#20 AER Meeting of Youth in the European Regions in Wiesbaden

Importance of youth – interview with Klaus Klipp

Living in a world that is getting both smaller and bigger at the same time, the European youth faces the challenge of articulating a common set of ideas and visions. And getting the regions to talk to each other is the first step.

Orange Magazine caught Mr. Klaus Klipp, Secretary General of the Assembly of European Regions, during the following coffee break for a more detailed talk about how this can actually be done.

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Mr. Klipp, you have chosen to invite these young people to Wiesbaden to discuss a future framework for a youth division of AER. But what can young people do in practical terms to promote their interests within this network? And what is the role of the AER in this process?

There are two things to this. Firstly, within the AER we actively promote various initiatives, designed for young people. For example, we have different awards and competitions that aim to appeal to the involvement through focusing on the relationship between the regions and the central European administrations. We did the “Do you speak European”-competition, which was very successful, and also we do workshops, seminars etc. Recently we did a summer school program of young entrepreneurship in Sweden that turned out to be a huge success. So within the domain of the AER there are plenty of opportunities to get involved. And then there’s the other aspect, which is to motivate politicians to pay more attention to the youth. This is of course a reflexive process, and this can best effectively be done if we from our side work towards a broader sense of consensus, working from the regions and up. This is why we are here today.

The AER distinguishes itself from a lot of the other European organizations through its inclusion of non-EU member regions. How far can you expand this network? Are there any natural limitations to your sphere of activity?

Regional cooperation is more than just the EU. After two devastating world wars, Europe formulated a common ideal that we have since expanded and exported for 50 years. This ideal can easily be adapted elsewhere than Europe, and this is why we today also have representatives from regions in places like Russia, Georgia, and even Ghana. The AER relies on member regions from all of the European continent, and not only EU member nations. So in that sense, we have a much broader focus. Although this is essentially a European project, this doesn’t mean that the ideas cannot be projected to other more distant areas. The important thing is that we learn from our respective experiences, and hopefully the establishment of this youth network will help us on even further on this path.

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By: David Michael Barnwell

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