We met as strangers and left as friends: a Letter from Youth4Peace summit in Berlin

Atnaujinta Penktadienis, 27/06/2025

What is peace? Is it the absence of war? The feeling of happiness and calm? Is it hope? 80 young people from 26 different countries came together in Berlin to share personal experiences about war and peace. And I, a Ukrainian studying in Poland, was one of them.

I'm not going to retell the entire week-long marathon – leave it for official reports. Instead, I would like to share what really resonated with me: meaningful conversations, late-night walks, and the laughter that suddenly brought everyone together.

When I first arrived at the Youth4Peace event, everything felt like a tangled mess. I felt like I was inside a big ball of yarn, lost in questions, “What is your name?” or “Where are you from?”. Each of us tried to pull one stripe to sort it out and to understand each other better - threads of names, faces, questions, languages, memories… But often, the more we pulled, the tighter it became.

You’d pull on one string - a conversation over coffee, a controversial opinion regarding AI videos or political dangers in our countries - and five others would tighten around it. Nothing was linear or simple. We were inside of a knot and we muddled even more.

© Jennifer Sanchez, Youth4Peace

Day after day, workshop after workshop, late-night talk after late-night talk, we stopped trying to sort it out. The tangle became familiar. We found each other in the loops and crossings - not despite them, but because of them. We shared emotions, stories, and activities. Small-talk questions somehow transformed into deep “how do you feel?” acts of care.

The whole event was supposed to be about youth participation and peace or war experiences, but instead it was more about sharing views and ideas. For some of us, who experienced life in a war zone, it was a great platform to share and to be heard.

Every day, the program was intense. We had a chance to visit a commemorative event of 80 years since the end of World War II in the Bundestag. Many politicians visited us during the week and inspired us to create meaningful final messages.

Also, we were honoured to be the first visitors to the newly elected German Chancellor’s office. We had a unique opportunity to sit face-to-face and ask questions that bothered us and receive direct answers. Friedrich Merz told us about his plans for engaging youth in global politics and how to engage young people in political debates. As people from different backgrounds, we asked questions about some issues from our home countries. The Chancellor, for example, promised to “support Ukraine until its victory” or admitted that far-right rising is a big threat to European democracy. Also, he promised to do everything possible to solve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

© Jennifer Sanchez, Youth4Peace

During our visit to the Sachsenhausen Memorial, it was especially difficult to listen to a contemporary witness, the Warsaw insurgent and survivor of Auschwitz Bogdan Bartnikowski. For me, the pain that you could hear in his voice and his stories of the past could easily break any person, but not him. I was amazed by his faith in humanity and human kindness despite everything. He said, “I believe in the best, because I survived, we survived”.

By the end of the event, we created performances and videos, and we prepared speeches about the importance of democracy and dialogues. Sometimes I felt touched by the personal stories of guests and participants. Sometimes I was so honoured to speak up to politicians and policy makers and actually be the voice that would be heard.

And when it was time to leave, I realised that not only were we reflecting and trying to reach high ranks with our messages. We were tied together with ideas and wishes to be the change that is needed in the modern world.

© Jennifer Sanchez, Youth4Peace

Personally, I felt that the threads we were tangled in became my comfort zone. I felt that I didn’t want to be unravelled. I wanted to stay wrapped in those threads - so unique, messy and unexpected - as everyone in the event.

The peace event showed us how privileged we are to be in a peaceful country, to sit and talk. How difficult it can be to be united if we still have different perspectives. But the most valuable thing I took away was the people I was lucky enough to meet.

Young Journalists in Europe - Meet the author

Anna Kalenichenko

“I’m a Ukrainian living abroad. Politics and diplomacy guide me in making choices that actually matter right now. Through honest conversations and meaningful actions, I want to be sure we’re building a story we can be proud of and not one we’ll regret.”

This article reflects the views of the authors only. The European Commission and Eurodesk cannot be held responsible for it.