BRYC Annual Meeting 2025

This year, the annual meeting of the Barents Regional Youth Council took place in Tornio, Finland and Haparanda, Sweden, between March 14^th-16^th. Representatives from different regions met in the twin cities right by the border between Finland and Sweden to discuss the various topics on the agenda, from the current challenges in each region to events planned for the future. As an Intern at the International Barents Secretariat, I also got to attend and assist the Adviser and BRYC Secretary, Jens Kristian Øvstebø.

The first event on Friday night was dinner at Restaurant Mustaparta, where we got to taste some traditional Finnish dishes, such as salmon soup and “poronkäristys” (slowly sauteed reindeer with mashed potatoes, lingonberry jam and a few slices of pickled cucumber on the side). The food was delicious, although the pickled cucumber elicited some debate at the table, to the surprise of the Finnish attendees.

On Saturday morning, after a good hotel breakfast, we crossed the border to Sweden. The main meeting venue was Sverigefinska folkhögskolan in Haparanda, which provided excellent grounds for a youth council meeting. The school is far from the average high school building that many picture in their mind, and the Headmaster, Arja Martinviita, graciously gave us a tour of the main building. The tour took us from an underground bar to a dining room with a small library and a rocking chair perfect for relaxing after studying hard. Safe to say we were all quite impressed!

An important agenda point for the annual meeting was the BRYC Board election, which went smoothly. Klajdi Dedej was re-elected both as a Board member and as BRYC Chair. Other elected Board members were Onni-Lenni Vasunta, Ole Martin Nygård (Vice Chair) and Nils-Gustu Kuhmunen (Indigenous Peoples Representative). The Council representatives at the meeting were truly unified in their decisions, as all candidates were elected unanimously.

Since BRYC is committed to making a better future for young people, much of the meeting focused on regional updates and planning for future projects, events and collaborations. Without spoiling any secret details, the planning for the annual event, Generation Barents 2025, is well underway and everyone involved is working hard to make it a great experience.

With a quick turnover at the hotel, the group headed for dinner after a long day. Good food and conversation after all the hard work was a great way to end the day!

On Sunday morning, the Council finished up the remaining agenda points and held a workshop on the future of BRYC. Our world is constantly changing, and BRYC is determined to adapt along with those changes to continue serving the youth in the best way possible.

Although BRYC meetings mean business, it is not purely tedious work, there is also time for having fun and getting to know each other better. On Sunday, after concluding the official meeting, it was time for a fun social activity. Everyone piled in the cars for the drive to a neighbouring town Kemi, where we got to go snowmobiling on the frozen Bothnian Bay. As the activity was a surprise, we were all grateful to receive proper winter gear to dress up in before being led to the ice by our instructor. Everyone paired up, got on the snowmobiles and off we went!

Although there was some breeze from the speed, the sun was out and the weather was beautiful, making it an enjoyable outing for everyone. We stopped for a break halfway through to enjoy some warm juice and cinnamon cookies before switching drivers and riding for another hour. It was a great end for the weekend!

Overall, the BRYC Annual Meeting 2025 was a success: business was taken care of, everyone met new people and we had fun together. Until next time, and rest assured that BRYC continues its work in the meantime!