Mini conferences for regional politicians and young leaders to be held at the 13th YES Annual Meeting

75 representatives of regional executive authorities, regional council members and civil activists will take part in a mini conference in the framework of the 13^th Yalta European Strategy Annual Meeting. 

The new discussion format is a joint project of YES and the Ukrainian School of Political Studies (USPS). Its participants, selected in a contest, represent all regions of Ukraine. Among them, there are 41 members of regional councils, 26 representatives of regional executive bodies and 8 regional activists. The average age of the project participants is 31 years old.

During the mini conference that will be held in parallel with the plenary sessions of the 13^th YES Annual Meeting, the participants will have an opportunity to discuss with the speakers of the Yalta forum key issues of global and local level, best international practices in the fields of public policies, state government and civil activism. 

Regional politicians, civil servants and activists in regions play a major role in the process of reforming Ukraine: in particular, in implementation of the government’s efforts for decentralization of the governance system and extending the powers of regional communities and regional administrations. The participation of young regional leaders in the work of the Yalta forum will let them get a direct access to the international political and governing experience, improve their professional level in the public sphere governance on the regional level and build a national and international network of business contacts. This initiative is also intended to contribute to the success of the decentralization reform in Ukraine, deepening of the European integration processes and improving the level of interaction between various regions of the country. 

Also, a section for young leaders will be working traditionally in the framework of the Yalta Meeting. Since 2012, YES has been selecting for participation in the annual forum 100 students and young professionals, including  scholarship holders of the Victor Pinchuk Foundation’s youth educational programs Zavtra.ua and WorldWideStudies. The selection criteria include academic excellence, leadership potential and active involvement in the activity of communities. The program of the section includes meetings of young leaders with the forum speakers and guests, reflecting on discussion panels of the plenary sessions. More than 400 people have taken part in the work of the section since it was launched. 

As previously reported, the 13^th Yalta European Strategy Annual Meeting, entitled “World, Europe, Ukraine: Storms of Changes”, organized by the YES civil platform in partnership with the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, will take place in Kyiv on September 15 through 17. The plenary sessions and special sections of the forum will take place at the “Mystetsky Arsenal” National Culture and Museum Complex. More than 350 prominent politicians, diplomats, businessmen, civil activists and experts from 20 countries of the world will take part in the work of the forum. The participants of the YES Annual Meeting will discuss topical geopolitical, economic and social processes underlying drastic changes as well as the challenges that Europe and the world are facing and that impact their future.