Are you a UN Youth Delegate or Representative on Sustainable Development or any other active member of Youth from one of the European countries? Write us an email at mariia.kostetckaia[at]wu.ac.at and we will be happy to inform you and welcome you at one of the ESDN Youth Network’s events.
Upcoming Events
Youth Workshop in Berlin. Our annual youth workshop will take place in Berlin on 25-28 October 2023. The Workshop will bring together the UN Youth Delegates and Representatives from Europe, young civil servants, and senior European policymakers.
Regular online meetings. We arrange every 6-8 weeks short online meetings for you to get to know each other and to discuss and plan upcoming events and activities. Once you are on our mailing list, you will get the invitations to join (if you want to join, email us.)
About us – Youth in the ESDN
Young people should have a say on matters that concern them and should be able to engage in the decision-making process at the EU level in a structured and formal way as critical agents of change. With this in mind, the ESDN office in consultation with the young people started developing a concept of the Youth Network in 2020, sponsored by the Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (Germany).
The Network was formally established in 2023 with an aim of incorporating the voice of Youth in the ESDN activities. The main target group of the ESDN Youth Network is the UN Youth Delegates and other Youth Representatives for Sustainable Development from European countries.
What we do
One of the main goals of the ESDN Youth Network is to support UN Youth Delegates and Representatives for SD from Europe in their activities by: facilitating networking, providing access to practitioners and decision-makers from the ESDN countries, inviting to be an active participant in the ESDN events and offering workshops and lectures on relevant topics.
Why should you participate?
Are you a UN Youth Delegate or a Youth Representative on Sustainable Development from one of the European countries? Join the ESDN Youth Network and enjoy the following benefits:
- Networking. Several times a year, the ESDN Youth Network organizes informal meetings and workshops where you can get to know UN Youth Delegates/Representatives from other countries and discuss issues that are relevant to youth.
- Active participation in the ESDN events. Members of the ESDN Youth Network are invited to attend the ESDN events and to speak at them, voicing the opinions of the youth.
- Associate membership in the ESDN. We strongly believe that young people have a right to be involved in the work of the ESDN. This is why we offer them associate membership in the ESDN. This means that the young people can participate in all ESDN events and are part of the General Assembly.
- Participation in the ESDN Advisory Board. 1-2 Youth Delegates/Representatives, nominated by the youth themselves every year, can become part of the Advisory Board upon invitation by the Executive Committee. The ESDN Advisory Board supports the tasks of the ESDN, advises the Executive Committee and helps to decide on the content of the annual work program.
- Webinars. Upon request from young people, the ESDN Youth Network organizes webinars on topics of relevance, inviting specialists to speak about their area of expertise. In the course of the webinars, young people can ask questions and discuss the topic with their peers.
ESDN Youth Support - More information
Write us an email at mariia.kostetckaia(at)wu.ac.at with any questions you have. We would be happy to welcome you at one of the ESDN Youth Network’s events.
ESDN Youth Support Team
Ursula Kopp
Institute for Managing Sustainability at the Vienna University of Economics and Business
Email: ursula.kopp[at]wu.ac.at
Mariia Kostetckaia
Institute for Managing Sustainability at the Vienna University of Econmics and Business
Email: mariia.kostetckaia[at]wu.ac.at
ESDN Youth Workshop, 2-3 September 2022, Berlin. 21 Youth Delegates from 13 countries met the German State Secretary for Consumer Protection, Dr. Christiane Rohleder, received several short expert inputs and then discussed the three main topics:
- Climate Justice, biodiversity, energy transition, and ecological economics
- Youth involvement, digitalization and education; and
- Human rights and forced migration.
Virtual getting-to-know meeting, June 2022, online. At this meeting, the Youth Delegates/Representatives learned shared their ideas about the creation of a permanent ESDN Youth Network.
ESDN Youth Workshop, 13 November 2021, online. Seventeen Youth Delegates and Representatives from all over Europe met to discuss, exchange experiences and together develop a manifesto with demands to the ESDN and European policy-makers.
European Youth Camp, 10-11 October 2020, Berlin. European young people were invited prior to the ESDN Conference 2020 to formulate inspiring and challenging ideas for a sustainable European Green Deal as a roadmap towards a sustainable European future.
ESDN Workshop 2023, 22-23 May, Vienna. The workshop dealt with two topics,“Culture and Sustainable Development” and “SDG Implementation in Policymaking – Approaches in SDG Budgeting, Mainstreaming, and Performance Management”. Four Youth Delegates took part in a round table and presented their ideas on youth-proofing Policies through the Intergenerational Test(s).
ESDN Conference 2023, 15-16 March, Stockholm. The title of the conference was: “Halfway to 2030 – Where does Europe stand and how does it move forward?” 13 Youth Delegates took part in creating a video “17 steps for the 17 goals, which was featured during the conference. 9 Youth Delegates presented the video in Stockholm.
20th ESDN Workshop, 23 November 2022, online. The title of the workshop was “SDGs and Human Rights”. Two Youth Delegates participated in the panel on Human Rights Defenders and presented their input on Human Rights and Forced Migration due to Climate Change: Emma Merikanto, Youth Representative, Finland & Ellie Hutterli, UN Youth Delegate, Switzerland
ESDN Conference 2022, 4-5 October, Bucharest. Two delegates from Romania participated in the Conference on “Europe’s Position as Leading Change Agent against the Triple Planetary Crisis – Climate Change, Biodiversity Loss and Pollution”: Elena Miron, UN Youth Delegate, Social Innovation Solutions & Mihai Marica, UN Youth Delegate. They could voice their opinion during the Session on Europe’s Position in the Triple Planetary Crisis – Climate Change, Biodiversity Loss and Pollution. They also had a chance to meet with the ESDN Executive Board and to share their ideas on how youth can be involved in the ESDN activities.
ESDN Conference 2021, 30 November – 1 December, online, on European Recovery and Resilience Mechanisms - Challenges in systemic approaches in SD. Two UN Delegates presented the Youth Manifesto. Lara Schummer, UN Youth Delegate for Luxembourg, Luxembourg & Daniel Samuelsson, UN Youth Delegate for the High Level Political Forum, Sweden.
ESDN Conference 2020, 12-13 October 2020, online, on The European Green Deal: Our Pact for the Future. Three UN Delegates and Representatives, Dana Patricia Novăcescu from Romania, Nicolas Kurek from Switzerland and
Pia Jorks presented the Vision Document – Youth Manifesto.
