Mr. Hrvoje Kovač, Varaždin (HR), the Chair of the Subcommittee on Youth, is participating in many external events and projects, where he represents both Varaždin County Council and AER. The idea is to seize opportunities for connections and to create synergies between initiatives both within and outside AER.

Sourcing good practices on youth

His participation in different projects on youth, enables Hrvoje Kovač to identify good practices and initiatives worth sharing within the Subcommittee on youth. In this context, the Chair of the Subcommittee on Youth traveled to Lithuania in April 2019 to participate in a study visit in the context of the Erasmus+ project “Europe goes local”.

Youth work in Lithuania

During the study visit, local and regional authorities and experts working with young people were invited to get acquainted with the youth work system in Lithuania. Being there, Mr. Kovač could represent AER and also the work AER is doing in youth involvement in the decision-making of local communities. Later on this year, Kovač was promoted to the national board of “Europe goes local” in Croatia and is now actively working on the preparation of the second edition starting from June 2019.

Youth agro-entrepreneurship in Cyprus

Another Erasmus+ project Mr. Kovač was involved in, was the “Agro-entrepreneurship Accelerator”. It gathered representatives of local and regional authorities as well as young entrepreneurs from 17 countries with the specific aim to educate the next generation of entrepreneurs who are concerned with the agricultural ramifications of entrepreneurship. “Agro-entrepreneurship Accelerator” implemented a training, enabling youth workers to gain theoretical and practical knowledge in the field of agriculture. The fundamental aim of the training was the provision of contemporary pedagogical material appealing to youth workers. It will consequently operate as the main catalyst in inspiring young people to apply agro-entrepreneurship.

Youth participation in Catania (IT) and Sicily (IT)

Furthermore, Hrvoje Kovač participated in the project “Democracy Reloaded” which was submitted by the Agenzia Nazionale (IT) under the Erasmus+ programme with the main task to strengthen local democracy. The project wants to build the capacity of youth policy stakeholders in reloading (re-defining, creating, reforming) youth participation in decision-making. The goal is to launch a long-term process that establishes a ‘strategic approach’ of working with local and regional public authorities in developing democratic youth participation structures for dialogue, co-decision, and co-management. The final output will be a designed toolkit for the development of good practices and approaches in engaging young people in decision making in Europe ready for modification for member regions of AER.

An AER ambassador in all activities

In the context of the application of Varaždin county for European Youth Capital 2022, Mr. Kovač was one of the hosts of a study visit to Croatia. He gave a lecture and held a workshop for representatives of 12 Slovenian municipalities. During the study visit, the guests saw concrete activities and outputs of proactive youth policy of Varaždin County and municipalities within the county. Examples were the activities of the Regional youth council as well as those of local youth organizations. In these activities as well, the Chair of the Subcommittee on Youth shared his engagement with AER and explained the way the AER network and specifically the space created in the Committees, helps regions to share experiences, learn from each other and potentially develop joint initiatives.

Participating in external events, sourcing good pratices and creating synergies between different initiatives is a practical way in which Committee Presidium can get involved.