Youth policy in the Baltic Sea Region – a case study of Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian, and Polish youth participation in the BSSSC Working Group on Youth Policy

Abstract

Youth policy, understood as youth activity and policy for youth,has been developing in the Baltic Sea region for many years. It takes placeon many levels of Baltic cooperation; therefore, this article uses the theory ofmulti-level governance for the analysis. There are some differences in youthpolicy between the communities of the Baltic Sea Region countries. This articleaims to analyse the participation of young people from the regions ofLithuania, Latvia, Poland, and Estonia in the BSR youth policy, based on theexample of the Youth Working Group of the “Baltic Sea States SubregionalCo-operation”. The main part of the article is an analysis of interviews withyouth coordinators of “Baltic Sea States Subregional Co-operation” from selectedcountries. During the study, 5 interviews were conducted, and, thanksto these interviews, the author has made interesting observations on the differencesin involvement of young people from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, andPoland. They indicated, inter alia, disproportional access to participation in thework of the Youth Working Group “Baltic Sea States Subregional Co-operation”between Estonia and Poland, and Lithuania and Latvia. The results clearlyshow that young people from Polish regions have the greatest opportunitiesto shape youth policy in the Baltic Sea Region.