Ganja chosen as European Youth Capital 2016
By Nigar Orujova
Azerbaijan's second-largest city Ganja was announced the European Youth Capital 2016 on November 21.
The award ceremony was held during the European Youth Forum's Council of Members in Thessaloniki, Greece, which will be European Youth Capital in 2014.
The European Youth Capital (EYC) is a title granted to a European city for one year, during which the city can present its youth-related cultural, social, political, and economic life and development.
The forum gave the award to Ganja that focused on strong local and European youth participation and commitment to work on human rights.
President of the European Youth Forum Peter Matjasic congratulated Ganja "for their strong, diverse and detailed proposal and their commitment to tackle issues such as youth participation, education, social inclusion, employment, and volunteering."
"Connecting" will be the key theme for Ganja as the European Youth Capital 2016. The program aims to promote close cooperation across borders and bring policy, research and practice for young people.
The Azerbaijani government and local youth-related organizations are committed to working in close cooperation with young people, paying special attention to disadvantaged and marginalized ones.
Ganja 2016 intends to reveal the potentials of active young people and exploit the links with European youth policies and instruments, and also reflect on the existing connections to the city, the region, and Europe as a whole.
The program will cover such priority areas as youth participation, education, social inclusion, employment, and volunteering.
Ganja won over rival bids from Vilnius (Lithuania), Varna (Bulgaria), Galway (Ireland), La Laguna (Spain), and Badajoz (Spain).
The EYC initiative encourages the implementation of new ideas and innovative projects with regards to the active participation of young people in society and seeks to present a role model for the further development of other European municipalities.
The first European Youth Capital was Rotterdam, the Netherlands, in 2009, followed by Torino, Italy, in 2010, Antwerp, Belgium, in 2011, Braga, Portugal, in 2012, Maribor, Slovenia, in 2013, Thessaloniki, Greece, in 2014, and Cluj Napoca, Romania, in 2015.