Yuliia Vaida, a third-year student majoring in International Relations, Public Communications and Regional Studies, Lviv Polytechnic National University, is a young ambassador and an active participant in the European Union Initiative’s Eastern Partnership program – Ambassadors of European Youth.
From May 3 to 8, 2022, as part of this initiative, Yuliia visited Brussels, Belgium, where she attended a number of meetings with representatives of the European External Action Service, European politicians and scientists. In particular, on May 7, the student participated in the solemn celebration of Europe Day. Also, a representative of Lviv Polytechnic took part in the Fourth Eastern Partnership Youth Conference – Youth for Revitalisation of Democracy, which was held in Prague on July 11–12, 2022.
The student comments on her participation in the solemn celebration of Europe Day in Brussels as follows:
«It was the best experience of my life. I had the opportunity to meet many interesting people, in particular, Lawrence Meredith, Director for the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood and Institution Building at the European Commission, with whom we discussed current topics of the EU’s Eastern policy. At the meeting, we learned about other regional programs of the European Union – WeBalkans and EU NEIGHBOURS south, and got acquainted with the best practices of their implementation. It was a pleasant surprise for me to meet the Ambassador of Ukraine to the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Oleh Shumshur, and the representative of Lithuania to the European Commission, Virginius Sinkevičius, who also attended the solemn celebration of Europe Day and shared with the participants their vision of the future of European politics».
During Yuliia’s participation in the Fourth Eastern Partnership Youth Conference, she learned more about the role of youth in the development of cooperation between the European Union and the countries of the Eastern Partnership. The participants of the event had the opportunity to visit the Parliament of the Czech Republic, meet and speak to Marketa Pekarová-Adamová, the Head of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. The conference participants also visited a number of local organizations and foundations in Prague that help Ukrainian refugees in the Czech Republic. During the event, several workshops and lectures were held on the best practices of development and reform of civil society and state authorities. Each of the participants shared the best national practices.
The participation of young people in such events is invaluable practical experience that helps to form a specialist in the field of international relations and educate real professionals and patriots of Ukraine. The Department of Political Science and International Relations is proud of its young ambassadors and encourages young people to participate in similar events, to represent Ukraine on the international stage in the youth sector.
