Ahead of World Youth Day, which is celebrated tomorrow, August 12, the European Commission announced today the 25 young men and women who have been selected to participate in the European Union’s Youth Representative Council for International Partnerships for the period 2023-2025.

Ahead of World Youth Day, which is celebrated tomorrow, August 12, the European Commission announced today the 25 young men and women who have been selected to participate in the European Union’s Youth Representative Council for International Partnerships for the period 2023-2025.

The council will advise International Partnerships Commissioner Jutta Urpillainen and the Directorate-General for International Partnerships on involving and empowering young people in the EU’s external action. This is the second Youth Representative Council on International Partnerships after the of the term of office of the members of the first council in July.

The members of the Youth Representative Council were selected through an open call for nominations, which received more than 4 500 nominations from 150 countries.

For the next two years, the council will consist of 14 women and 11 men, aged 19-29. Ten members are from Africa, six from Asia, one from the Pacific, five from Latin America and the Caribbean and three from the European Union.

Specifically, they are the following:

Ahmednoor Bashir Haji from Kenya
Alicia Ramdal from Trinidad and Tobago
Amani Al-mehsen from Finland
Andrea Remes from Mexico
Ani Tuisausau from Fiji
Anna Gabriela Ferreira Noval from Venezuela
Anojitha Sivaskaran from Sri Lanka
Damien Baraka from Malawi
Deborah Mukundwa from Rwanda
Dexter Arvin Yang from the Philippines
Emmanuel Todd Gweamee from Liberia
Geth Semani Akhenra Maiga from Ivory Coast
John Jessy Nabundesi from Uganda
Kiwar Maigua from Ecuador
Lorna Akoacha Enow from Cameroon
Luis Gustavo Heredia Vasquez from Peru
Mariama Faty from Senegal
Nora Piay Fernandez from Spain
Pak-Yen Loke from Malaysia
Pratik Kunwar from Nepal
Raphael Denis Harriohay from Tanzania
Shakhzoda Mirakova from Uzbekistan
Sofia Scarlat from Romania
Stephanie Chiaky Otuteye from Ghana
Wajid Zahid from Pakistan

In the context of Commissioner Urpilainen’s tenure, the EU placed greater emphasis on proactive cooperation with young people to promote sustainable development at global level.

The Action Plan for Youth in EU External Action, adopted in October 2022, formalizes this vision of partnership with young people as key agents of change for more democratic, equal, inclusive and peaceful societies.

The EU Youth Council 2021-2023 co-created the Youth Action Plan, while the Youth Council 2023-2025 will be involved in the implementation of this plan.

Athena Papakosta