Ukrainian Regional Civil Servants and Young Leaders Sections to be Held at the 14th YES Annual Meeting

100 representatives of regional executive authorities, regional council members and civil activists as well as 105 students and young leaders from every region of Ukraine will participate in the Ukrainian Regional Civil Servants and Young Leaders Sections at the 14th YES Annual Meeting, which will take place on September, 14-16, 2017, in Kyiv.

As a constant feature of every YES conference, the 14^th YES Annual Meeting will give 200 young Ukrainian change makers the opportunity to learn from world leaders and to develop their professional network. This represents another contribution of YES to integrating Ukraine with Europe, the West and the world while helping young Ukrainians to build a new Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Regional Civil Servants Section is a joint project of YES and the Ukrainian School of Political Studies (USPS). Its participants, selected in a nation-wide contest, represent every region of Ukraine. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss major challenges facing the world as well as ways to improve cooperation between Ukraine and its partners. They will learn from leading international and Ukrainian politicians, experts, businessmen and civil servants.

Ukraine is developing quickly, and young leaders are needed to invest their energy, expertise and enthusiasm for change in order to build a better future. Regional politicians, civil servants and activists in Ukraine’s regions play a major role in this effort by implementing important, far-reaching reforms to decentralize governance. The participation of young regional leaders in the work of YES allows them direct access to international expertise, enabling them to broaden their horizons and build a wide network of professional contacts. This initiative also advances the decentralization reforms in Ukraine, deepens European integration and improves interaction between various regions of the country.

In addition, a Young Leaders Section will be held in parallel with the plenary sessions of the 14^th YES Annual Meeting. Since 2012, YES has annually invited 100 students and young professionals, including alumni of the Foundation’s scholarship programs Zavtra.UA and WorldWideStudies, to participate in the Section in order to inspire Ukraine’s brightest and most active youth. The program of the section includes meetings of young leaders with the forum speakers and guests, reflecting on discussion panels of the plenary sessions. Overall, five hundred of the best Ukrainian students and young leaders have participated in the Young Leaders Section at the YES Annual Meetings since its launch. 

The official Twitter handle of the 14^th YES Annual Meeting is @yes_ukraine, and participants and followers can include the hash tag: #YESUkraine2017

Partners of 14th YES Annual Meeting:

• Arawak Energy
• Hillmont Partners
• International Renaissance Foundation 

Media partners of 14th YES Annual Meeting:

• Euronews
• Dzerkalo Tyzhnya (DT.UA)
• ICTV
• LIGAbusinessinform
• Novoye Vremya Strany (NV)
• The Kyiv Post