The thematic clusters that will be specifically addressed during the fifth edition of the MYA are fully in line with the Euro – Mediterranean priorities and the UfM Youth Strategy 2030. Each of them encompasses specific components that tackle relevant sub-topics, such as:

1. Thematic cluster 1: Climate Action & Accountability:

This thematic cluster focuses on closing the gap between climate ambition and real-world delivery. It addresses climate change as a governance, localization, and finance challenge, emphasizing practical implementation, community-level action, and accountability. The cluster aims to position youth, local authorities, and civil society as key actors in translating COP outcomes into measurable, inclusive, and sustainable climate solutions across the Mediterranean.

It includes the following components:

Component 1: Climate Delivery Gaps

• This component addresses the growing recognition that climate action in the Euro-Mediterranean region is constrained not by ambition, but by governance and implementation gaps. It focuses on strengthening coordination between national frameworks and local actors, improving delivery mechanisms, and enhancing accountability for climate commitments.
• The component explores practical tools for monitoring implementation, aligning policies with local needs, and ensuring that climate strategies produce tangible outcomes for communities most affected by climate impacts.

Component 2: Local Responses to Climate Impacts

• This component responds to the increasing localization of climate impacts in the Mediterranean, particularly in coastal cities, rural areas, and climate vulnerable communities. It focuses on community-based adaptation and practical approaches to addressing both economic and non-economic loss and damage.
• The component explores locally driven responses, municipal adaptation strategies, and regional cooperation mechanisms that enable timely, inclusive, and context-specific support, ensuring that loss and damage responses reflect lived realities on the ground.

Component 3: Making Climate Finance Count

• This component addresses the shift in climate finance debates from mobilization to impact and accountability. It focuses on improving access to climate finance for youth-led initiatives, local authorities, and civil society actors, while strengthening transparency and measurable outcomes.
• The component examines climate finance instruments, carbon markets implementation, and innovative tracking tools that ensure financial flows translate into concrete adaptation and mitigation results at the local and regional level.

1. Thematic Cluster 2: Gender Equity & Agency

This thematic cluster examines how digital spaces, intersecting identities, and conflict-related dynamics are reshaping women’s rights, participation, and security. The cluster addresses gender inequality as a multidimensional challenge produced at the intersection of technology, power, displacement, and governance, while highlighting both the risks and transformative opportunities facing women across the Mediterranean today. It includes the following components: 

Component 1: Gender Equality in Digital Spaces

• This component focuses on the growing role of digital spaces in shaping gender equality outcomes. It examines online violence, digital surveillance, and exclusion, alongside the opportunities digital platforms provide for feminist organizing, expression, and cross-border solidarity.
• The component explores policy, protection, and capacity-building approaches that promote safer, more inclusive digital environments for women and girls in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

Component 2: Women and Intersectional Inequalities

• This component addresses how intersecting forms of inequality shape women’s access to rights, resources, and participation. It focuses on women facing compounded marginalization, including migrant women, displaced women, women with disabilities, and women in rural or conflict-affected areas.
• The component promotes intersectional approaches in policy design, service delivery, and advocacy, ensuring gender equality efforts reflect diverse lived realities rather than one-size-fits-all solutions.

Component 3: Women, Conflict, Displacement and Security

• This component focuses on women’s experiences and roles within contexts of armed conflict, environmental displacement, and insecurity. It examines the gendered impacts of war and climate-related displacement, as well as women’s contributions to peacebuilding, community resilience, and security.
• The component aligns with the Women, Peace and Security agenda while integrating emerging challenges related to climate change, forced migration, and protracted crises in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

Thematic cluster 3: AI, Skills & the Future of Youth Work:

This thematic cluster examines how artificial intelligence is reshaping youth employment, skills development, and entrepreneurship in the Euro-Mediterranean region. Rather than framing AI solely as a technological opportunity, the cluster addresses its structural impact on labor markets, skill demand, and access to decent work. The cluster focuses on equipping young people with adaptive skills, ethical awareness, and market-relevant capabilities, while supporting innovation-driven employment pathways that align with inclusive growth, digital transformation, and emerging economic sectors. It includes the following components:

Component 1: AI-Driven Skills and Workforce Readiness

• This component focuses on how AI is transforming skill formation and workforce preparation for young people. It explores the use of AI-powered training systems to personalize learning pathways, identify skill gaps, and align vocational education with evolving labor market needs.
• The component emphasizes future-oriented skills, including digital literacy, problem-solving, and green and digital sector competencies, while addressing risks related to automation, job displacement, and unequal access to AI-enabled training.

Component 2: Smart Entrepreneurship and AI Innovation

• This component promotes entrepreneurship models that leverage AI and digital technologies to create innovative, resilient, and scalable ventures. It focuses on how young entrepreneurs can use data-driven tools, automation, and emerging technologies to respond to market needs and global challenges.
• The component also addresses ethical innovation, responsible AI use, and inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems, ensuring that technological advancement supports sustainable business creation rather than reinforcing inequality.

Component 3: Youth Employability and Market Access in the AI Economy

• This component addresses the growing gap between youth skills and market demand in AI-influenced economies. It focuses on enhancing employability through labor market intelligence, digital platforms, and innovation-driven career pathways.
• The component supports youth in navigating changing employment models, including hybrid work, platform-based jobs, and startup ecosystems, while strengthening connections between training systems, employers, and emerging sectors.

Application Process & Key Information

For more information about MYA, including eligibility criteria and details on the application process, please consult the Guidelines for Applicants. Applications that do not comply with these guidelines will be automatically rejected.

Interested applicants must complete the online application form no later than 15 May 2026, 23:59 CEST. Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered.

The agenda structure of the programme is available for Applicants to help candidates better understand the thematic focus, learning objectives, and expected outcomes.

Please note that shortlisted applicants will be required to sign a Letter of Commitment, confirming their full availability and engagement throughout the entire programme duration.

For further questions, please refer to the FAQ section.