The 20 th edition of the International Youth Conference was held in Krusevo, North Macedonia from September 29 th to October 3 rd , 2022, and hosted 70 participants from the SEE region, including North Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Turkey. The 20 th Jubilee Conference, in addition to its main goals, promoted and drew focus to the good practices of the region when it comes to active youth work in the last two decades. During the five days of the conference, the participants listened to 32 speakers on 8 plenary sessions with a total of over 14 hours of discussions. The plenary sessions were also live streamed on the IYC Facebook page to expand the audience the conference reaches. The sessions were followed by interactive and outcome–oriented round tables on the same topics where the participants worked on brainstorming and finding solutions to creating a better and more sustainable future for the SEE region. Between the plenary sessions and the round tables, two sessions of fireside chats took place that gave additional space to the youth to make their voice heard through the form of an interview. The plenary sessions presented the first section of the conference, while the second part of the conference were the round tables aimed on bridging the planning – implementation gap in youth action for EU integration. The round tables were an opportunity for the youth to contemplate on concrete actions they can take to achieve a more youth – oriented region in the future. In the period leading up to the conference, preparatory activities have taken place in coordination between the conference team and the International Preparatory Group which consisted of young individuals from the Western Balkans. The meetings were utilized for the devising of the conference agenda, speakers list as well as speaker invites. During the 20 th edition of the IYC, the young individuals listened to experts on 8 plenary sessions covering a diverse range of topics from youth activism and bringing about change, to reflecting on the changes that happened from the Thessaloniki Summit to today. In addition, they participated in outcome–oriented round tables and fireside chat interviews where they were able to express their opinions and voice their concerns regarding the challenges faced by the region. An important part of the IYC is the creation and distribution of the Blueprint Document for the conference which contains the collected suggestions and solutions from the participants for an improved SEE region. During the round table discussions, the participants had the opportunity to work on these suggestions guided by the shared vision for the future of the region that they had. The document provides an introduction to the topics discussed at the conference, followed by a concise presentation of the ideas and activities that ought to be implemented in order to achieve the envisioned future of the SEE region. In addition to the blueprint document, was created a Brochure that contains the conference highlights as well as more information on the organizing team, participant`s feedback and statistics from the conference. Please find this document in the upper tab “Resources”.

IMPACT

The Conference achieved its main goals as it created a fruitful surrounding for youth cooperation and dialogue, allowing for the free flow of opinions and ideas among the participants. One of the main impacts of the conference is the network created among the individuals with different backgrounds. The participants networked among each other during the conference and were able to work together on producing the Blueprint document that outlines the vision of the future for the improved SEE region. The conference also allowed intergenerational knowledge exchange between the expert speakers and the participants, which served as valuable insight for the mentioned Blueprint creation. 76% of the participants identified the creation of connections with their peers as well as networking during the different parts of the conference as a key benefit of the conference. 59% of the participants identified the gained knowledge and improved understanding of the SEE region as the benefits they obtained from the 20 th IYC. The conference is also bringing change to the current situation in the region by serving as a platform where youth from the SEE region can engage in dialogue and mobilize to work together on furthering the EU accession process. Moreover, the sharing of good practices during the conference acts as a motivating push for the increase in civic participation among youth.