On the 2nd-5th March, a member of our Pool of External Representatives, Ella Nyström from Sweden, attended the EU Youth Conference in Ghent.
This is an important event within the EU Youth Dialogue led by the trio presidency of Spain, Belgium, and Hungary. With a focus on European Youth Goal 3, Inclusive Societies, this gathering of 300 participants addressed issues of poverty, discrimination and social inclusion, helping to create effective policies for a better and more prosperous Europe.
Around one-third of young Europeans are dealing with poverty and social exclusion in one way or another, hence the focus on “inclusive societies” at this year’s conference.
This is Ella’s first ‘mission’ as part of our RYEurope Pool of External representatives. She says: “I attended the EU Youth Conference in Ghent, Belgium and it was a great experience! The conference was a part of the 10th cycle of the EU Youth Dialogue and this time the topic was EU Youth Goal 3 – Inclusive Societies.
“My working group specified on health and mental well-being as a means to social inclusion. We discussed stigma and how to get rid of it through measures such as educating teachers and youth workers, diverse research as well as accessible healthcare for all young people no matter where you live. It is a very important topic and to create safe environments where youth can be and express themselves freely is crucial for social inclusion.
“It was a very inspiring event, with many fun activities as well as important discussions and I met a lot of great people from all parts of Europe. I really enjoyed sharing and listening to the experiences of people from diverse backgrounds and that we still were able to see a clear, shared goal. The results of the working groups will be handed to policy makers and I hope a lot of the recommendations will be implemented in reality.”
Find out more about the event here.
