Youth Research Dialogue: first episode in 2025
Neighbouring partner countries’ cooperation: impact and future needs
Our Youth Research Dialogues series continue and the first episode in 2025 was streamed 20 February.
The episode was titled ‘Neighbouring partner countries’ cooperation: impact and future needs’, in which we shared key findings from our RAY NPC study (in cooperation with the Strategic National Agency Cooperation ‘Beyond Borders’ and the regional SALTO Resource Centres) on the impact and potential of cooperation projects with neighbouring partner countries in the European youth programmes.
We explored and discussed the impact, potential, added-value and challenges as well as addressed recommendations for policy, practice, research and future needs.
Andrea Horta from the RAY transnational research team joined us for this episode as well as our guest speakers from the SNAC Beyond Borders/regional SALTO Resource Centres, Sonja Mitter Škulj and Tomasz Szopa.
Moderated by Tomi Kiilakoski and Domagoj Morić.
Live stream available
If you didn’t have the time to join or want to rewatch the Youth Research Dialogue again, just access the recording of the live stream here:
SPEAKERS
>> Sonja Mitter Škulj, SALTO South East Europe Resource Centre
Sonja Mitter Škulj has facilitated international youth work and cooperation since the late 1990s, first at the Council of Europe Youth Directorate, then in the frame of the EU youth programmes. Personal intercultural experiences and her M.A. studies in history with a focus on migration and social integration convinced her of the value of people-to-people contacts and intercultural exchange. As coordinator of the SALTO SEE Resource Centre in Ljubljana and the European Academy on Youth Work, her focus is on actively supporting youth work and cooperation involving the Western Balkans within Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps as well as innovation in youth work.
>> Tomasz Szopa, SALTO Eastern Europe and Caucasus Resource Centre
Tomasz Szopa is an expert in international youth work and non-formal education. He is turning his master knowledge of sociology and social anthropology into active support for youth work development, especially in cooperation with the Eastern Neighbours of the European Union. Tomasz had been coordinating over a hundred of international trainings and seminars for few thousand participants coming from Europe and its neighbourhood. Throughout this experience, he had actively facilitated captivating processes of intercultural exchange, fostering innovation and structural development across several generations of the European youth programmes.
>> Andrea Horta, RAY transnational research team
Andrea Horta works for Youth Policy Labs, a small research agency and think tank in the youth sector. She has a research background in neuroscience and psychology and currently works as part of the transnational research team of the RAY network.