16th YES Annual Meeting

The 16^th Yalta European Strategy (YES) Annual Meeting “Happiness Now. New Approaches for a World in Crisis” will be held on September 12-14, 2019 in Kyiv. Over 400 leading politicians, diplomats, businessmen, civil activists and experts from 26 countries will take part in the conference organized by Yalta European Strategy in partnership with the Victor Pinchuk Foundation.

The forum will focus on governance for happiness, and will analyze today’s main challenges from that angle. Today, traditional political and economic systems are challenged by protest parties and politicians outside the mainstream. International alliances and institutions are under stress. Are our systems and structures strong enough to face the economic, technological, security and ecological challenges we face?

The conference will look at today’s main global challenges, and will explore where governance for happiness can help address them. A new global survey on happiness and governance will be presented and discussed at the YES meeting.

At the same time, the conference will give a comprehensive insight into Ukraine after the presidential and parliamentary elections. What are the main tasks ahead of the new leadership, what are the ways forward envisioned, and who are the people to implement them?

In Kyiv, world-leading decision-makers, opinion-leaders, business people and thinkers will look at a changing Ukraine and world and discuss ways forward.

Victor Pinchuk, founder and member of the Board of Yalta European Strategy: “We face huge challenges – global competition between China and the West, technological transformations, inequality, ecological crisis, and security threats. But where is the main driver that drives and guides us forward? We will look into this with the world’s best thinkers, at a unique brainstorming in one of Europe’s most interesting places – Ukrainian capital Kyiv.”

Alexander Kwasniewski, chairman of the Yalta European Strategy Board, President of Poland (1995-2005): “Ukraine surprises the world again with its constant desire for change. For Ukrainian people, changes become recipe from the malaise of the past and motto for the future. So, it’s a very good idea to discuss global changes right here, in Kyiv. This is what YES does for fifteen years providing the platform for discussing the future of Europe and the world. We strongly believe that the best way to predict changes is to make them true. To promote this is YES’s mission and strong commitment.”