EUROPEAN YOUTH ENERGY FORUM 2025
From Potential to Skills: Shaping Young Professionals for the Energy Transition
About Us - European Youth Energy Forum
What is EYEF?
The European Youth Energy Forum (EYEF) is the flagship event organised by the European Youth Energy Network (EYEN), with the mission to create a platform for young people to voice their opinions and collaborate with energy stakeholders towards better youth engagement.
Each year, a group of motivated young individuals is selected to participate in a series of weekly online sessions over the course of three months. These sessions lead up to a final live (in-person) event, where participants present the outcomes of their work
Phase 1 - Online Sessions
During the online phase, participants engage in research, discussion, and drafting of a position paper aimed at strengthening youth involvement in the energy transition—at the European, national, and local levels; across public and private sectors; and within education systems. The exact focus of the work depends on the annual theme and may involve developing new policy proposals or enhancing existing ones. Learn more about the online sessions here.
Phase 2 - Live Event
The live event is a four-day, in-person gathering that brings together participants for an engaging and collaborative experience. It features a diverse programme including panel discussions and learning sessions with energy experts and young leaders as well as focused working sessions exclusive to the selected participants. These activities offer valuable insights that help participants refine and strengthen their proposals, while fostering dialogue between youth and key energy stakeholders. See the Agenda here.
2025 Year's Edition
After three successful editions, EYEF returned in 2025, bigger and stronger, as an official IRENA Regional Youth Forum. Under the Patronage of the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security the live event took place in the beautiful city of Catania, Italy. This milestone edition will bring together 100 selected young changemakers, offering them the opportunity to connect, collaborate, and co-create policy proposals that place youth at the center of the European energy transition.
In 2025 Enel Foundation came on board as Knowledge Partner of EYEF 2025, providing expertise and strategic guidance to maximize the Forum’s impact.
Previous EYEF policy proposals have been presented at COP, to the European Commission, and to other key decision-makers, showcasing the forum’s growing impact and credibility in shaping the future of energy policy.
The theme of 2025 year’s forum was “From Potential to Skills: Shaping Young Professionals for the Energy Transition.” The focus was on exploring how the next generation of energy professionals can be equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to drive the energy transition and adapt to its rapidly evolving demands. The theme was analysed by the selected participants across 12 policy areas:
Energy Equity
How can we empower local communities to benefit from sustainable energy projects?
Educational Systems & Scholastic Apprenticeships
How can educational systems stay up to date to prepare a workforce resilient to change and bridge the gap between theory and practice?
Digital and Technological Skills Gap
What are the skills needed to keep pace with digital developments and narrow the digital gap?
Entrepreneurship and Funding
How can we create new sustainable finance models that support innovation and accelerate the energy transition?
EU-Mediterranean Cooperation
How can we intensify the cross-continental cooperation rendering it a win-win exchange of knowledge, finance and skills development opportunities?
Energy Diplomacy
How can diplomacy be leveraged to create successful collaborations for sustainable energy projects?
Skills and Jobs Mapping
Decision making without data is just gambling” - how can we start collecting better quality data around existing and future jobs and their skills requirements?
Reskilling and Upskilling
What are the best strategies for reskilling and upskilling workers to ensure they remain valuable and employable in the green energy sector?
Entry and Early Careers Opportunities
How can we support the inexperienced workforce to find early-stage opportunities and vertically develop their skills?
Brain Drain and Brain Gain (Talent Migration)
How can countries create and benefit from their technological clusters by attracting new workforce and enhancing cooperation with countries where these clusters are missing?
Employment Regulations
Due to the existing barriers, laws and regulatory frameworks, how can we propose novel approaches to support companies in their hiring processes?
Regional Disparities and Localisation
How can regional strengths be levered to amplify access to green jobs across the EU and Mediterranean regions?
Past Editions
Budapest 2024
EYEF 2024 focused on the theme “Sustainable Cities of the Future,” addressing the challenges of rising energy consumption and rapidly growing urban populations. From July to October, participants took part in weekly online sessions, followed by a five-day in-person event in Budapest.
During the forum, 60 young participants from 22 European countries collaborated to develop six policy proposals aimed at shaping the cities of tomorrow. Their work centered on understanding the critical role of urban areas in the energy transition and exploring how cities can lead the way in cross-sector innovation and social transformation.
Berlin 2023
Following the success of the inaugural event in Lisbon, EYEN hosted the second edition of the European Youth Energy Forum from 30 October to 3 November in Berlin.
Building on the outcomes of the 2022 forum, the six most promising proposals were selected for further development. This process resulted in a concrete methodology and roadmap for their implementation.
A new group of 40 selected participants took part in weekly online sessions leading up to a four-day in-person event in Berlin, with all expenses covered. The programme featured panel discussions with energy experts (livestreamed to the public), as well as collaborative working sessions focused on refining and advancing the proposals.
Lisbon 2022
In November 2022, 45 young European professionals and students came together to participate in the first European Youth Energy Forum . Over the course of three months of online sessions, followed by a five-day in-person event in Lisbon, the participants developed a position paper titled “The Role of Youth in the Future of the European Energy Transition.”
As a result of their work, 12 concrete proposals were formulated to enhance youth engagement in the European energy transition.
