The annual Young Leaders for Europe forum is held in cooperation with the Heinz Nixdorf Stiftung. The focus in on EU relations with its southern and eastern neighbours.
Turbulences in Europe’s neighbourhood in the south as well as the east continue to influence not only European politics but also – and increasingly negatively – relations within the European Union and between the EU and its neighbours alike. Not least has the Ukrainian-Russian conflict put the common economic space from Lisbon to Vladivostok well out of reach for the time being. The situation in Syria and the entire Middle East is driving flows of refugees into the EU, which becomes more pressurised and is in danger of losing the balance between solidarity and self-preservation.
The objective
With the annual Young Leaders for Europe dialogue, the Heinz Nixdorf Stiftungand the Bertelsmann Stiftung want to give future decision-makers the space for an open discussion about strategies and options to improve Europe’s relations with its neighbours. Lectures, workshops, case studies, management games and different interactive formats serve to give participants impulses for their own work. In that, we cooperate with renowned speakers – decision-makers and experts – from politics, business, the media and the academe.
Apart from deepening their professional knowledge, we offer participants the opportunity to develop their own network of professional and personal contacts.
The programme
With Young Leaders for Europe, we wish to set the framework for an unbiased discourse over the major challenges of European neighbourhood policy. The focus is placed on joint debate and the development of strategies to deal with these challenges.
The programme reflects the strategic tasks of European neighbourhood policy. Major questions, therefore, are: How can the EU support its neighbours in their transformation and modernisation process? How to achieve closer cooperation and foster growth and well-being of all sides involved?
Renowned speakers and committed facilitators will help to organise and structure the interchange of participants during the Programme.
The participants
Young Leaders for Europe addresses young leaders from Germany, diverse EU member states and the EU’s neighbouring states in the south and east. All participants are being nominated by leading personalities from either politics, business or the media, before they pass through an application process.
