Slovenia co-organised 5th Eastern Partnership Youth Forum

Foreign Minister Anže Logar addressed the participants of the 5th Eastern Partnership Youth Forum, a two-day event in the context of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. State Secretary Stanislav Raščan concluded the event with a closing address.

The Eastern Partnership Youth Forum entitled “Youth participation in democratic processes” took place from 23 to 24 November 2021. The event saw more than 150 active and critical-thinking young people, youth workers, youth policy makers from the Eastern Partnership countries, EU institutions and EU member states come together to discuss the achievements and challenges of the Eastern Partnership and the European Union’s youth policies.

In his opening address, Minister Logar stressed: “Empowered young people are the key to strong democracy, responsible politics, the protection of human rights and building resilience.” The Forum is an important step towards boosting young people’s participation in democratic processes in the Eastern Partnership, paving the way to strengthen relations between the EU and partner countries even further.

The Forum’s participants addressed the future of youth policies and made recommendations for their comprehensive and inclusive development. Closing the event, State Secretary Raščan underlined the constructive conclusions of the Forum, which represent a substantive contribution to the Eastern Partnership Summit, scheduled for 15 December 2021 in Brussels.

The event was organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in partnership with the European Commission, the European External Action Service, the Office of the Republic of Slovenia for Youth, the Youth Council of Slovenia and the SALTO Eastern Europe and Caucasus Resource Centre.