An intense four-day training session at the Assembly of European Regions (AER) Secretariat concluded today for the seven members of AER’s Youth Team. Politically involved in their regions and elected by AER Youth Ambassadors for a two-year mandate, their duty is to give young people a voice both at regional and European level.

As part of the AER Youth Team‘s work strategy 2008, the training aimed to broaden the Team’s understanding of AER’s mandate and activities whilst strengthening collaboration with AER’s committees. ‘This training session is a great opportunity to foster that mainstreaming process – AER has been really open to the ideas and projects we want to bring back to our respective regions’, says Claire Bridges, President of the Youth Team.

As part of its future collaboration with AER’s committees, Team member Christoph Landolt (St. Gallen, CH), responsible for co-operation with AER’s Committee on Economy and Regional Development, will lead a workshop to be held during AER’s conference on ‘Regional Innovation in the European Context’. He will present aspects of the subject ‘Young entrepreneurship in the European Regions’, this year’s AER Youth Summer School theme. He is also in charge of the organisation of the Youth Innovation Award, which will be awarded next October during the same conference. The other members of the Youth Team working with AER’s other committees will be involved in the preparation of a conference on ‘Demographic Challenges for Regions’, a ‘Youth and Alcohol’ project, and the organisation of the ‘Most Youth-Friendly Region Award 2009’.

Malgorzata Kucinska, AER Youth and Citizens Officer, highlights that ‘AER wants to provide youth with a real opportunity to get involved, not only in AER’s work, but also in regional and European decision-making processes. We are giving these young people the opportunity to express themselves, since we recognise the freshness, creativity and value of their ideas.’

In order to fulfil its training, the AER Youth Team has held several working meetings at European level, with MEP Goran Farm, Marta Medlinska, in charge of Youth policy at the Council of Europe and with the European Youth Forum.

The newly elected members of the AER Youth Team are:
President: Claire Bridges (West-Sussex, UK)
Elina Andersson (Västerbotten, S)
Madeleine Andersson (Värmland, S)
Annette Lie (Østfold, N)
Gabriela Kovacs-Ross (Maramures, RO)
Anton Kuzmin (Olomouc, CZ)
Christoph Landolt (St. Gallen, CH)

For more information: [email protected]