Winners of the 2025 Just Transition Young Voices Awards announced 

From coal dependency to climate resilience, young writers call for fairer, resilient energy futures 

The winners of the 2025 Just Transition Young Voices Awards have been announced, celebrating the next generation of storytellers shaping the debate on South East and Eastern Europe’s green future. The award was created to amplify the perspectives of young adults under 30 who will define the region’s climate, energy, and social landscape for decades to come. It was organised by the Energy Community Secretariat together with Bankwatch, CAN Europe, the CLEW Network, and the Regional Youth Cooperation Office, with Balkan Green Energy News as a media partner.  

This year’s competition drew submissions from young people aged 18–30 across Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine. The winning stories highlight the opportunities of the green transition, while confronting its complex challenges: ranging from unequal access to clean energy to the impacts of war, migration, and poverty. Together, they reflect on how communities across the region are striving to build greener, more resilient energy systems in ways that are fair and inclusive. 

“Across South East and Eastern Europe, the energy transition will succeed only if it is inclusive and regionally connected,” said jury member Marta Schulte-Fischedick, from the Energy Community's Green Deal Unit. “The voices of young people are central to that effort, and this award shows the depth of talent and commitment they bring.” 

First place was awarded to Tringë Shkodra (26, Kosovo*) for her compelling piece on her country’s just energy transition and the shift away from coal. She traces Kosovo's* reliance on lignite as an environmental liability, public health and social justice crisis, calling for faster, more inclusive reforms that empower youth. Shkodra will take up a paid one-month internship with the Energy Community Secretariat.

Second place went to Ani Gogokhia (18, Georgia) for her first-hand account, illustrating how daily struggles with low wages, migration, pollution, and health crises mirror the risks of an unequal energy transition in Georgia. Gogokhia will be awarded a fully funded fact-finding mission on energy transformation in the Western Balkans with Bankwatch.

Third place was awarded to Kateryna Pereloma (22, Ukraine) for her account from Kyiv, documenting how communities are responding to war by embracing sustainability through solar energy, recycling, urban gardening, green startups, and youth-led initiatives. Pereloma will receive participation in the Training for Journalists on Climate Disinformation in the Western Balkans, hosted by CAN Europe in Ohrid, North Macedonia, this September, with travel and accommodation covered. 

Winning entries will be published later this year on Balkan Green Energy News and other key partner platforms, such as CLEW’s blog and RYCO’s digital platform Hajde. 

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