Written by Aleksandra Grbović Bitić, Young European Ambassador from Serbia

This November, Young European Ambassadors (YEAs) from all six Western Balkans entities came together in Belgrade for an event that transcends the scope of a typical conference. We joined the Young Leaders programme, organized by the Belgrade Center for Security Policy (BCSP), which runs in parallel with the Belgrade Security Conference (BSC) – the largest high-level foreign policy and security gathering in the Western Balkans, bringing together over 500 participants, 80+ speakers, and more than 20 panels and side events.

This year’s conference, titled “Pathways to Freedom”, paid respect to the struggles of all those searching for their paths toward liberty while resisting oppression and seeking dignity. As Mr Cvijić, President of the International Advisory Committee of the BCSP, underlined, “Across the world, young people are leading movements for justice and freedom,” a message that strongly resonated with us as Young European Ambassadors.

For us, it was not solely about hearing global experts discuss security, democracy, and Europe’s future. It was more about ensuring that young people from the region are actively involved, raising questions, challenging assumptions, and demonstrating what a European Western Balkans entails in practice. 

Young leaders in a high-level arena

The Young Leaders Programme aims to empower young people from the Western Balkans to become future decision-makers and opinion-shapers. As Young European Ambassadors, we joined students, researchers, activists, and young professionals from across the region to unpack intricate matters such as transatlantic relations, EU enlargement, and the evolving global security framework.

Workshops equipped us for the main conference sessions, enabling us to integrate the “big picture”, ranging from global crises to EU reforms, with tangible realities observed within our own local contexts. Rather than functioning as a separate youth side-event, we were integrated into the core programme, granted the opportunity to address the assembly, formulate questions, and challenge speakers regarding the implications of their decisions for our generation.

This experience demonstrated in practice what we often promote as Young European Ambassadors: meaningful youth participation. We were not there to “symbolically represent youth”, but to offer ideas, perspectives, and lived experiences from Tirana to Sarajevo, from Prishtina to Belgrade.

Four days of learning, one shared future

Over the course of four days, the Young Leaders space transitioned from resembling a programme to embodying a genuine community. We initiated the programme with entertaining icebreakers and introductions; however, those quickly turned into honest conversations about what freedom, security and “Europe” mean in Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. By the time we stepped into our first sessions, we already carried each other’s stories into the room.

In the days that followed, the agenda evolved into a sort of roadmap: from women leading regional dialogue and our critical walk through the Labyrinth of the Nineties to workshops on transatlantic relations, EU enlargement and digital security. We shifted between personal experiences and pressing geopolitical questions, transitioning from museum halls to conference rooms, engaging in both attentive listening to experts and challenging them from the audience.

The concluding sessions, during which young individuals candidly discussed remaining in or departing from the region, as well as issues of trust, fear, and responsibility, appeared to be a natural culmination of all that had been revealed over the course of those four days. It was no longer solely about the knowledge gained from the programme but about how prepared we were to apply it upon returning home. 

Learning from the past, speaking for the future

A particularly impactful moment of the programme was the guided critical visit to the Labyrinth of the Nineties exhibition at the Museum of Yugoslavia, led by the esteemed historian and professor Ms Radina Vučetić. Walking together through the exhibition, we reflected on the manner in which media, propaganda, and everyday life during the 1990s continue to shape our societies and form our current perceptions of one another.

For YEAs representing all six Western Balkan entities, this event represented more than merely a museum visit. It served as a space to cultivate empathy, to listen attentively, and to recognise how diverse narratives shape our perception of history. This experience complemented panels on regional dialogue and reconciliation, where we encountered inspiring stories of women, activists, and educators who foster understanding across divisions on a daily basis. 

These moments served as a reminder that security encompasses more than borders, institutions, and alliances; it also involves memory, trust, and the courage to engage in challenging conversations.

Taking BSC home: From conference hall to community

Departing from Belgrade, we did not perceive the Young Leaders Programme was “completed”; rather, it appeared to serve as another building block. As YEAs, we will now be applying our knowledge within our own communities. In this way, the Pathways to Freedom theme persists through incremental but tangible actions – within classrooms, youth centres, and neighbourhoods across the Western Balkans.

The conference also strengthened the connections within the YEA network. During our time together, we discovered new ideas for joint cross-border initiatives, from exchanges and study visits to creative storytelling projects that show how EU values are already lived in our region. We departed as a more cohesive regional team, better integrated and more equipped to support each other’s efforts.

In a conference that honoured those who search for their own paths to liberty and dignity, the presence of YEAs sent a clear message: young people from the Western Balkans are not only learning about freedom, but we are actively contributing to shaping its future in our region in the years to come.