Why do you want to participate?

Participating in this event is both exciting and meaningful because it provides the opportunity to connect with people from around the world, gaining valuable insights from diverse perspectives. Additionally, it will allow me to contribute to something with real, scalable impact, turning ideas into tangible change. I’m eager to make a change and to have a chance to do it is something really important. Clearly, a change like this one will provide a reflection on freedom, which is key in this event. However, I think that hearing out young people, the voices of the future, is what I find most important. Since we are the future leaders and changemakers of society, it is essential that we are part of the changes happening today.

What does freedom mean to you?

Freedom can mean many things, but for me, it is about having the liberty and ability to take action and shape my own path. Having been born in an ultra-peripheral European region, the Canary Islands, I have a deep understanding of what it means to be geographically isolated. While the Canary Islands are part of Spain and of the European Union, their location in the Atlantic Ocean, near Africa, has shaped the fact that distance and opportunities go hand in hand for me. Freedom has given me the ability to travel freely within the Schengen Area and the opportunity to study in Maastricht without any need of going through customs or bureaucratic hurdles, allowing me to pursue my dreams and to meet new people, new ideas. Freedom for me goes beyond just physical movement. As a woman, it is about having the freedom of moving in a space that is safe, it is about having the opportunity to pursue career opportunities and cultural experiences without barriers. A place where I am allowed to grow, where I am allowed to imagine an achievable future.

What are the biggest challenges?

This question is quite broad, as it groups together diverse realities that depend on different social, economic and political contexts. The obstacles faced vary significantly based on location, background and personal circumstances. A young person living in Ukraine faces entirely different difficulties than one in Spain. Likewise, within Spain itself, the experience of a young person who moves having been born into a network of connections and privilege cannot be compared to the problems of a Spanish youth whose immigrant parents struggle to make ends meet. A general question requires a general answer: the biggest freedom challenge faced by young people today is the ability to thrive in a truly free world. Because, in truth, the world is ceasing to be free. Every day, every hour, we see news where the four fundamental freedoms are being questioned. Where freedom of speech, worship and want are being ripped away from us, and where freedom of fear no longer exists. As these freedoms start to fade away, young people will find themselves in a world full of uncertainty. One where they will have to learn to navigate new challenges, where freedom will have to be actively defended.

Do you have a message?

Another aspect of freedom I would change is the way it is perceived. Many, even including myself at times, fail to fully recognise and appreciate what it means to live in a free country and be part of a free union. Freedom has become something we take for granted, even as we witness other countries fighting to keep it or struggling after losing it. Freedom has shaped every single part of our lives, and yet we still fail to see that for ourselves. As Joni Mitchell famously said in 1970, “You don’t know what you got till it’s gone.”