The EU Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP) involves seven states (Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Switzerland and Liechtenstein) and 48 regions of those states in the Alpine Region. EUSALP wants to bring the next generation on board: to shape the future of the Alpine region, the ideas of the young are needed. The EUSALP is therefore working on the involvement of youth in the activities of the Strategy in the long term.
True to the motto “youth.shaping.EUSALP”, involvement is taken seriously right from the start: In two workshops, young people from all over the Alpine region worked intensively on the right formats for involving young people. Around 30 young people met in Innsbruck on 19 November 2018 and in Liechtenstein on 29 and 30 March 2019 to discuss their expectations and to work out concrete ideas for participation themselves. The workshops were jointly organised by the Tyrol, the Swiss Federal Office for Spatial Development, the Foreign Office of Liechtenstein, the Alpine Town of the Year Association and CIPRA International.
The young people’s proposals will now be implemented together with the decision-makers of EUSALP, under the leadership of the Tyrol and with the support of the European Commission, the French Presidency of EUSALP, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The main aim is to ensure that the concerns of the young people are taken into account in future EUSALP decisions and actions.
At the top of the young people’s wish list were an EUSALP youth camp and an online platform, both of which are currently being prepared. The young people also want support in implementing concrete project ideas, as they have many innovative ideas for which they often lack the resources and contacts. One answer to this wish is the PITCH YOUR PROJECT competition, which is held for the third time in 2020.
To ensure that the voice of youth is anchored in the EUSALP, youth.shaping.EUSALP is also working on the creation of an EUSALP Youth Council, which gives young people from the Alpine region the opportunity to sit down at the table with decision-makers and discuss their ideas with them.
