Are you passionate about the future of Europe? Do you care about Sustainability and have innovative ideas you like to share with other young Europeans? And are you interested in working together in an intercultural and interdisciplinary team to make your voice heard? Then check out our four different Clusters and apply to be a Youth Ambassador for the German-Baltic Conference in Riga this fall.
The DBJW Conference brings together young people from all over Europe to discuss important topics for the future of the EU. For our conference at the end of October, we are offering 40 Youth Ambassadors the opportunity to discuss their ideas, worries and hopes about sustainability in regard to Consumption, Digital Systems, Nature and Democracy with their peers. The final result will be policy papers with recommendations for our common future that will be shared with local, national, and EU politicians.
But what is sustainability? For us it defines our generation as pioneers to positively impact our current lifestyle and create a world worth living for ourselves and future generations. What we need for our well-being and survival depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment. Our creative solutions for the environment, economy, community, culture and values are at the heart of our societal understanding of sustainability and need political and institutional support to develop a better future for our planet.
Cluster A “Sustainability and Consumption”: Our daily consumption has considerable impact on our planet - from the food on our table and supply chains in the production to innovative solutions such as alternatives to single-use plastic and new methods of recycling. We can do more when it comes to the need to rethink our economic model – by shoring up local supply chains, being smart about what we produce, and helping people to throw away less. Our cluster seeks an approach in which ways the youth in the Baltic states can support innovative initiatives in the EU to improve stakeholder engagement. We want to tackle the topics of sustainable consumption, food security and production to make each other conscious about a sustainable way of life.
Cluster B “Sustainability and Digital Systems”: IoT, Smart Cars, Optimization, and Digitalization are all innovations that we are now familiar with, and while they have greatly improved our world, they cause an increasing amount of electronic waste and electric consumption. Our Cluster seeks to understand this "paradox of innovation" and what creative and sustainable digital solutions we can develop for the world.
Cluster C “Sustainability and Nature”: In order to master climate change as the central challenge of the 21st century, the transition to climate-friendly and renewable energy production is indispensable. However, this transition in turn also requires materials - such as rare earths - which themselves have to be mined under questionable conditions and give rise to questionable dependency relationships. This cluster would like to address the question of how to cope with the dilemma that the in principle infinite striving for growth of a profit-oriented economy is always confronted with finite resources. In other words: How can we counter climate change and master the transition to a climate-neutral economy without having to resort to exploitation of humans or nature?
Cluster D “Sustainability and Democracy”: During the past years, we could observe how essential the role of civil movements or NGOs in democracies is, in order to raise attention about climate-related problems and put pressure on politicians. Our cluster therefore seeks to focus on how civil actors can participate in and impact on politics and what the interaction between them and states are – since civil societies also contribute to the sustainability and stability of democratic forms. A special attention will be given to civil organisations in the Baltic States through a comparative approach with Germany, to understand how the socialist past and history might affect the current civic engagement in different countries
As a Youth Ambassador, you will participate in four online discussion rounds between June and September, which will give you the opportunity to engage with experts in the respective fields of our Clusters and to discuss sustainable policy approaches. In September, you will be grouped into a specific Cluster to write your policy paper. These papers will be finished during the conference in Riga (27th - 30th Oct. 2022). For a participation fee of 80€ you will get compensation for up to 300€ in travel expenses as well as free lodging and catering during the conference. (In case of financial difficulties, please contact us!)
Youth Ambassadors need to be between 16 and 30 years old, have their current residency in Europe and be fluent in English. To become a Youth Ambassador, fill out the
and let us know about what motivates you to be part of this amazing experience. If you have any questions contact Larissa Leiminger (riga2022@dbjw.de).
Share with us your ideas because #EuropeShallHearYou!