Leaving home, staying connected

A youth advisory board in Maribor, a cooperation group in the Cembra Valley and a data analysis on youth migration in Vesoul: through these inspiring examples, the project demonstrated how youth policy and regional development in the Alpine region can be shaped in practical terms. “Emigration can have positive aspects both for the region where young people arrive and for the region that they are leaving”, says project manager Hanna Öllös. “Especially if they remain connected to their region of origin and can contribute their newly acquired knowledge and skills there, even from a distance.” In mid-June 2026, the pilot regions shared their findings in the webinar “Leaving Home, Staying Connected: The Future of Alpine Living” and discussed them with young people from the Alpine region. At the final conference on 16 and 17 July, in Vesoul, France, project partners and stakeholders presented the results.

Young people’s perspectives

“Youth work only works if young people are involved”, says Ilayda from Turkey. She is studying in Maribor and is part of a youth advisory board within the project. It is important to take young people seriously, she says: “If they invest time and effort, they naturally want to see things change.” Steven comes from the Cembra Valley, which many young people are leaving. He moved from Italy to Zurich for his career and has a tip for young people who also want to leave: “It’s good to go abroad to get to know a different culture and new places. But always remember the place where you grew up, and keep the connection to it alive”. The interviews with the young people from the project can be listened to in the new podcast episode of the series “Rethinking youth migration in the Alps”.