What should the EU focus on in the next decade? Climate? Jobs? Education? Equality? How does this relate to the challenges currently being faced by young people?

The EU is currently shaping its policies for the next decade: the EU budget of almost EUR 2 trillion and upcoming EU Youth Strategy will both impact young people through wide-ranging issues (housing, education, culture, health, Erasmus, environment, equality etc). We’d like to ensure the EU's proposals genuinely target the challenges currently felt by young people. 

We’re currently running a short campaign called “Your voice, our 2030” with the EYCA Youth Panel. Running until January 2026, we’re aiming to collect stories from at least 2030 young people across Europe on the issues that really matter to them. Several studies have been published on the needs of young people, and we’d like to complement them with the actual stories from young people. 

What we’re looking for: stories. We want to collect young people's personal thoughts on the issues that are most pressing to them. No matter if it’s irrelevant to other people, what counts is that it’s the most important issue for you.

Anyone aged 13-30 can contribute. Several studies have already contributed to the process, but we believe that real, personal messages from young people are relevant. We’ll combine these stories with input from local activities, and we’ll be discussing them with the European Commission and others in February 2026.

How to participate 

This is how it works:

• Fill out our short online form with your top priorities and ideas.

• The Youth Panel will combine your messages with input from local activities across our member countries and relevant youth studies.

• The result? A position paper crafted by the Youth Panel – to be presented directly to the European Commission in Brussels in February 2026. 

This is your chance to make an impact on the next European Youth Strategy (2027–2030) and the EU’s future priorities. Whether you’re part of an organisation or just passionate about change, your opinion counts.

Competition 

And that’s not all: Participants have the chance to win a 50 EUR voucher for either Netflix, Flixbus or Airbnb (you’ll be able to choose which one). To be in with a chance of winning, you need to do the following:

• Share your story via the form. EYCA reserves the right to exclude any participant who did not meaningfully complete the sections of the form.

• Input your email address.

• Complete these steps by 18 January 2026.

3 lucky winners will be chosen at random and contacted by email at the end of January 2026. Each winner will receive one 50 EUR voucher for either Netflix, Flixbus or Airbnb. The voucher will be electronic and delivered digitally.

Share your feedback: Your voice, our 2030: Have Your Say in Europe’s Future

Follow the European Youth Card Association on Instagram to see how this campaign unfolds: @europeanyouthcard