Young European Ambassadors visited Armenia between 8 and 14 May 2017 to participate in a series of events held on occasion of the country’s Europe Day celebrations. Organised in cooperation with the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia, the activities aimed at raising awareness about the EU and engaging in dialogue with Armenian youth on a wide range of opportunities. Young people from Poland, Germany, Belgium and Armenia met students in a high school in Yerevan and the Yerevan State University to chat about EU history, values and Armenia’s partnership with the European Union.
Harutyun Tsatryan, one of the Young European Ambassadors from Armenia explained that “being a Young European Ambassador means being endowed with certain values and extending these values in your motherland, in Armenia”.
“I am a Young European Ambassador from Poland”, said Justyna Hinz presenting herself. “I think that it is very important for us to learn from each other and to get to know who we really are”.
During this period, up to 12 Young European Ambassadors from Armenia and the European Union met with Euro Clubs, the local branch of the European Youth Parliament and the TUMO Centre for Creative Technologies to discuss possible synergies and exchange best practices in communication.
Finally, the ‘Young European Ambassadors’ joined the Europe Day fairs in the cities of Gyumri, Vanadzor and Dilijan to present their initiative as well as to organise interactive games and activities aimed at shedding light on the EU’s support to young people in Armenia.
The ‘Young European Neighbours’ youth network was launched in June 2016 by the ‘EU Neighbours East’ project and focuses on strengthening cooperation between young people aged 15-25 years with youth organisations from the EU and Eastern Partnership countries. It is an online communication platform that facilitates the mutual exchange of ideas, information and experience related to the EU, as well as promotes youth involvement in social actions. Following an open call process, over 100 young people from EU Member States and the Eastern Partnership countries were recently selected to act as ‘Young European Ambassadors’. A new wave of applications will open in Summer 2017.