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The Board came together for their 8th meeting in Brussels from 15-17 March 2026. The meeting was hosted in the European Parliament's InfoHub who gave us a great welcome!
Young members met with Parliament Vice-President Ewa Kopacz, and Members of Parliament (MEPs) Hristo Petrov and Lena Schilling.
Day 1: Preparation
- This preparation time for the young member's is essential for team-building, to decide the topics to be discussed, and the meeting formats, often using games or fun interactions. For each board meeting, children can volunteer to co-chair, be a timekeeper, run icebreakers or help facilitate a session
- Monika Jagiello from the European Parliament came to help young members prepare their discussions with MEPs and give them background on who they would be speaking with
- Emanuele, a member from our Rise and Reflect alumni group, was also there to help out
Day 2: The Board meeting
- We welcomed five new young members (Ektor, Jake, Petar, Rugile, Yara) and bid a very fond farewell to four others (Aleksandar, Elisabet, Léonie, Maria)
- Platform activities over the last few months were presented along with what was coming up in the next few months
- Everyone then split into groups to discuss their hopes, insights and ideas for the future
- There were by group discussions on possible topics for the next Work Plan 2027-2028 - with a focus on how to get more children involved/heard
- Denisa from DG Justice introduced the next workshop, where the children reviewed an online survey about digital fairness. To give feedback on readability, relevance and possible improvements
Day 3: Meeting members of the European Parliament
- The day's first meeting was with European Parliament Vice-President Ewa Kopacz from Poland, who is also the EP Coordinator on children’s rights. Topics discussed were: VP Kopacz's journey from pediatrician to politician, digital safety, mental health and digital education
- The second meeting was with Members of the European Parliament Hristo Petrov and Lena Schilling:
- Hristo from Bulgaria is on the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, which is concerned with children's welfare, particularly disadvantaged children
- Lena from Austria, who is the youngest MEP, is on the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety, which she has been active about since she was a teenager
The MEPs were impressed with the quality of children's reflection and questions; stressed how important it was that young people are listened to; and urged them to keep pushing and questioning.
More details on the discussions will be available in the Board report a bit later.