Young European Security Conference

Why is the project important?

At a time when international conflicts and security policy issues are becoming increasingly relevant, we want to provide young people with security policy knowledge and skills and give them a platform in the security policy discourse. We are convinced that young people too often do not play a role in this topic and therefore want to make their perspectives heard. We see skills development, networking and active participation as an important prerequisite for strengthening democracy and cohesion in Germany, Europe and beyond.

What exactly happens at the conferences?

The young participants register for a working group according to their interests and deal with specific aspects of security policy in depth. These working groups are supervised by young facilitators from the Foundation’s networks and students from the Hertie School. Participants also take part in workshops with experts from academia, politics and civil society. On this basis, they develop their own ideas, questions and demands on their respective topics.

The program is framed by various interactive discussion formats and a festive closing event, where the participants present their results and discuss them with high-ranking experts.

Who can take part?

200 young people aged 16 to 21 from all over Europe will become part of the next edition of the conference. Participation in the conference is free of charge and the conference language is English. No prior knowledge of the content is required. For participants who do not come from Berlin, we offer a lump sum for travel expenses and accommodation for the days of the conference.

What happens beyond the conferences?

The conference will be accompanied by activities o the European Youth Parliament (EYP), whose national committees in Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Romania and United Kingdom have already organized national events on the topic of security throughout 2025.

The topic of security will also played a central role in the EYP’s international events in 2025, particularly with regard to the project’s international meeting in The Hague, (NL) 5-13th of April 2025, which featured several topics relating to security such as invasions in the Baltic Sea, chemical weapons, energy security, election interference, and press freedom, as well as including several side effects including visits to Eurojust, Europol, European Network of Cyber Security, Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, and North Sea Port, as well as an evening dedicated to remembrance  in light of 80 years of peace since the second world war, including inspiring speakers such as Dr. Anne de Graaf.

In Turku (FI )(19-27th of July 2025, featured a topic on the weapon lobby and the role this plays. In addition, attention was given to Finland joining NATO, and the strong military culture of Finland. In Málaga (ES) 25 October-2 November, there wil be/has been topics about cybercrime, nuclear non-proliferation, freedom of assembly, and humanitarian aid. Resolutions for all International Sessions can be found on this page.

In addition, a fellow from the Understanding Europe (UE) education network developed a course and accompanying educational materials on security for schools across Europe in 2025. The materials provide a practical introduction to European security issues and highlight different aspects of the topic. In fall 2025, the developed materials were presented within the transnational network of Understanding Europe and are now used in classrooms in twelve European countries. In addition, the material was published online as an Open Educational Resource (OER) to make it accessible to a broad public.