YEN’s year is always based on a specific Theme that addresses issues important for young people from national, ethnic and linguistic minorities.

How majority societies see minority communities affects our identity, our rights and our place in democratic life. Too often, that picture is drawn by others. Throughout 2025, we explored how young people from autochthonous, national and linguistic minorities can shape their own image and decide how, where and on whose terms they are visible.

We started with the Visibility in Action training on video and documentation in Berlin, then continued at the Easter Seminar "Visibility matters" in Opole/Oppeln. A second training focused on graphic design, and the Autumn Seminar "Visibility through creativity" took place in Daruvar, Croatia. We closed the year with a training on creative action in the public sphere in Hondarribia, in the Basque Country. Along the way, participants built practical skills to tell their communities' stories themselves, locally and at European level.

In our 40th anniversary year, we asked what it takes for minority youth to stand up for their rights, and to keep doing so without burning out. The year began with our Activist Skills Trainings on sustainable activism and self-care in Berlin, followed by project management in Strasbourg.

At the Easter Seminar "Know Your Rights!" in Budyšin/Bautzen, participants worked with the principle that minority rights are human rights. The Autumn Seminar "Raise Your Voice" in Pécs then turned that knowledge into advocacy tools such as lobbying, coalition-building and campaigning.