expectations for the process. This helped participants understand the different realities represented in the network, while also showing that young people across all four countries face comparable challenges: limited access to decision-makers, low trust in institutions, insufficient civic education and a lack of structured opportunities to contribute to public policy.
A central part of the meeting was the presentation of the National Action Plan process. Participants discussed the purpose of the plans, their expected structure and the importance of basing every recommendation on real needs identified through project research, local workshops, community forums and direct work with young people. The groups agreed that the plans should not remain theoretical documents. They should contain realistic actions, responsible stakeholders, expected results and practical proposals that can be presented to public institutions, educational bodies and civil society organisations.
The meeting also clarified the working method for the months ahead. National groups would hold internal meetings to collect evidence and develop country-specific proposals, while monthly international meetings would be used to exchange practices, test ideas and improve the quality of the recommendations. Participants agreed on principles of respectful dialogue, equal participation, shared responsibility and inclusive communication, with special attention to young people with fewer opportunities.
By the end of the first meeting, the network had established a common vision: to turn young people from passive recipients of policy into informed contributors to democratic life. The session created a strong foundation for the National Action Plans and for the wider European recommendations that would later connect the experiences of all partner countries.
