EU Delegation launches European Year of Youth Campaign

The Delegation of the European Union to Azerbaijan today announced the start of a month-long youth campaign, joining all neighbouring countries in the region to celebrate the European Year of Youth 2022. The media launch was held in partnership with Young European Ambassadors and outlined the importance of the campaign in hearing the voice of young people, as well as providing information on the EU-funded activities and events that will take place as part of the campaign.

“The European Union declared 2022 the Year of Youth in recognition of the sacrifices that young people made during the pandemic,” said Peter Michalko, the Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Azerbaijan. “The EU within the framework of a strong partnership with Azerbaijan aims to support equal opportunities in education and jobs for young people after two very challenging years. Through its youth policies and programmes the EU aims to make sure young people can participate fully in all areas of society and to give them more opportunities in education and the job market,” he added.

Representatives of the Young European Ambassadors (YEAs) initiative were also present at the conference to share information about their work as a voluntary, vibrant communication network connecting young people from Eastern Partnership countries and the European Union. There are a total of 492 Young European Ambassadors in 6 eastern partner countries, and Azerbaijan has the largest number of Young European Ambassadors among them with 123 young people.

So far, as part of the European Year of Youth, the Delegation of the European Union to Azerbaijan has supported a number of activities like EuroVillage, European Summer School, the EU Youth Competition and more recently, the Study in Europe Fair. Several youth-centered projects were also highlighted at the conference and the EU continues to support young people to start businesses, learn new skills, receive training, and further their education in Europe through the Erasmus+ programme. Young doctors were also acknowledged for their efforts during the pandemic – both in dealing with the health crisis and their role in supporting the EU-funded vaccination programme.

The local campaign for the European Year of Youth 2022 will culminate with a Youth Open Day event on Friday 28 October. For detailed information on EU projects, please go to www.eu4azerbaijan.eu.