Alba Iulia and Brașov are the two cities competing for the title of Youth Capital of Romania in 2026. A jury will review their candidacies in the coming period, and the winner will be officially announced on October 19.

Every year, a city receives the title of the Youth Capital of Romania following a concept competition and is supported financially, respectively through training and consultancy, in preparing and implementing the initiatives in the application file. 

Following this year's call, the city halls of Alba Iulia and Brașov submitted applications to become the Youth Capital of Romania in 2026.

"Assuming such a candidacy shows courage and boldness but also reveals the city's clear intention to make future investments in youth. Regardless of whether we are talking about current well-being, future prospects or youth self-determination and participation, cities must provide spaces, services, and funding for young people to persevere and shape their city according to their aspirations," said András Farkas, coordinator of the selection process of the Youth Capital of Romania.

"Alba Iulia and Brașov understood that such a title can offer them a fast path to a more optimistic future based on today's young generation," he added.

The winning city will receive a financial prize worth EUR 50,000 from the Romanian Commercial Bank, plus the opportunity to attract other sources of funding from different public and private sources. Its holder will also benefit from the possibility of hosting various national-level events organized by public institutions and youth networks in Romania. 

Also, the winning city has the right to host the Youth Summit, the most important event of celebration, debate, and decision-making for the youth movement in Romania, and the 2026 edition of the Romanian Youth Gala.

Ploiești won the title of Youth Capital of Romania for the year 2024, while Vaslui is the 2025 winner.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: the organizers)