Deputy Minister Benedetto Della Vedova opened today the award ceremony of the three winning schools of the Active Young Citizens for Sustainable Development programme, jointly launched by the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative and the Central European Initiative. In addition to Minister Di Maio, who intervened with a video message, the event was attended by the Secretaries-General of the IAI, Gianni Castellaneta, and of InCE, Roberto Antonione, and by the Ambassadors to Italy of Albania, Croatia and Hungary.
The Active Young Citizens for Sustainable Development project, launched by Italy in continuity with the activities carried out during the IAI Presidency in 2019, saw 70 high schools from IAI and InCE countries competing by submitting proposals to implement the 2030 Agenda goals on sustainable development. The primary aim is to raise awareness and foster a culture on these subjects among the younger generations. Each worth 20,000 euro, the three final prizes were awarded to projects presented by schools in Albania, Croatia and Hungary. The projects focus on waste disposal, recycling and eco-sustainable production initiatives in developing countries.
Opening the meeting, the Deputy Minister highlighted the importance of involving young people in the knowledge and implementation of the sustainability goals and, more generally, of the priorities set by the 2030 Agenda. Their vision and ability, also demonstrated by this initiative, will be valuable to put forward concrete and feasible proposals for planning their future.
Building the foundations for a better future for the new generations,” Della Vedova stressed, “means first and foremost promoting and defending the values of freedom and democracy, the rule of law and human rights. These are values to be shared between the States already members of the Union and by those that will be joining it”.
In his closing remarks, the Deputy Minister recalled that thanks to the success of this first edition, the programme would be relaunched in September 2021 and invited all schools to renew their participation.