On Friday 9 June, the S&D Group is organising a Conference on youth empowerment in the Western Balkans in Durres, Albania.
S&D vice-presidents Victor Boştinaru (Romania) and Tanja Fajon (Slovenia), together with Euro MPs Knut Fleckenstein (Germany) and Tonino Picula (Croatia), will engage with youth organisations from the Western Balkans and discuss with them a number of issues ranging from their perception of the EU and the accession prospects of all Balkan countries to the challenges of populism, youth empowerment and economic growth.
The aim of the conference is to reaffirm the S&D Group’s commitment to the European perspective of the region and to engage in an open dialogue with young people in order to develop initiatives and actions supporting youth empowerment, economic growth and decent employment, as well as to counter rising populism and nationalism.
The Socialists and Democrats will also take the opportunity to reaffirm the commitment of our progressive family to the EU accession of all Western Balkans countries.
Among the organisations and stakeholders that will join the conference are the Regional Youth Cooperation Office of the Western Balkans (RYCO), the Young European Socialists (YES), several local youth organisations and activists, as well as youth party representatives from the Western Balkans.
The conference will be opened by the speaker of the Albanian Parliament and president-elect, Ilir Meta, and will be attended by the Minister of Economy, Ms. Milva Ekonomi, and the Minister of Urban Development Ms. Eglantina Gjermeni. Albania enjoys the privilege of having almost 70% of young people among its population and youth policies are central in the on-going electoral campaign.
Please find the detailed programme here
Time: 09 June 2017, 09:00-17:00
Venue: Skanderbeg meeting room in Hotel Adriatik in Durrës
Hashtag: #WesternBalkans #Youth
The conference is open to the media.
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