Participation in the EU activities

European Rural Pact Webinar

On February 20, Think Tank AlterContacts participated in the European Rural Pact - Good Practice webinar on Rural Housing. We had a chance to present our programme "mOther Earth" as an example of housing renovation and revitalisation through sustainable solutions. This webinar, organised by the Rural Pact Support Office, explored the unique housing challenges that rural areas are facing. It showcased inspiring policies, strategies, initiatives, and community-led projects that improve affordability and availability, attract new residents, and promote renovation efforts contributing to the green transition in rural areas.

"Adequate rural housing is essential to attract and retain population, and foster vibrant rural communities. However, challenges persist, including affordability, availability, housing modernisation to meet evolving population needs and energy efficiency."

EESC-FAO Joint Event on SDGs and Voluntary National Reviews

On February 13, Think Tank AlterContacts took part in the joint event by the European Economic and Social Committee and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The event focused on strengthening civil society participation in Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) to the Sustainable Development Goals, with particular emphasis on youth involvement. It provided a platform for peer-to-peer exchanges to enhance youth engagement in both VNR processes and post-VNR actions. This initiative was aligned with FAO's commitment to strengthening agrifood systems as a driver for sustainable development and its peer-to-peer review model. The EESC provided a bridging space for dialogue among institutions and civil society from Europe and the Global South.

Selection of the European Capital of Democracy 2026

We congratulate the city of Cascais (Portugal) that was selected as the European Capital of Democracy 2026. Think Tank AlterContacts was part of the ECoD Citizen Jurors who voted for Cascais. This title is a recognition of and a motivation for outstanding democratic efforts. Cascais outperformed Rotterdam and Sofia. We evaluated and assessed the ambition, innovation, and creativity of democracy projects submitted by all applicant cities.

Europe Sustainable Development Report 2025:
Public Consultation

Think Tank AlterContacts has taken part in the online consultation on this regional assessment of countries' progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is a complement to the official SDG indicators and the voluntary national reviews. Read our contribution here.

Level Up! I care, I vote 2024

European Youth Parliament has selected our co-founder, Julia Skupchenko, to represent the Netherlands at the Level Up event, which took place on 12-13 April 2024 at the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the European Economic Social Committee (EESC). It brought together 1300+ youth activists from across the European Union and the key decision-makers related to youth policies.

Implementation of SDGs and Agenda 2030 in the EU

Think Tank AlterContacts has taken part in the online consultation on the EU Voluntary Review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by the European Economic and Social Committee.

European Youth Event in Strasbourg 2023

Every year the EYE (European Youth Event) brings together at the European Parliament in Strasbourg and online thousands of young people from all over the European Union and the world, to share and shape their ideas on Europe’s future. The submission of the AlterContacts Young System Thinkers was chosen among 200+ applications. Our proposal was to host an interactive workshop on "Solving EU Housing Crisis: Let’s Create Rural Alternatives for Youth."

Level Up! Accelerating change 2022

On 28-29 October 2022, our co-founder, Julia Skupchenko, participated in the Level Up event for the EU youth activists. She had an opportunity to share what Think Tank AlterContacts does for community activation with the members of the European Parliament, the European Commission, and permanent representations of national governments. As a follow-up to the event, she has initiated an Alumni Group where 1200+ young activists can stay in touch and support each other's projects. 

Economic resilience of self-employed professionals during COVID-19

The goal of our project is to create opportunities to cover basic needs (food, shelter, medical support) for self-employed people who lost their source of income due to the pandemic. That will be done by enabling the government to outsource remote office tasks to freelancers and self-employed through existing freelance platforms. Our proposal was submitted to the European Commission during #EUvsVirus online Hackathon 24-26 April 2020.