Dec 9, 2022
The INTERREG IPA EUSAIR YOUTH CONFERENCE “For a meaningful involvement of young people in European cooperation” took place on 9 December, in Tirana. Organized by the Cooperation and Development Institute (CDI), in cooperation with the General Directorate of the European Commission for Regional and Urban Policies and in partnership with the National Youth Congress within the Tirana European Capital of Youth 2022 program, this event aimed to bring together youth and youth stakeholders under the general objective of promoting EU territorial cooperation initiatives as drivers of empowerment and development opportunities for youth.
The “Youth Manifesto” created by young people for young people underlines that improving young people’s skills and increasing employability is in fact the key to solving youth challenges. And, as we approach the end of the European Year of Youth 2022 and Tirana as the European Youth Capital 2022, we welcome the year 2023 declared the European Year of Skills, this is a good momentum to increase the influence of young people within these instruments financed by the EU’s Cohesion Policy.
The welcoming remarks were delivered by Ms Krisela Hackaj, Executive Director of CDI, the Deputy Mayor of the Municipality of Tirana, Ms Keti Luarasi and Mr Gilles Kittel, Team Leader for EUSAIR in DG Regio.
Ms Hackaj emphasized during her speech that “Cohesion policy programs and related strategies are instruments that help increase the convergence of the countries of the Western Balkans with the EU, a process in which the role and contribution of youth is essential and key to achieving impact.
During his presentation, Mr Kittel mentioned, “It is clear that we must work, but in the meantime, we must be more engaged with the youth as well. For this reason, I really consider today’s conference as something that goes in the right direction by trying to address the process of improving policies and programs. You could see how these recommendations have been taken into account in our programs so far for the period 2021-2027.”
Discussions focused on raising youth awareness on the recommendations of the “Youth Manifesto” in the Western Balkans, communicating youth perspectives on Territorial Cooperation, presenting the novelties of the new Interreg IPA programs and opportunities for youth engagement and benefits, and how these programs and initiatives can accelerate the progress of Enlargement.
Dafina Peci, Director of National Youth Congress – Tirana EYC 2022, during her intervention, emphasized that “Investment in youth capital is an important factor to guarantee the success of regional initiatives and cohesion policies. Therefore, within the program of Tirana EYC 2022, we dedicated the proper attention to the components of values and European integration, bringing them into practice closer to young people, in the spaces we have created to strengthen the dialogue between young people and policymakers at the national and European level.”
The event aimed also to raise awareness and promote Interreg IPA and EUSAIR programs, promote the “Youth Manifesto” to the authorities of these programs for a wider inclusion of the needs and perspectives of young people in future calls and program governance, as well as cooperation between national youth councils and other youth organizations in the region to increase the impact of these programs.
Consult here:
- Conference agenda
- Livestream
- Powerpoint Presentation: DG REGIO; Interreg IPA CBC Italy-Albania-Montenegro
More information about CDI’s engagement in “Raising awareness on the Youth Manifesto in the Western Balkans” can be found here.
