The @YOUNGSDG project aims to empower young people aged 17–25 as active global citizens who understand global challenges such as poverty, inequality, climate change and environmental degradation, and who are ready to design and implement their own SDG-focused local actions. 

 The consortium brings together Consulta Europa (Spain), focusing on innovation for sustainability and rural development, ECO-IN (Türkiye), working on digital inclusion, sustainability and community development, and YouthX (Germany), specialising in non-formal education and youth empowerment. 

Day 1 – Sharing Results and Stories

The first day of the symposium focused on presenting the overall project and its main outputs. Following the Welcome and Introduction, participants completed a pre-test to assess their initial knowledge and perceptions related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In the Project Overview session, the partners revisited the journey of @YOUNGSDG, highlighting key milestones such as the joint development of the SDGYOUTH Methodology (O1) and the SDG YOUNG Training Guide (O2). 

 These outputs provide a solid pedagogical backbone and a flexible set of training plans, tools and activities that help youth workers and educators turn SDG learning into concrete youth action. 

During the Presentation of Project Results session, partners also showcased:

O3 – Universal SDGYOUTH Civil Public Service Announcement, including posters, animations and digital messages co-created by young participants using tools such as Canva and Powtoon;

O4 – SDGYOUTH Website, which serves as a digital hub bringing together educational materials, good practices and project outcomes developed around the SDGs; 
O5 – Scaling-Up and Regional Sustainability Symposium, under which this event was organised as a key space for piloting, reflection and planning future steps. 

In the Sharing Success Stories session, youth participants and facilitators presented local SDG actions and pilot workshops they had implemented using the SDGYOUTH Methodology and the SDG YOUNG Training Guide from awareness campaigns and community events to creative digital productions. The day concluded with an open Q&A and discussion and a networking session, where participants explored opportunities for new collaborations and regional partnerships.

The second day started with a short Summary of Day 1, followed by a hands-on Project Outputs Workshop, where participants selected and implemented activities directly from the “SDG YOUNG Training Guide Development” book. Working in small groups, they tried out different workshop formats, including interactive games, storytelling exercises and project labs that lead young people from understanding the SDGs to designing realistic local solutions. 

In the afternoon, Group Discussions focused on how to adapt these tools to different regional realities and how to better include underrepresented and vulnerable youth in future activities. The Action Planning for Future Collaborations session enabled participants to map potential joint projects, new training events and dissemination activities that can keep the @YOUNGSDG spirit alive beyond the lifetime of the project. The symposium closed with a post-test, closing remarks and acknowledgments to all partners, facilitators and young changemakers who contributed to the success of the event.

By bringing together project results, inspiring stories and concrete planning for the future, the Regional Sustainability Symposium truly lived up to its motto: “Unveiling Success, Inspiring Futures” and confirmed the potential of young people as powerful drivers of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.