EU4Youth Alumni Network hosts IdeaLab in Tbilisi

Parallel to the European Youth Week, Tbilisi became a buzzing hub for innovation as 50 participants from across the Eastern Partnership region gathered for the EU4Youth Alumni Network’s IdeaLab 2024 – the first face-to-face meeting for the new alumni after their initial online meet-ups. Max Pijevskii from the EU4Youth Coordination and Policy Support project, and organiser of the event, said “the team tried to create an IDEAL IdeaLab”.

Over four busy days, the group, consisting of young people from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine, joined workshops to build their skills, met new friends, and learned from experienced mentors. Everyone worked together, talked about their own experiences, and planned exciting new projects that they will implement in their home regions over the coming months.

Valeriia from Ukraine said the event had been extremely useful: “I most liked those activities where we shared experiences with other participants, as well as creating the video about my initiative.”

Mihail from Moldova learned something important too: “The two most important things I learned are that our initiative should be determined by the audience’s main interests, not what I consider useful. I also learned how to present our initiative in different ways, both in-person or digital.”

The new alumni have been busy in their hometowns, listening to young people’s ideas and understanding their needs – especially those who don’t have many opportunities. In Tbilisi, they used all this knowledge to design new projects at the IdeaLab, which they will start implementing in the next six months. These initiatives will be a team effort, with small groups of alumni leading the way in each country. They will run events and activities, help their communities, and share their knowledge both online and offline.

The EU4Youth Alumni Network has been making a difference for over four years now. It connects young people who’ve been part of EU programmes, and helps them to support young people who need it most. With more training, advice, and even some funding, the network is always there to help. And there’s more to come – another meetup and a big review are already on the horizon.

More photos from the IdeaLab