Event report

The citizens' event in Šibenik under the name of „Budućnost mladih u EU“ – or „Future of youth in the EU“ was held to bring the activities of the Conference as well as existing programs of the Eu for youth to the local community of the Šibenik-Knin county. The event, held in a hybrid format had 30 participating citizens in presence, while the event was streamed online and seen by more than 250 online viewers. The speakers at the event were Martin Mrša (Mladi u EU), Ante Galić (City of Šibenik), Violeta Simeonova Staničić (Head of the Office of the European Parliament in Croatia), Željka Josić (State Secretary of the Central State Office for Demography and Youth), Vice President of the European Commission for Democracy and Demography Dubravka Šuica, Toma Šutić (member of Dubravka Šuica's cabinet), Caterina Rende Dominis (Citizen Representative CoFE), Sunčana Glavak (Member of the European Parliament), Marko Boko (EU Parliament Office in Croatia), Valentina Cesar (Central State Office for Demography and Youth), Valentina Gambiroža Staković (Croatian Youth Network) and Marko Kovačić (Institute for Social Research in Zagreb). All citizens were encouraged to present their questions whether online or in presence (also through a QR code generated specifically for the purpose of gathering questions and ideas from participants of this event). The opening speakers mentioned many programs and initiatives which are already in place for youth in Šibenik (Ante Galić), in Croatia and in the European Union (Violeta Simeonova Staničić, Željka Josić). The existing programs which were listed and explained in detail, including the financial budget allocated for them were: ALMA, Erasmus+ (with doubled budget for the new Financial Framework), HORIZON Europe, European Solidarity Corps, programs by the EP in Croatia such as “Euroškola”, and “Škola Europskog parlamenta”, "Zajednoza.eu" platform and the Youth Guarantee effort. It was accentuated that it is key to promote these programs among youth and to increase awareness and information among young citizens. Following, Vice President Dubravka Šuica intervened with a video message, and Toma Šutić intervened through live connection to explain the importance of the conference and to present in more detail the mechanisms of the conference as well as the digital platform and its functions. This was followed by the testimonial of Caterina Rende Dominis on the citizens' event in Portugal and on the reasons for organizing this conference in Šibenik. During the first panel discussion, youth policies and future steps in the field of youth work were discussed. MEP Sunčana Glavak spoke about NextGenerationEU, the largest recovery plan designed to address the economic and social damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Marko Boko gave an insight into the programs of the European Union that are completely focused on young people. While Valentina Cesar from the Central State Office for Demography and Youth commented on the needs of young people in rural areas, which were a priority during Croatia's presidency of the Council of the European Union. Ante Galić, Valentina Gambiroža Staković and Marko Kovačić spoke during the second panel discussion "Working with young people at the local level". The panel focused on working with young people at the local level, more specifically on the certificate "City for Youth", the project Europe goes local, which resulted in the European Charter on Local Youth Work and the EU Youth Dialogue presented by Valentina Gambiroža Staković from the Croatian Youth Network. The questions asked throughout the event were numerous, and some were able to be addressed towards the speakers. However, for the purpose of reporting the main issues addressed by citizens throughout this event, we have made a report summary of the main questions and ideas addressed throughout the event. Young citizens are mainly concerned about future prospects and employment. The key takeout which seemed to be central to all the received answers was that many claimed that formal education institutions should pay more attention on informing youth about future opportunities and prospects – from further education to volunteering, internships or entry level employment. What is more, many mentioned a lack of content for young people throughout the county, however, they also linked their inability to reach existing content and events due to diminished mobility in the Šibenik-Knin County. Additionally, there have been raised concerns about the efforts which are being taken to battle the coming climate crisis. Young people are more climate conscious and have therefore expressed that they would like to see more actions taken by the local government to encourage recycling and green policies. The conclusions of the event were multiple. Some ideas for change were mentioned, like the introduction of a pan-European curriculum of high school education as well as rendering academic degrees more recognizable throughout Europe. Additionally, throughout the submitted ideas it was stipulated that there needs to be a better collaboration between civil society organizations which work with youth and formal education institutions, in order to increase youth information and activation. A better network among youth centres was also on the agenda, and was stressed as a method for strengthening the influence of civil society organizations promoting active citizenship and youth rights and opportunities. Overall, it was widely agreed that initiatives such as the Conference on the Future of Europe, or the EU Youth Dialogue need to be encouraged and multiplied in order to include youth in decision making, in order to strengthen the bottom-up approach which was introduced thanks to the Conference.