On September 2 and 3, 2026, the workshop “Encounters on the Neisse” took place at the IBZ Marienthal—organized by the IBZ St. Marienthal and the Kreisau Foundation. The goal of the German-Polish conference was to identify challenges and, based on those, generate ideas and inspiration for deeper cross-border cooperation and the German-Polish “Neisse Agenda.” During the four panel discussions – ‘Mobility & Everyday Life’, ‘Language, Education & Communication’, ‘Transformation & Regional Development’ and ‘Culture & Democratic Neighbourhood’ – stakeholders from Germany and Poland exchanged views and developed initial small-scale projects and ideas for the Neisse Agenda.

As part of the ‘Culture and Democratic Neighbourhood’ panel, the TRWAOS Institute delivered a keynote presentation on 3 September, introducing the trinational youth participation project YVA/JuBReg and sharing some observations and initial findings on the topic of trinational youth participation in the context of regional structural change and the Euro-Neisse region. In the subsequent panel discussions, the need for better networking and communication – both across the border and amongst the respective local cross-border cultural stakeholders – became particularly apparent. Together, participants considered how mutual awareness – and thus future cooperation – could be strengthened. This theme – knowing what exists on the other side of the border and having more opportunities for exchange – also plays a major role time and again for the young people involved in the project. Ideas for digital platforms and networking opportunities were developed both within the JuBReg project and at the workshop.

The two days provided a wonderful opportunity to get to know one another and exchange views, as well as to jointly explore and develop ideas for future cross-border cooperation.