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Conference “How to better respond to European aspirations of the young generation in the Western Balkans?”
28 May, 2019 @ 9:00 am - 29 May, 2019 @ 5:00 pm EEST
The youth are a vital resource for development and an essential factor for peace and stability in Europe. However, the youth in the Western Balkans are facing significant challenges in their everyday lives.
Considering the renewed EU strategic focus on the role of youth in supporting the transformation of the Western Balkans, also enshrined in the Commission’s Communication on “A credible enlargement perspective for and enhanced EU engagement with the Western Balkans” and the Sofia Summit Declaration, the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union is committed to promote a positive agenda for youth, as a long-term investment in the future generation and a contribution to the progress of the Western Balkans (WB) on their European path.
We assess that current challenges in WB – including unemployment and increasing “brain-drain” among youth represent real reasons of concern. The Romanian Presidency wishes to address root causes and contribute – including with national experience – to strengthening the confidence of youth in existing opportunities at local level.
In this sense, the Romanian Presidency of the EU Council will organize, between the 28th and 29th of May 2019 in Bucharest, the Conference “How to better respond to European aspirations of the young generation in the Western Balkans?”.
This event aims to: encourage and support young people in the Western Balkans in building a future in their own countries, explore the brain drain phenomenon, especially among youth, and increase the level of their socio-economical inclusion; facilitate the establishment of a long-lasting dialogue among young professionals from the local administration and civil society, entrepreneurs, academics, youth organizations from WB and EU, thus contributing to a better mutual understanding and identification with the European values.
A special attention will be given to aspects such as the need to increase the level of awareness and to consolidate trust in order to contribute to the reconciliation efforts and identify concrete solutions for improving democratic participation among the new generation.
The conference also serves as an excellent opportunity for Romania to share its own experience in promoting employment policies for youth and to exchange examples of good practices and “success stories” in areas such as digitalization, entrepreneurship, startups and innovation.
The event is supported by the European Commission and the EEA and Norway Grants and is organized in cooperation with regional and European partners.
On the margins of the conference, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) will organize a cultural event consisting of a photo & video exhibition titled “Looking for the summer”, aiming to promote South-East Europe as an attractive tourist destination. In order to select the most representative exhibits, RCC has launched a competition, open to artists from the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) participants, including from Romania. More details about the competition, open until the 30th of April, 2019, can be found by accessing the following link: https://www.rcc.int/pages/128/south-east-europes-photo-and-video-contest.
