Danube Youth Council

The Danube Youth Council (DYC) was first established in October 2022 to provide a platform for involvement of young people to make their ideas and viewpoints heard and considered on a political level.

Youth Council members may propose concrete actions and projects and suggest topics, bring ideas to the attention of high-level politicians from EUSDR states and regions, contribute to the EUSDR priorities and policies, raise attention for the special features of their regions at the transnational level and participate in EUSDR events as well as international and EU related youth events.

The DYC is composed of 28 members in total, 2 members from each Danube Region country, who are selected for a mandate of one year, which can be extended for another year.

Members of the DYC have to chose at least one Priority Area that they’re particularly interested in.

In Priority Area 8, we have 6 interested Youth Council members, who we would like to introduce:

“My name is Pejo Bosnić and I am turning 24 this year. I like to say that I have two homelands – Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. I grew up and finished primary and secondary school in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and I am currently studying Business Economics; majoring in Logistics Management at the Faculty of Economics in Osijek (Croatia).

I have been socially active since high school and I see activities in civil society as a great opportunity for young people who are still unburdened by various life obligations to try to make their selfless contribution to the community and in this way work to improve the conditions necessary for a quality life in the community, but and society in general. From the beginning of my studies, regional politics, macro-regions, macroeconomics, regional cooperation and business economics to my field of interest in addition to financial literacy seemed to me to be interesting areas that I would like to deal with in the near or distant future, either actively or passively. I found the motivation to start more actively dealing with these topics and to get involved in the work of our PA in the desire to contribute to the country and the region where I grew up and where I plan to spend the rest of my life. I think it is important to raise awareness in people about how important it is to love the society we live in and to take care of it in any way, even when we think we can do absolutely nothing about it. As an economics student, I often encounter prejudices about economics as a discipline that is not as significant or does not contribute to society as some other fields that are “mainstream” in today’s world. Considering that such an approach is wrong and that the economy is a much broader term than people really perceive, I decided to constantly question myself and look for new potential solutions, starting from the lowest levels.

I decided to participate in the work of this particular PA after an excellent presentation that encouraged me to study in detail on the Internet the topics that PA deals with. Then I realized that these were topics that I had either dealt with at university or topics that I was planning to to start working on, but I didn’t know where to do it.

So far, I have participated in several online meetings of our PA, and the live Steering Group Meeting in Stuttgart, which left a strong impression on me and a completely new perception when it comes to improving the conditions for our entrepreneurs, but also for ourselves in the countries where we come from. Working with these people helped me broaden my horizons and start thinking and working more actively on issues that PA deals with, namely the empowerment and cooperation of small and medium-sized enterprises, the bioeconomy, and the reduction of cross-border barriers between countries in the region, given that one part of the countries of the region are part of the European Union, while the other part is not.”

“The main reason why I joined DYC is to be included in the decision making processes in the Danube region. I believe young peope, particularly in the Danube macroregion, are well educated, competitive and ambitious in a way they can contribute to altering or improving economic and political ways of governance in the region.

As an Economics student myself, I chose PA8 concretely for the very reason it being an economics related PA. The PA handles and is involved in resolving issues and bettering the state of competitiveness of SMEs in the region, which is undoubtedly the key to achieving long term economic growth and stability. As a PA member, I was involved in several online meetings which were based on recommending how DYC could be included more in the PA8 itself, and have given several suggestions, mostly regarding working on and publishing scientific papers which in the end could aid the decision makers in their future economic plans and projections.”

I am Ratin Sazedul, 20 years old and I come from Heidelberg, Germany. I am currently studying economics at the University of Heidelberg and am particularly interested in international politics and youth participation alongside my studies.

My interest in these topics led me to become involved in the Danube Youth Council. I find PA 8 particularly exciting in the context of the wide-ranging EUSDR. The focus on “competitiveness” is of crucial importance for economic growth and the promotion of innovation in the entire Danube region. I find it very interesting to see how this topic is integrated into a cross-border strategy and how the practical implementation of such a topic is organised. I am looking forward to learning a lot from PA 8, its structures and its people and thus gaining a better understanding of competitiveness in the Danube region.

I’m Bence Bíró, I’m 27 years old and recently graduated from the International Economics and Business master’s program at Corvinus University in Budapest. Currently, I work at the Hungarian Ministry of Energy.

I consider the Danube Youth Council as a unique regional initiative for representing the opinions of young people, meeting with decision-makers, and advocating for youth interests on topics concerning the Danube Region. Additionally, it provides an excellent community of ambitious young individuals with various interests from 14 countries in the region.

I joined PA8 because I’m highly interested in the functioning of the innovation ecosystem and cooperation among different sectors. I also find it crucial to address the SME sector as it plays a significant role in the Central European region, and I believe strong SMEs are essential for sustainable economic development and a healthy economy.

I have several personal connections to the topic, as I was a startup entrepreneur myself, and currently, I am active in the civil sector. Alongside the Danube Youth Council, I serve as the president of a youth NGO, the Square of Youth Association, where we mainly facilitate international mobility for young people within the European Union. Through the association, I am also a member of the Danube Youth Organization Network.

My name is Philip Tudor and I am a 19-year-old student from Vienna, Austria.

I am one of the founding members of the Danube Youth Council and have been acting as its spokesperson for the first year of its establishment. In my life I had the opportunity to engage myself in a wide variety of fields. Ranging from supporting the local student council to representing my country at international events regarding international economics and foreign affairs.

We must ensure that the circumstances of one’s birth do not determine one’s destiny. That is the reason why I decided to become engaged in youth policies. In order to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to be heard, a lot of work has yet to be done.

I am sincerely of the opinion that my background from a commercial college and my past experiences can be of help in further strengthening the cooperation of Priority Area eight with its stakeholders. Moreover, providing the perspective of the youth on the topics of digitalization and sustainability can benefit both the enterprises and the employees alike.