The  conference  »Better Future for West Balkans Youth«  which invited the best ranking students in the region's 6 countries, was held today in the European parliament with support of NIS. Slovenia’s MEPs Tanja Fajon and Franc Bogovič have initiated and played host to a  total of  17  students  and gave them opportunity to visit Ljubljana, Krško and Brussels and to get a first-hand knowledge of the ways to tackle problems facing the young at the dawn of their  professional  development.  Over the course of theif stay in  Brussels,  the students paid a visit to the Mission of the   Republic of Serbia to the  EU, Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia, as well as »Wilfried Martens« European Studies Centre.

NIS as a company with an unequivocall commitment to lend support to pupils, students and educations institutions, facilitating the European  integrations in all West Balkans countries where it operates, has accepted with the greatest of pleasures to support this event within the activities of its EU Liaison Office.

The students attending the conference's first panel discussion entitled  »A  step  in  the  right  direction« were  addressed  by  Corina  Cretu,  EU  Commissioner  for  Regional Policies,  Maja  Makovec  Brenčić, Minister for Labour, Science and Sports of Slovenia, Blendi Klosi, Minister for Youth and Social Matters inAlbania, Darja Bavdaž Kuret,  a state secretary in Slovenia's Foreign  Ministy,  as well as  Tanja Miščević, Team Leader for Serbia's negotiations with the EU. This panel produced a message that the cooperation and coordination among the EU-member nations and those in the accession process to the EU is key to creating adequate prospects for the young. 

The second panel entitled »The Young Contribute to Region's Brighter Future« moderaed by Peter Grk, Slovenia’s  coordinator  of  Regional Youth Office, sent a message on the necessity to align systems of education  with real needs of labor markets. This panel included the speeches delivered by business community representatives as well as those of non-governmental sector of the West Balkans. Serbia was represented by  Milan Petrović, President of  Serbia's Managers Association. During interesting debate, which took place afterwards, representatives of the NIS' programme »Power  of  Knowledge«  Anđela Petronić  and  Marko  Vanić  have  expressed  their  acknowledgements to the NIS for granting them scholarships, and more importantly, employement once they graduate.

Additional information:

The  Conference  has been staged within the  »Berlin process«,  which envisages setting up a coordination instrument,  regional  liaisons  and  scientific  exchange among  the naučnu  razmenu  među  West  Balkans countries.  In Vienna, in 2015, prime  ministers of 6 countries of the Western Balkans  signed a declaration on the establishment of the Regional  Office for Youth Cooperation,  thus confirming the  initiative of all signatories to provide a strong support to regional European integrations, as well as to involve the young in all essential civil society elements. 

This event was organized by Serbia's Association of Managers  and supported by Serbia's Ministry of Labour, Youth and Sports, Slovenia's Foreign Ministy, as well as EU 40 groupe that includes the youngest MEPs.