BRYC (Barents Regional Youth Council) is a multinational youth council consisting of youth representatives from the Northern regions of Norway, Russia, Finland and Sweden. BRYC was established in February 2004 to promote the interests of young people living in the Barents Region. Our mission is to strengthen people-to-people cooperation among youth and empower young people to be active participants of their societies. BRYC's five core values are: Cooperation, tolerence, reliability, fairness and respect.

The youth council consists of 15 members from Sweden, Finland, Russia and Norway. These youths represent each of the 14 member regions of the Barents Cooperation as well as one person representing indigenous youth.

BRYC members are either elected by the youth council in their region, or chosen by their county administration based on the following criteria. The candidate must be aged 18-30, have good English language skills, have insight into the current youth issues in their home region and be interested in international cooperation.

The council meets two times a year to discuss youth activities in the Barents Region, inform other representatives about the news from their regions and plan a big youth event every year. Our main activities are the BRYC Annual Meeting (for council members) in the spring and the BRYC Annual Event (open to all youths) in the falll/winter. These activities are organized by BRYC in cooperation with various partners. Every year BRYC picks a new location for these activities. 

BRYC Annual Event 2017photo 1.red.jpg

The youth council also actively engages in other youth events across the Barents Region, in addition to creating some of its own projects.

BRYC is administered by a board, which consists of five representatives from each of the four Barents countries: Finland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the indigenous representative. Its role is to organize BRYC's work and responsibilities based on the activities planned within a given year, and with regard to the members’ experiences or interests. BRYC elects a new board every year, during the BRYC Annual Meeting. The board is then led by the Chair and Deputy Chair. 

BRYC's activities are funded through annual regional grants, as well as project funding. The Norwegian Barents Secretariat functions as BRYC's financial manager and youth coordinator.

BRYC is (since 2018) seen as an official member of the Barents Regional Council (BRC). This platform is our most important way of promoting youth's interests to regional and national decision makers.

 

Download the BRYC Statutes (updated on 15.02.2019)

Download the BRYC Annual Report 2020

Download the Barents Youth Program 2021-24

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