The Role of Young People in Helping to Ensure a Sustainable Future for Europe's Mountain Areas

Summary We highlight the importance of involving young people in decision‐making about the future of mountain areas as attractive and sustainable places to live and work. Drawing on engagement with over 1,300 young people across Europe we highlight their hopes and fears for the future of Europe's Mountain areas. We explore how young people's experiences in four European mountain areas (in Romania, Scotland, Spain and Turkey) compared to the goals of several European (or EU) policies and policy mechanisms for rural areas such as Europe's Long‐Term Vision for Rural Areas (LTVRA) and EUROPARC's Youth Manifesto. We argue that the views and priorities of Europe's young people from both EU and non‐EU countries need to be more strongly incorporated into these policies/visions going forward. Without such improvements these mountain areas may struggle to maintain future resilience and sustainability. We call for more tailored opportunities for young people to remain in, move to, and establish businesses in, rural mountain areas. These could be aided via a reworking of the existing subsidies and grant schemes, or via providing opportunities for collaborations between young people and existing local mountain businesses.