The Youth Sounding Board for International Partnerships has started its work, with the members meeting each other and the Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen for the first time.
The members were selected through an open call that resulted in a staggering 4 000 applications from more than 150 countries. The Board is composed of fourteen women, nine men, and two members who did not identify as female or male. Fifteen are aged under 25, and ten are aged 26–30. Ten come from Africa, four from Asia, and six from Latin America. One of the members comes from the Pacific, and four are from the European Union.
Egyptian Omnia El Omrani will be the only participant representing the MENA region.
During their two-year term, the members will advise on topics of EU external action, including education, employment, environment, climate change, and digitalisation. They will also have their say on issues such as human rights and democracy, gender, social inclusion and health, as well as media, culture and the arts.
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