The first ever virtual Eastern Partnership Youth Engagement Summit to  be held on July 2-3

ArmInfo. On 2-3 July 2020, the  first ever virtual Eastern Partnership Youth Engagement Summit brings  together over 400 active youth leaders and youth workers from the  Eastern Partnership region for a unique opportunity to exchange  amongst themselves and with policy makers from the EU and the Eastern  partner countries on achievements and challenges in the field of  youth.

Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi  commented: "Empowering young people from the region is and will  remain a priority for the EU - investing in youth is always the best  investment. We will be launching a new deal for youth, where we will  work together with the governments to ensure the skills the labour  market needs. This will make youth competitive globally and allow  them to find high quality jobs also regionally."

Held online for the first time due to the coronavirus restrictions,  the summit will be a free, globally accessible meeting for registered  participants. Summit participants will be addressed by Commissioner  for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi.

Participants from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic  of Moldova and Ukraine have been invited to share good practices and  experiences in the field of youth work and youth policy and discuss  their vision of the future of the EaP. The outcomes of the  discussions and possible conclusions will be documented in the form  of report and shared with the relevant stakeholders.

Under the main thematic focus of "Youth engagement in the EaP:  exploring the present and navigating the future!", the Summit will  focus on the following topics: The Eastern Partnership beyond 2020  and the role of young people; Youth participation in policy making by  strengthening EaP Youth Councils and the EaP Civil Society Forum;  Youth transition from education to work through skills development;  Youth social entrepreneurship realities and good practices; Effective  communication and tackling disinformation; Achievements under the  EU4Youth package, with a focus on Erasmus+ and EU4Youth.

The two-day programme will include panel discussions, presentations,  webinars and parallel group discussions, with the aim of harvesting  conclusions for building future opportunities for young people in the  Eastern partner countries.