A series of Open Day promoting the new call for Young European Ambassadors (YEA) started last week with YEAs presenting their network in Tirana, Skopje and Belgrade.

On 1 June, YEAs from Albania hosted the YEA Open Day at Europe House Tirana with a social gathering and then the official presentation of the YEA network. Almost all the young people participating had started their application to become a YEA.

On the same day, the YEA Open Day Skopje event took place at East Gate Mall with Ambassador David Geer and representatives from the EU Delegation in North Macedonia and EU House Skopje.

The YEA Open Day in Belgrade was organised on 3 June. The event started with a welcoming speech by YEA Adrijana Nikitović and the EU Ambassador to Serbia, Emanuele Giaufret, followed by a discussion with YEAs. Participants’ questions and comments mostly focused on the EU and youth, including references to the state of the enlargement process and opportunities for young people.

The YEA platform is a creative network of young activists from across the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia). YEAs come from different backgrounds, yet they all share a common vision: the Western Balkans united in diversity. They learn about each other and the EU together, pursue creative projects, acquire new skills, connect via social media, and organise inspiring events – always driven by the idea that activism in youth is the most powerful force of social change.

The aims of the network are: to share EU values; to raise awareness about the EU’s cooperation with its Western Balkan partners; to showcase the tangible results of this cooperation; to contribute to policy dialogue on various topics; and to help increase civic activism.