The European Commission’s Directorate General for Education and Culture (DG EAC), Eurofound and the International labour Organization (ILO) came together in a LIVE webinar to draw on their research findings and explore the challenges facing young people in the aftermath of COVID-19 and in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Date: Thursday, 23 June 2022 - Time: 10:00-11:15 GMT/11:00-12:15 CEST
The European Commission’s Directorate General for Education and Culture (DG EAC), Eurofound and the International labour Organization (ILO) came together in a LIVE webinar to draw on their research findings and explore the challenges facing young people in the aftermath of COVID-19 and in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Moderated by Elisa Lironi, Programme Director, European Democracy at ECAS, the European Citizen Action Service, youth experts Massimiliano Mascherini, Head of Social Policies unit at Eurofound, Biliana Sirakova, EU Youth Coordinator from DG EAC, Susana Puerto Gonzalez Senior Youth Employment Specialist from the ILO and Manon Deshayes from the European Youth Forum shared their stories of what their data shows. The panellists dug deep into issues such as young people’s expectations of the EU and the European Year of Youth and youth participation initiatives; Young people and trust in society as well as young people’s perceptions of the war in Ukraine; and the impact of COVID-19 on youth employment.
The LIVE webinar was also an opportunity for a forward-looking debate on policy solutions for a just and inclusive recovery, examining what works in youth interventions, particularly employment. The discussion took place against the background of the 2022 European Year for Youth and looked at how EU decision-makers can put the young generation at the centre of EU policies and ensure that youth priorities are included across different policy areas at every level of the EU’s decision-making process. Participants were invited to engage in the LIVE debate via an online chat.
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Moderator: Elisa Lironi, ECAS Elisa Lironi is the Programme Director for European Democracy, working at the European Citizen Action Service (ECAS) since 2015. She develops and leads ECAS’ European Democracy focus area by implementing EU projects and services related to Digital Democracy, Understanding Populism and Civic Engagement. She conducts research specifically on e-participation practices in Europe and her latest publication includes the book chapter 'Crowdsourcing EU Legislation: Harnessing the Power of Digital Democracy' (2021, ECPR Press). Elisa is currently leading the Civil Society Convention’s Digital Transformation Cluster that brings CSOs proposals to the Conference on the Future of Europe and will feed into the EU’s priority of 'A Europe fit for the digital age'. Since 2018, she is the ECI Expert and Manager of the European Citizens’ Initiative Forum, working with Secretariat-General of the European Commission on developing and implementing this online collaborative platform. |
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Speaker: Biliana Sirakova, European Commission Biliana Sirakova has been a European Commission civil servant since 2010. She studied Economics and Management, with a bachelor’s degree from Ohio Wesleyan University in the US. She has eighteen years of professional experience across the public, private and non-profit sectors. Biliana’s work has revolved around building and managing relationships with diverse stakeholders and communicating for impact and learning. |
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Speaker: Massimiliano Mascherini, Eurofound Massimiliano is Head of Unit for Social Policies at Eurofound since October 2019. He joined in 2009 to design and coordinate projects on youth employment, NEETs and their social inclusion, as well as on the labour market participation of women. As a Senior Research Manager, he led new research on monitoring convergence in the European Union. He studied at the University of Florence, majoring in Actuarial and Statistical Sciences and completing a PhD in Applied Statistics. He has been visiting fellow at the University of Sydney and at Aalborg University and visiting professor at the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. |
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Speaker: Susana Puerto, ILO Susana Puerto leads the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth, an inclusive multi-stakeholder partnership chaired by the International Labour Organization to scale up action and impact on youth employment within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Her latest work through Decent Jobs for Youth has focused on understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people and advising on policy solutions. With over ten years of experience on the promotion of youth employment, Susana has managed and contributed to multiple efforts boosting employability and job creation. Prior to joining the ILO, Susana worked at the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. She serves on a number of executive boards of youth employment partnerships. Susana is an economist from Georgetown University. |
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Speaker: Manon Deshayes, European Youth Forum Manon Deshayes is a Policy Officer at the European Youth Forum, where she currently works on Social and Economic inclusion, with a specific focus on the Future of work and the impact of the pandemic on young people. She also has expertise on gender equality issues, especially on women's participation and gender-based violence, having worked at the European Women's Lobby and at the Council of the European Union's General Secretariat. |
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