Invitation to the Regional Online Youth Policy Lab: Culture & Youth in the Western Balkans – Towards Joint Regional Recommendations
Regional Youth Dialogue for Europe
Within the Regional Youth Dialogue for Europe – RYDE project, implemented by the Centre for Democracy Foundation in partnership with civil society organisations from across the Western Balkans, the Regional Academy for Democratic Development (ADD) invites interested participants to apply for the Regional Online Youth Policy Lab on Culture and Youth, which will take place online on 23 December 2025, starting at 12:00 (CET).
This Regional Youth Policy Lab represents the final step of a structured national and regional dialogue process conducted throughout 2024 and 2025. Building on national youth policy labs, expert discussions, and country-level policy recommendations, the session aims to consolidate and adopt joint regional policy recommendations related to youth participation in culture in the Western Balkans.
The session will be facilitated by Vesna Marjanović, Secretary General of Europa Nostra Serbia and expert in cultural policy.
Objectives of the Regional Policy Lab
The main objectives of the online session are to:
Review and discuss key findings and policy recommendations developed at the national level;
Identify shared challenges and priorities related to culture and youth across the Western Balkans;
Agree on a coherent set of joint regional policy recommendations, aligned with EU and UNESCO standards;
Strengthen regional cooperation and create a common advocacy basis for youth-inclusive cultural policies.
Discussions will focus on key structural issues, including:
Public funding for culture;
Education and cultural literacy;
Youth participation in cultural policymaking;
Decentralisation of cultural infrastructure;
Digital transformation in culture;
Regional cooperation mechanisms.
Who Can Apply
The Policy Lab will bring together:
Youth representatives and youth organisations;
Civil society organisations active in culture and youth;
Cultural professionals and institutions;
Policy experts and researchers;
Representatives of relevant public institutions.
Participation and Selection
Participation is limited to 30 participants from across the region, due to the interactive and working format of the session.
A short selection process will be applied, and only selected applicants will receive final confirmation and access details for the online meeting.
Selected participants will be acknowledged in the final regional report submitted to the donor, as part of the RYDE project deliverables.
How to Apply
Interested participants are kindly invited to register via the application form:
🔗 Application link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfh9Jt7ZvMthBuJB9H8PN4hK9IIxClmzJvb006LV2gDg7zt3A/viewform
Further technical details regarding the online platform will be shared with selected participants in due course.
