The meeting featured an interactive Q&A session with EU Project Officers and Financial Officers on Lump Sum funding, followed by in-depth discussions on stakeholder engagement approaches across the different projects. The exchange highlighted innovative practices in patient involvement, inclusive participation strategies, and policy-oriented dissemination. A key takeaway from the meeting was the strong added value of this informal “sibling” collaboration, enabling the sharing of best practices and fostering cross-disciplinary learning. Participants expressed a clear interest in continuing these exchanges through future joint meetings, with potential focus areas including policy engagement and dissemination strategies.

A special highlight of the meeting was the active involvement of Isaac Searle, who co-hosted the session and contributed as a youth representative of YOUTHreach. He also presented during the stakeholder engagement segment, sharing valuable insights from a youth perspective. His role underscored the importance of meaningfully involving young people not only as participants, but as active contributors in shaping research and dialogue.

YOUTHreach would like to extend its sincere thanks to the EU Project Officers and Financial Officers for their valued participation and insightful contributions throughout the session. We also warmly thank the Maastricht University Brussels Hub for their generous hospitality in hosting this event.

We look forward to continuing this fruitful collaboration.