Participation of the international youthHansa in the 11th Baltic Sea Youth Dialogue of the CBSS in Gdansk!

24. April 2025

The Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) is an intergovernmental organisation that promotes cooperation between the countries bordering the Baltic Sea. Youth and youth participation play an important role within the CBSS. For example, the so-called Baltic Sea Youth Dialogue (BSYD) takes place annually, where young people between the ages of 18 and 28 from the Baltic Sea region come together across national borders to discuss topics relevant to them. The eleventh BSYD - supported by the Federal Foreign Office - took place from 11 November to 16 November 2024 in the Polish coastal and Hanseatic City of Gdansk. Under the motto ‘Exploring the Cultural Heritage in the Baltic Sea Region’, the Hanseatic League in the context of cultural heritage was defined as the main topic.

Eline, Janne and Rachid from the Commission of the international youthHansa took part in the programme. In cooperation with the Hanseatic Office in Lübeck and the CBSS office in Stockholm, the programme was prepared together with the commission spokesperson. In interactive sessions, the youthHansa was presented as a unique platform for youth networking in Europe. The organisation, the structure, but also various successful projects were presented to the 20 participants from the entire Baltic Sea region. In particular, the establishment of regional youthHansa groups was discussed in order to show that the topic of youthHansa can be thought of and revitalised not only internationally, but also locally.

In addition to networking young people, the aim of the project was to develop output material on how cities, schools and cultural organisations can communicate the abstract construct of ‘cultural heritage’. The resulting document can be found here.

The participation in the 11th BSYD was an ideal opportunity for the international youthHansa to raise the profile and importance of the organisation beyond the Hanseatic borders. A possible co-operation between the youthHansa and the CBSS on further projects was welcomed by both sides.