Dear Friends,
It is with great pleasure that I want to announce to you all that, with this seventh issue, we have reached one year of the Regional Cooperation Online Magazine!
Our Mag grew a lot, welcoming new Projects, alongside the recent and interesting forms of collaboration with the Youth Employment Magazine. We all just hope that this network will increase further.
It was April 2021 when we published the first cover picture with all the faces of our RC Family comm-managers: do you remember? I really would like, maybe in the next issue, what you believe we all achieved.
Nevertheless, it is a sad moment, considering international events, to ‘celebrate’ something (while we believe it is important to give always continuity to our Projects’ success and results).
I am writing to you, indeed, from a classic spring time’s Italy, sometimes sunny, other times rainy, which is a bit reflecting how we all feel about international events. While we, as Fund Operator, continue to follow a clear editorial line, we noticed and accepted that some Projects wrote about how they have been influenced by those sad circumstances.
History is made, regretfully, also by wars. And, in the past (but recent) years, we have seen the negative consequences of other conflicts. We everyday see the effects on our daily life of decisions, choices, events that we cannot dominate.
But, going beyond the specific situation – since I want our Mag to be a ‘happy’ place, we can make the difference. All the Projects here represented are the proof that the Fund is an essential part of the chance we have to change (at least) the part of the world which is affecting us the most. Our readers can see it by looking at the activities here presented. 2022 is, alongside being the European Year of Youth, the moment of renaissance. We just passed, all of us, another war, a sanitary one, and we still see the consequences. However, I am proud of all our Projects since they are making the difference, contributing – each one by specific efforts – to the general scope of the Regional Funds.
As I just said, however, while from the one hand it would be impossible not to mention the global situation (especially considering that some of our Projects are directly implicated), I would like to give space to more positive thoughts. Those positive thoughts are made of the results continuously achieved by our Family members.
And how many aspects we have to consider for this issue: the involvement of young people in sustainable development and into the policy making processes, their trust in justice and in the circular economy models, while not forgetting the most fragile categories and the vulnerable young people.
Just making an example and considering this last aspect: after the pandemic, how much did we hear about young people with higher risk of poverty and/or social exclusion? Isn’t It a concrete example of a negative consequence into our daily work? And how much, still, we must do to solve this issue considering the importance of their active involvement in our daily work?
Our Friend Tom wrote something very interesting about that, considering the importance of realisation. And he starts with a fantastic quote of Kofi Annan: «No one is born a good citizen; no nation is born a democracy. Rather, both are processes that continue to evolve over a lifetime. Young people must be included from birth. A society that cuts itself off from its youth severs its lifeline; it is condemned to bleed to death». And another problem comes to us. It is true, indeed, that we, as a society, need to consider the new risks related to youth. But as Tom wrote, it is also true that “too many young people today feel that their views do not matter”. And that is, in my opinion, where we have to make the change.
We see everyday changes and influences, one of them is represented by the evolution of how we decide to communicate (international events, activities, etc.). Do you remember the trial we did with Tara? She is also one of our Friends! And who, if not her, can talk about communicative insights? After all… ‘influencers’ (like we all are, in certain ways, becoming these days) have to ‘show’ not to ‘write’. And that is, at the end, what we want, as Fund Operator, from our Projects. The important for us is that they continue disseminating their successes, related to the achievement of the Fund’s goals.
And I strongly believe that our Projects are trying to reach those goals, however ambitious it may be. And this is demonstrated by their contributions to this virtual but real space. We have, for example, for this issue, a new entry! Please see the space we dedicated to the Project “Foster transparency of judicial decisions and enhancing the national implementation of the ECHR”, implemented by the Council of Europe (CoE) which will cover Cyprus, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Slovenia. How many countries! And how many inputs for further collaborations, isn’t it?
And, talking about CoE, I am also following its engagement in the field of youth, in partnership with the European Commission. In Tirana, in particular the from 21stto 23rdJune there will be this symposium: ‘navigating transitions: adapting policies to young people’s changing realities’. Unfortunately the same days the European Development Days will be held in Brussels… Let’s see where I will be able to go 🙂
Last but not least, I am, and all the Editorial Team is, happy to see that some of our Youth Employment Fund’s Projects are here with us again. SEPAL Project is with us for this Regional Cooperation issue. This is, again, the real sense of a Family!
And I believe that this is visible if we consider how all those different priority areas related to the Regional Cooperation Fund, can be melted together in a unique space.
Gian Luca Bombarda
The Fund Director
