EaP Youth Engagement Summit to be held online

On 2-3 July 2020, the first-ever virtual Eastern Partnership Youth Engagement Summit will take place.

The event will bring together over 400 active youth leaders and youth workers from the Eastern Partnership region for a unique opportunity to exchange amongst themselves and with policymakers from the EU and the Eastern partner countries on achievements and challenges in the field of youth, according to the official website of the European Union.

Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi commented: “Empowering young people from the region will remain a priority for the EU - investing in youth is always the best investment. We will be launching a new deal for youth, where we will work together with the governments to ensure the skills the labor market needs. This will make youth competitive globally and allow them to find high-quality jobs also regionally.”

Held online for the first time due to the coronavirus restrictions, the summit will be a free, globally accessible meeting for registered participants. Summit participants will be addressed by Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi.

Participants from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Armenia, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine have been invited to share good practices and experiences in the field of youth work and youth policy and discuss their vision of the future of the EaP. The outcomes of the discussions and possible conclusions will be documented in the form of a report and shared with the relevant stakeholders.

Under the main thematic focus of “Youth engagement in the EaP: exploring the present and navigating the future!”, the Summit will focus on the following topics:

- The Eastern Partnership beyond 2020 and the role of young people;

- Youth participation in policymaking by strengthening EaP Youth Councils and the EaP Civil Society Forum;

- Youth transition from education to work through skills development;

- Youth social entrepreneurship realities and good practices;

- Effective communication and tackling disinformation;

- Achievements under the EU4Youth package, with a focus on Erasmus+ and EU4Youth.

The two-day program will include panel discussions, presentations, webinars, and parallel-group discussions to harvest conclusions for building future opportunities for young people in the Eastern partner countries.