This month two of YEE board members attended the General Assembly of the European Youth Forum, which took place on 22-24 November 2018 in Novi Sad, Serbia. Kristīne Štikāne (Member Organisations Officer) and Tiarnan O'Doherty  (External Relations Officer) represented YEE at this event.

The General Assembly is the highest decision making body of the European Youth Forum and therefore a lot of important decisions have been made. This year was an election year and delegates representing National Youth Councils and International Non-Governmental Organizations voted on new Youth Forum board members, statutory and amendment changes.

During these days there were breakout sessions that showcased the work of the European Youth Forum over the past year, highlighting some issues that they have tackled including sustainability, gender equality and youth rights. The assembly was broken into 6 groups and taken for sessions facilitated by member organisations. They highlighted the work that can be done through cross collaboration among members and the forum itself.

The election was the highlight of the assembly and there were candidates competing for board member, vice-president and president positions. Over the course of the day the candidates had the opportunity to debate with each other and answer questions from the assembly. After this there were informal meetings with candidates and other delegates to discuss which candidates represented their organisations views and criteria most. Of the candidates elected some of them showed some interest in increasing the importance of sustainable development and the protection of the environment.

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Carina Autengruber as the new President of the European Youth Forum, as well as Tina Hočevar and Ville Majamaa who were elected as Vice President.

As for the Board, we also want to congratulate the election of Andrea Casamenti, Benjamin Günther, Jovana Majstorovic, Silja Markkula, Rosalyn Old, Michael Piccinino, Loes Rutten, Frédéric Piccavet. Congratulations to the new Financial Control Commission (FCC): Simon Devos-Chernova, Pia Winstén, Enrico Pulieri and the Consultative Body for Membership Applications (CBMA): Teo Comet, Adam Smuga, Christiana Xenofontos, Vladimir Vasilev.

We look forward to cooperation with them.