The refugee crisis and its consequences, concerning both the assessment of the EU migration policy in the last decade, as well as proposed solutions and Polish authorities’ reaction to them, were a subject of a wide public debate in Poland. Currently, despite the change in government, a discussion is ongoing regarding the government’s response to the crisis at the Polish-Belarussian border (as many activist groups are disappointed by the lack of significant change in this area of policy) and the dilemmas surrounding the scale and scope of help given to the Ukrainian refugees.

Another important dispute concerns ecology, especially in the context of air pollution and the use of ecological energy sources (including limiting the use of traditional sources). The conflicts in this respect are caused by the question of pollutant emissions from car transport (a major problem in large cities), as well as the so-called ‘low emissions’ caused by combustion in domestic boilers (which particularly affects smaller towns and rural areas). The war in Ukraine has laid bare the negative consequences of European dependance on Russian fossil fuels and invigorated the debate surrounding alternative energy sources, such as wind, solar, and nuclear energy. In this context, it is important to note the forms of social engagement by the youth which often exceed the classically understood bounds of volunteer work or of protest, and take on radical forms not always understandable and acceptable for the majority of society. In the context of climate change, this mostly refers to direct action taken by the Last Generation (blocking traffic), while the youth is also deciding on active engagement regarding the armed conflict in the Gaza Strip, which in 2024 led to a conflict with the higher education institutions.

The change in government in Poland gave many the hope for a chance for enabling the youth to have a real effect on the activity of the public government. This was to be symbolized by the change in how the Youth and Children Sejm recruits its representatives. Previously held essay writing competitions were replaced by a draw. However, this led to criticism that such recruitment does not equalize chances, but leads to a reduction of the rights of the young generation in political participation. The argument holds that instead of providing a merit-based criteria for participation, the change creates a “Sejm lottery” that creates nothing but an illusion of agency. Furthermore, many members of youth groups have criticized the limitation of the Sejm’s membership to only elementary school students, which changes the Youth and Children Sejm into a Sejm only for Children.