Yesterday, on January 22nd 2024. The RYCO LBO of Bosnia and Herzegovina together with the French Institute in Bosnia and Herzegovina, French embassy in BiH and German embassy in BiH have marked the anniversary of the Elysee treaty together by holding a conversation between the ambassadors of the embassies and the youth of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Elysée Treaty, signed on January 22, 1963, by President Charles de Gaulle and Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, symbolizes the commitment to reconciliation and cooperation between France and Germany after decades of conflict. This landmark treaty laid the foundation for a strong partnership that has not only shaped the destinies of these two nations but has also played a crucial role in shaping the course of European history.
This treaty has inspired the creation of OFAJ, the Franco-German Youth Office with its main goal to intensify the Franco-German relationships through cultural exchanges for young people. Since 1963, some 9 million young German and French people have participated in 320,000 exchange programmes through the OFAJ. And if this rings a bell, you can see that it was exactly OFAJ which inspired the creation of RYCO, and because of that we see this treaty as very important to us as well. RYCO has so far empowered more than 31,000 young people, and we are ambitious to achieve the same heights!
Some of the main discussion points were the peacebuilding processes in the region, what is the role of young people and what the role of the European Union is.