Barents Youth Program 2025-2027

The Barents Regional Youth Council has now published the Barents Youth Program for 2025-2027. The foundation of the program is a series of discussions from Generation Barents 2024, an annual event gathering youths from across the Barents region together for a better future. The publication is thus a testament to the passion, hard work and dedication of the youths of the region.

The purpose of the program is to build a better future for the region’s young people, to have their voices heard and listened to. It is for everyone from young individuals to leaders and NGOs working on youth issues. Importantly, building bridges to neighboring regions and youth organizations outside the Barents region is warmly welcomed.

In the process of preparing the program, BRYC established yearly priorities for 2025-2027. These yearly priorities align with the goals set by the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, the Barents Regional Council and BRYC itself, ensuring a shared vision for the future. For 2025, the emphasis will be on matters such as sustainable forestry and environmental protection, climate change awareness and Indigenous perspectives on natural resource management.

In addition to the yearly priorities, the youth program also introduces eight priority areas to address the challenges of Barents Youth:

These priority areas will shape and guide the activities of BRYC to effectively address the needs of young people in the region. Ensuring that there are education and career opportunities, affordable housing, vibrant communities and accessible health care facilities in the northern regions, are all crucial to having a good, meaningful life. Acting on the selected priorities is then of utmost importance in order to maintain the region's vitality and appeal as a location to live in for young people.

During a time easily characterized as "much talk but little action", BRYC’s work is exemplary as their newly launched program does not settle on simply pointing out the many challenges faced by Barents’ youth today. Instead, every description of a priority area comes with steps that BRYC will take towards the challenges at hand. For example, to maintain fair representation of Indigenous communities in the region, BRYC and the Working Group on Indigenous Peoples will work together to maintain WGIP representation in the various Barents Working Groups, the Barents Regional Council and Committee of Senior Officials.

The dedication of BRYC towards building a better future can be felt through the pages of the program. The effort needed to publish the program has required countless hours of brainstorming, writing, editing and rewriting before the final product, a process closely connected to the IBS. Since 2021, the IBS has provided administrative support for BRYC. Thanks to a seconded position funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the IBS have been able to maintain a dedicated adviser's position at the secretariat, serving as the secretary for both BRYC and the Working Group of Indigenous Peoples (WGIP). In youth cooperation where bright ideas drive the work and personnel turnover is higher than in "adult" foras, this role is essential for ensuring the continuity and preserving BRYC's institutional memory.

BRYC and their program is funded by the nine member regions of the Barents Regional Council. From Norway, member regions are Nordland, Troms, and Finnmark, from Sweden, Norrbotten, Västerbotten, and from Finland, Lapland, Northern Ostrobothnia, Kainuu and North Karelia. In addition, BRYC closely cooperates with The Norwegian Barents Secretariat and the local regions every time they are hosting the annual Generation Barents events.

It is the hope of everyone who worked on the program that it will inspire the youth to take part in building a better future for generations to come, foster further cooperation across borders and among all stakeholders.