Krushevo – This year’s 20th International Youth Conference- “European Values for the Future of the SEE Countries” took place from the 29th of September to the 3rd of October organized by Youth Alliance -Krushevo. The International Youth Conference was supported by the Regional Youth Cooperation Office-RYCO, Federal Foreign Office of Germany, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and Regional Cooperation Council (RCC). RYCO takes pride in supporting this jubilee edition of the conference which targets regional youth cooperation, networking, and youth exchange.
In the welcoming panel discussion Mr. Blazen Maleski, Youth Representative of North Macedonia on behalf of RYCO, emphasized the importance of RYCO’s input in supporting young people of the region by giving them space and tools for building a better future when it comes to creating policies, their ideas and ways on how to make an impact, and exchange as much knowledge for youth cooperation. As Mr. Maleski stated- ‘’If the future is on the youth, then the future starts today’’.
The 77 participants which came from different backgrounds had the opportunity to be involved in productive discussions and working groups, led by politicians, ambassadors, activists, and professors from the region. At this year’s conference, we had the honor of having as speakers Ambassador David Geer, Head of the Delegation of the European Union in North Macedonia, the German Ambassador of North Macedonia, H.E Anke Holstein, Mr. Nikola Dimitrov, Former Minister for Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia and Mr. Nikos Kotzias, Former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Greece.
In addition to the panel discussions, RYCO’s own Ms. Ivana Antonijevic, Superschools Project Coordinator took the stage and had the chance to promote RYCO’s activities most notably the Superschools Project, which sparked interest amongst the audience as further conversations followed into the working groups.
Overall, the conference was an excellent experience for young people which had a direct impact on their development, professional life, and networking opportunities.