EU4Youth 2025 Youth Days took place in Brussels on October 8–9, bringing together around 150 youth leaders, representatives of civil society, international organizations, and EU partners. During the event, the NUMO team presented Ukraine's experience in implementing Youth Policy Labs — a model for co-creating youth policy that brings together young people and local authorities.

The EU4Youth program — the EU's flagship initiative for the six Eastern Partnership countries — supports young people through skills development, mentoring, and strengthening partnership networks.

Participants discussed the key challenges facing young people in the region today: the impact of war, limited development opportunities, risks to democracy, and shrinking space for civic participation.

The approach presented by NUMO in Brussels was the Youth Policy Labs model. As part of this initiative, 25 young people and 25 government representatives from 11 regions of Ukraine worked together in offline laboratories in Kyiv. The teams jointly developed local youth programs using participatory methods.

The result was a practical methodological development — a manual with real cases, tools, and recommendations demonstrating the effectiveness of the co-creation model.

At the time of the event, four youth programs had already been approved by local councils, with seven more in the development stage. New youth spaces have appeared in schools and community centers, and young people have initiated the inclusion of human rights, entrepreneurship, and civic participation topics in the programs. Cooperation between young people and authorities within the Youth Policy Labs has become a tool for real change rather than a formal procedure.

Participants in the panels and working sessions discussed the possibilities of scaling up this model in other communities in Ukraine. The flexibility of Youth Policy Labs proved to be more effective than standardized templates, and the youth programs created in the labs are already being integrated into local strategies, ensuring long-term sustainability.

NUMO representatives noted the importance of being able to share Ukraine's experience and hear stories from colleagues in Eastern Partnership countries. EU4Youth Days became a platform for discussing how young people in different countries can shape policy through cooperation, openness, and ongoing dialogue.