Official opening of Slovenia's Presidency of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region

Under the title "Empowering cooperation" the event was dedicated to the presentation of the Presidency programme and an open discussion on some of its priorities for the next year.
The National Coordinator of Ukraine in the EU Strategy for the Danube Region Igor Korkhovyi emphasized the importance of continuing the embedding process and further cooperation within the EUSDR.
The director of the Ukrainian Institute for International Politics Nadija Afanasieva, Ukrainian National Coordination team member, joined the opening event of the Slovenian EUSDR Presidency. She noted that Ukraine is grateful to Slovenia for the continued implementation of the priorities and told that Ukraine is ready to further implement them in the Trio format and PACs.
🇺🇦🇸🇮 Ukraine has handed over the Presidency to Slovenia during the EUSDR Annual Forum on October 19-20. The country will preside over the Strategy from November 2022 to November 2023. Ukraine is now part of the Trio Presidency and will assist Slovenia in implementing key priorities.
The Slovenian Presidency programme will be focused on specific priorities connected to the new context in the region. Thus, during its Presidency, Slovenia will focus on the future development of the Danube Region, empowered cooperation of all EUSDR participating countries and maintaining full solidarity with Ukraine.
Needs and possible solutions for unlocking the potential of MRS cooperation for non-EU countries and regions were also discussed during the event.
Slovenia defined 4 institutional topics for its year of Presidency:
◾ Empowering involvement in the EUSDR
By promoting institutional exchange and capacity building among all institutions involved in the implementation of the EUSDR and proposing recommendations for possible improvements.
◾ Improving the strategic governance of EUSDR and macro-regional strategies
By paying special attention to better use of existing formats of macro-regional strategies cooperation to further institutionalise capacity building, knowledge transfer and exchange of best practices between macro-regional strategies.
◾ Youth involvement and its role in the EUSDR
By encouraging the DYC representatives to develop their potential and contribute with their ideas to the challenges facing the entire region. Further steps will be taken to create a EUSDR-wide cooperation framework of youth organisations from the entire Danube region.
◾ Embedding process – evaluation and further steps
Slovenian Presidency will also focus on 2 thematic priorities:
1️⃣ Towards the knowledge society and professions of the future
With a special attention to the expected transformation of societies, the role of knowledge in such societies, the professions of the future, the mobility of the workforce, the brain drain and the resulting adjustments that will be required in our societies.
2️⃣ Transport and energy challenges in the region
By addressing the future challenges of regional transport, along with decarbonisation and energy security in the Danube region countries through diversification of energy supply sources, together with accelerated energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources.
Some thematic events planned for the upcoming year:
👉 Conference Knowledge-driven society addressing the forecasting of skills and competencies most likely to be needed, and the expected needs of the labour market.
👉 Young Bled Strategic Forum, implemented as a series of preparatory activities and a forum that will bring together young leaders from the region and around the world to discuss the most pressing current issues of their generation and our society.
👉 Danube Youth Camp and POPRI start-up challenge, giving the DYC representatives the opportunity to work on concrete challenges while learning entrepreneurial skills
📌 Most important event of the year will be 12th EUSDR Annual Forum, planned for 24 and 25 October 2023. The event will be dedicated to summarising the programme and priorities of the Slovenian Presidency and to elaborating policy guidelines and recommendations for the future implementation of the EUSDR.
🇺🇦🤝🇸🇮 Ukraine is grateful to Slovenia for continued implementation of priorities and is ready to further implement them in the Trio presidency (Ukraine-Slovenia-Austria) format and PACs.
We wish the Slovenian colleagues successful implementation of the main priorities!
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