The Commission on Youth Issues held its 3^rd meeting on 8-9 November 2006 in Liepja, Latvia. About 25 persons from 15 cities participated. The major aim was to plan the youth conference "Under the Surface" to be held in September 2007.

"Liepja has always been a good example to other municipalities in Latvia when it comes to the work with the youth. The city has created one of the first municipal youth centers in the country. The Liepja Youth Centre is taking active part in the work of the Commission. This work gives possibility to young people from the whole Baltic Sea Region to share experiences and best practices in order to implement them in their municipalities," says Deputy Mayor of Liepja, Mr Gunars Ansins.

Participants of the meeting worked in three different groups (youth, civil servants and organisations in the BSR - UBC, BSSYA) in order to find out what the needs and expectations for the upcoming UBC Youth Conference are.

Young people stated that they want to meet new people, share ideas and put the "Book of Demands" (result of the previous Youth Conference) into practice. Civil servants working with youth issues want to acquire new tools for working with youth councils and youth networks. Expectations of the representatives of organisations working in the region (UBC, BSSYA) concerned a possibility for local youth to meet, and for cities to learn best practices.

The Commission decided that the outcome of the Conference in Pärnu should be a "Book of Possibilities" as a follow-up to the "Book of Demands". There will not be any regular Commission meetings in 2007.

Further information: Ms Tove Lund Phone:+46 (0)480 450174 E-mail: tove.lund@kalmar.se Mr Vilis Bruveris Phone:+46 (0)480 450173 E-mail: vilis.bruveris@kalmar.se www.ubc-youth.org