On October 21–23, 2025, a Regional Youth Exchange was held in Yerevan as part of the EU4Youth: Youth Engagement and Empowerment program. The event brought together over 40 participants from Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The NUMO team joined discussions on youth participation, inclusiveness, and opportunities for regional cooperation.
Over the course of three days, participants presented the results of more than 35 youth initiatives, shared their experiences of implementing projects in their countries, and discussed innovative approaches to involving young people in decision-making processes.
The program included:
- interactive workshops and peer-learning sessions on inclusive youth policymaking;
- a visit to the National Assembly of Armenia, where participants discussed the preparation of a new Youth Law;
- an introduction to the work of youth centers in Yerevan, Aparan, and Dilijan;
- a visit to the TUMO Center for Creative Technologies, demonstrating the potential of creative learning and digital competencies for youth development.
NUMO representative Sofia Sydorenko spoke at the panel «Youth Engagement and Participation in Eastern Partnership Countries: From Policy to Practice». Together with speakers from three countries in the region, she discussed effective models for building dialogue between youth and government.
In her speech, she emphasized the importance of equality and partnership:
«Equality is the foundation of effective partnership. Yes, young people are awkward, sometimes too straightforward. We just don't want to wait — we want to act. We don't need much: knowledge, opportunities, and trust. We need to sit down at the same table with those who care».
The regional youth exchange in Yerevan became a platform for building new partnerships between youth organizations in Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The event demonstrated that young people in the region are united by common priorities: supporting inclusiveness, strengthening participation in decision-making, and creating new opportunities for development.
The regional youth exchange in Armenia was organized within the EU4Youth IV: Engaging and Empowering Youthproject, co-funded by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
