Over 230 participants, from several nationalities, gathered in Mollina,  exchange ideas and practices  in an open dialogue around this year’s flagship theme: ‘Developing Global Identities’, under the coordination of Rocio Cervera, Deputy Executive Director of the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe.

Former participants of the University on Youth and Development (UYD) expressed their continuous dedication to youth development in the opening ceremony. The several training sessions and their long lasting partnership further demonstrate this dedication.

Unable to attend the event in Mollina, the Executive Director of the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe, Ambassador Antonio Gamito, spoke to the participants via video-link from Lisbon stating, interalia his pride in the cooperation between organisations and communities that make the UYD, in particular its power to build bridges and dialogue among  participants.

It is apparent that the activities at the UYD “offer a unique experience that will change your life” as mentioned at the opening ceremony by former youth participant Julia Chica who is now the President of the Spanish Youth Council. “It is important for us to know how the youth are leading in their home countries, and one of the main goals of this event is to tackle radicalisation and hate speech”, which will be one of the eight themes covered during the weeklong event.

Another former participant of the UYD, Luis Alvarado, claimed that it was only five years ago that he had lost his motivation in the youth sector work and his participation in the UYD  reignited his belief in youth empowerment. Today, he is the President of the European Youth Forum and the lessons he learnt at the event enabled his organisation to “shake institutions until they opened their doors to the youth” - an ability that he cited as “magical”.

Youth participants of the UYD take home the empowerment to make policy changing actions. The Director General of the Tunisian Youth Observatory, Iman Belhedi, who joined the first UYD event 17 years ago is a great example of this empowerment. She now represents one of the many cooperating institutions from around the world that support the UYD’s commitment to youth development through dialogue.

CEULAJ, celebrating its 25th anniversary during this UYD,  has become internationally recognised as a local partner for connecting diverse communities.