Day 4: From the Town Hall to Dream Councils

The group packed up notebooks, cameras, and good moods and headed to Tarnów, a nearby city where real young people are shaping real policies.

The visit started at the Town Hall, a grand old building echoing with history — and, on this day, filled with the sound of 30 curious voices from four countries. Inside, the Municipal Youth Council of Tarnów welcomed the NextGen: Future Leaders participants with open arms. Their representatives shared stories of how the council works: elections, meetings, debates, projects, and even the occasional disagreement that leads to something better.
Hearing how local teens and students have an official seat at the table where decisions are made made everyone sit a little straighter. You could almost see the spark in their eyes — the realization that youth participation isn’t a slogan, it’s a structure.

After a lively Q&A and plenty of selfies, the group stepped back into the sunshine for Active Tarnów, a walking tour guided by the young council members themselves. They wandered through narrow streets and open squares, past the historic Town Hall and hidden corners that revealed the city’s civic spirit. Each stop came with a story — about local engagement, community projects, or how history shaped the present. It was the kind of tour where learning didn’t feel like learning at all.

Back at the venue in Wojnicz after lunch, the participants faced a creative challenge: “Your Own Youth Council.” Divided into teams, they imagined what their dream municipal youth councils would look like.
Some groups went for bold innovation — councils that worked entirely online or focused on climate policy — while others emphasized inclusion, accessibility, or creative campaigning. Flipcharts turned into mock constitutions, and arguments about voting systems somehow turned into laughter. By the end, each group presented their perfect council model, complete with catchy names, goals, and fictional posters urging citizens to “Vote for Us!”

The mock election campaign that followed was pure theatre. Speeches were delivered with passion (and a bit of dramatic flair), campaign jingles were invented on the spot, and the entire room erupted into applause for every group’s presentation. It was democracy in its most joyful, chaotic form — and it worked.

The evening ended with Lithuania’s Intercultural Night — a warm, rhythmic celebration filled with dances, songs, and traditional snacks. The room glowed with soft lights and friendship, the kind that only grows when you’ve spent the day building imaginary councils and laughing until your sides hurt.

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