{"id":2717,"date":"2026-10-30T02:58:41","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T01:58:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/younglead.eu\/?p=2717"},"modified":"2026-10-30T02:58:41","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T01:58:41","slug":"yel-participates-in-eu-canada-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/younglead.eu\/index.php\/2026\/10\/30\/yel-participates-in-eu-canada-summit\/","title":{"rendered":"YEL Participates in EU\u2013Canada Summit"},"content":{"rendered":"
The EU\u2013Canada Summit of Youth NGOs, taking place from 27\u201330 October 2026 in Montr\u00e9al, Canada, alongside the EU\u2013Canada Summit, will bring together youth organizations and representatives from across Europe and Canada to strengthen transatlantic cooperation, exchange perspectives, and advance youth participation in democratic processes and policymaking.<\/div>\n
\n

The initiative provides a platform for dialogue between Canadian and European youth organizations, bringing together representatives working on democracy, civic engagement, international relations, youth rights, social inclusion, public policy, and international cooperation. Participating organizations include Young European Leadership (YEL), the Polish National Youth Council, the Young European Federalists, the European Youth Parliament, the European Union of Jewish Students, Apathy is Boring, the Canadian Muslim Youth Alliance, and Young Diplomats of Canada, among others.<\/p>\n

Through a series of workshops, discussions, and high-level engagements, participants will explore opportunities to strengthen cooperation between youth organizations and ensure that younger generations have a meaningful role in shaping the future of EU\u2013Canada relations.<\/p>\n

In this context, Young European Leadership (YEL) is proud to participate in the initiative, represented by its President and Chief Executive Officer, Augusto Gonzalez, reaffirming the organization’s commitment to strengthening youth representation in international diplomacy, democratic governance, and global policymaking.<\/p>\n

Strengthening Transatlantic Youth Cooperation<\/h2>\n

Youth participation in democratic processes is essential to building inclusive, representative, and resilient institutions. As Europe and Canada navigate an increasingly complex international environment, strengthening cooperation between younger generations on both sides of the Atlantic is particularly important.<\/p>\n

The programme opened with a dedicated youth workshop on 28 October, hosted at Apathy is Boring in Montr\u00e9al. The workshop brought together participating organizations to introduce their respective missions, exchange experiences, identify common challenges, and explore opportunities for collaboration.<\/p>\n

Discussions included reflections on previous initiatives, the outcomes of earlier youth forums, and the development of shared priorities ahead of the following day’s high-level engagements. Participants also worked together to formulate messages and proposals, identify relevant policy stakeholders, and coordinate approaches to engaging with decision-makers.<\/p>\n

The following day, participants were invited to engage directly with senior European and Canadian representatives. A breakfast and fireside chat with European Commissioner Glenn Micallef and Canadian Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture Marc Miller provided an opportunity to exchange perspectives on the future of youth participation in democracy on both sides of the Atlantic.<\/p>\n

The programme also included engagements with European Commission Executive Vice-President Roxana M\u00eenzatu, focusing on Erasmus+, as well as a high-level fireside chat with European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas and Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand.<\/p>\n

Under the theme \u201cCanada and the EU: Strategic Partners, Allies for the Future,\u201d the latter discussion explored shared geopolitical challenges and opportunities for closer cooperation between the European Union and Canada.<\/p>\n

These engagements offered participating youth organizations an opportunity to connect their perspectives with ongoing political discussions and strengthen dialogue with the institutions responsible for shaping the transatlantic partnership.<\/p>\n

Looking Ahead: A Youth Advisory Group for the EU\u2013Canada Partnership<\/h2>\n

The final day of the programme, on 30 October, will focus on reflecting on the previous day’s engagements and identifying opportunities to translate discussions into longer-term cooperation.<\/p>\n

A central element will be the proposal to establish a Youth Advisory Group for the EU\u2013Canada Partnership. Participants will discuss potential institutional structures, responsibilities, and next steps for creating a mechanism through which young people and youth organizations can contribute more systematically to EU\u2013Canada relations.<\/p>\n

The discussions will also provide an opportunity to assess the effectiveness of existing youth engagement initiatives, identify areas requiring further cooperation, and consider how youth perspectives can be incorporated into future bilateral policy discussions.<\/p>\n

For YEL, participation in the EU\u2013Canada Summit of Youth NGOs represents an important opportunity to strengthen relationships with Canadian and European counterparts, contribute to discussions on institutionalized youth participation, and advance a more structured approach to transatlantic youth cooperation.<\/p>\n

Meaningful youth participation should extend beyond individual consultations and occasional opportunities for dialogue. It should involve sustained engagement, institutional recognition, and meaningful channels through which younger generations can contribute to policymaking.<\/p>\n

By bringing together youth organizations, policymakers, and senior political representatives, the initiative represents an important step towards ensuring that young Europeans and Canadians are not simply observers of the transatlantic partnership, but active contributors to its future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The EU\u2013Canada Summit of Youth NGOs, taking place from 27\u201330 October 2026 in Montr\u00e9al, Canada, alongside the EU\u2013Canada Summit, will bring together youth organizations and representatives from across Europe and Canada to strengthen transatlantic cooperation, exchange perspectives, and advance youth participation in democratic processes and policymaking. The initiative provides a platform for dialogue between Canadian […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2718,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/younglead.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/younglead.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/younglead.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/younglead.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/younglead.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2717"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/younglead.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2717\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2719,"href":"https:\/\/younglead.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2717\/revisions\/2719"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/younglead.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/younglead.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/younglead.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/younglead.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}