The Spring Plenary Meeting 2015 - Youth Regional Network (YRN) of the Assembly of European Regions (AER) will be held in Ponta Delgada at the University of the Azores from May 21 to 24.
The meeting follows the invitation made by the Regional Government, through the Regional Directorate for Youth to YRN. It will bring together nearly sixty participants, aged between 15 and 30, from 25 European countries and more than 50 European regions, including young people from the Autonomous Region of the Azores.
Created by the Assembly of European Regions in November 2008, YRN is a platform of youth parliaments at a regional level, councils and youth organisations from the enlarged Europe.
This initiative meets the medium-term guidelines in the area of Youth for the period 2013-2016; the latter provide the implementation of youth policies to encourage the internationalisation of experiences with the aim of maximising the international and European vision of Azorean youngsters.
The platform is intended to develop the establishment of networks, influence youth policy by involving youngsters in the decision-making process at a regional and European level, the exchange of good practices and experiences, through participation in European projects and the application of the principle of subsidiarity, as well as the promotion of sustainable governance.
In addition to the plenary sessions, the Spring Plenary Meeting 2015 includes the organisation of workshops under several themes, namely "professional life and youth entrepreneurship," "culture and education," "health and social affairs" and "training and networking."
The Youth Regional Network promotes plenary meetings in a member region of the Assembly of European Regions twice a year in spring and autumn.
A total of 12 sessions have been held since 2008 in various countries, including France, Sweden, Poland, Belgium, Austria and Turkey.
The Azores participated in the two meetings held in Poland and France in 2009.