The Pact for Youth Association and the GILE Foundation’s programme was linked to the European Year of Youth. Its aim is to engage young people and start a dialogue on the green and digital transition and to raise interest in scientific approaches and results.The themes of the event were green and digital transition, employability skills, open science, research and development and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The programme began with a presentation by István Kárász, President of the Pact for Youth Association, who presented the European Union’s Green Policy Guidelines and research, followed by a speech by Zsófia Rácz, former UN Youth Delegate and Ministerial Commissioner of the Ministry of Regional Development, on the SDGs, highlighting the responsibility and opportunities of individuals in the field.
Following the comprehensive presentations, the young participants were able to discuss specific topics in groups using the word café method, which was a continuous and productive exchange of ideas.
Experienced and young experts sat at the tables, actively sharing their knowledge and providing new perspectives during the world café sessions.
Róbert Szabó presented the needs of modern companies towards their employees and highlighted the skills and strengths of young people and the opportunities to develop them.
Dóra Tarjányi shared her experiences in the startup world in a creative way, presenting the roles and skills from fresh graduate to lab manager, as well as the startup working environment and its challenges.
At Zsófia Rácz’s table, participants developed their knowledge of the 17 SDGs and their integration. They discussed how action in one area affects progress in the others, and how development needs to balance social, economic and environmental sustainability.
Viktor Jósa presented the competences needed for the sustainability transition, using a freely available toolkit, the Sustainaware competences model, which is full of educational games and group activities on environmental sustainability, thus serving as an entry point for young people to gain work experience by becoming facilitators themselves.
Judit Beke, President of the GILE Foundation, introduced the participants to the open access peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the GiLE Foundation, which focuses on developing personal skills for the 21st century, the digital age.
[GiLE Journal of Skills Development](https://gjsd.gile-edu.org/index.php/home)
The programme was supported by the National Youth Council.