The German-Baltic Conference from the view of a Young journalist - Cluster D

Since 2019, the German-Baltic Conference (GBC) has brought together young people from all over Europe to meet in one of the major Baltic cities, giving them a platform to make their voices heard. From 24 to 27 October 2024, participants of this year’s conference had the opportunity to join working groups in Vilnius that focus on policy development and civic engagement. Four clusters with 36 young individuals (Youth Ambassadors) were engaged in developing sustainable policy approaches in the realms of the environment, economy, society, and values – drafting their own policy and position papers around the topic “AI for Europe: Reinventing Crisis Management” that subsequently will be disseminated to political actors and decision-makers.

Concurrently, the German-Baltic Youth Exchange Network (GBYEN) has brought together stakeholders from civil society, administration, politics, and beyond, to explore future challenges and opportunities of youth exchange in the Baltic region and Europe. The conference provided them with an inspiring programme comprising networking opportunities, expert keynotes, and insight into local best practice and culture.

Since 2023, the DBJW has supplemented the conference’s programme by offering five young people the possibility to participate as Young journalists, shadowing the work of one of the clusters and of the GBYEN group. Throughout the conference, they closely accompany the discussions and the development of the end results and present in a creative way what the GBC looks like from the inside.

We are extremely happy to share the work of Franziska Müller, who has been selected as the Young journalist to follow the work of cluster D, focusing on the topic “AI in Climate Change Management”. Franziska’s work involved preparing reports and video footage, resulting in a 10-minute-long documentary film that presents in a unique way the working process of the Youth Ambassadors, the ambiance of the conference, and the framework programmes in Vilnius. We thank wholeheartedly Franziska for her contribution and hope you will enjoy the film!

If you are interested in the policy paper of cluster D, take a look here!