Get to know European Youth Capital 2021 finalist cities!

In March we announced 5 cities in the running to become European Youth Capital 2021 (EYC 2021)!

Now we want to give you a chance to get to know them a tiny bit better... Take a look and find inspiration for yourself and your city!

Chișinău (Moldova)

The capital of Moldova, the city of Chișinău, is the main administrative, economic, scientific and cultural center of the Republic of Moldova. The defining concept of their application to become European Youth Capital 2021 is CommUnity.

Chișinău seeks to reach unity, with the help of youth community, through the cultural diversity presented by 9 nationalities in the city. The main objective of the application is to bring European’s attention, expertise, know-how, professionalism towards Chișinău and to convince Europe to use Chișinău, as a meeting point, a lab, a place for reflection, interaction and envisioning for the future in an open spirit and environment. Want to know more? Check out their presentation here.

Klaipėda (Lithuania)

Klaipėda is the third largest city in Lithuania with approximately 150 000 residents located in the western part of the country, stretching almost 20 kilometers along the shores of the Curonian Lagoon and the Baltic Sea.

Klaipėda seeks to further encourage youth to believe in their efforts, that they can be the leaders in youth policy and also work together for the welfare of young people in the city and all across the world. Through applying to become European Youth Capital 2021 Klaipėda would like to become open, e-solutions based city, to create opportunities for all youth to grow, live, work, share, implement ideas, exchange, break the standards and innovate. Want to know more? Check out their presentation here.

Greater Nicosia (Cyprus)

Nicosia lies at the edge of three continents – a unique geographic location. Three municipalities, those of Aglantzia, Nicosia and Strovolos in partnership with many non-organised youth, youth organisations and many other stakeholders are joining forces to claim the European Youth Capital 2021 title.

Greater Nicosia bases its application on the Edge concept: edges are places where diverse perspectives, aesthetics, mindsets and ideologies can meet, overlap, challenge and enrich one another. Greater Nicosia intends to activate Nicosia’s edges as sources of inspiration and empowerment. Nicosia will be transformed into an inviting trans-continental platform where young people from three continents can meet, collaborate, co-create, question and experiment, work hard, gain skills and have fun. Want to know more? Check out their presentation here.

Yaroslavl (Russia)

Yaroslavl is a modern city in the European part of Russia, a millennia-old city. The city is the capital of the world famous tourist route “The Golden Ring”, and the city center is a part of UNESCO world cultural heritage.

Among other things by applying to become European Youth Capital 2021 Yaroslavl seeks to get unique experience of communication with the youth from different European countries, to get educational experience, professional skills, to get opportunities for increasing mobility, to visit other countries with such highlights in their application as developing a mobile application that solves the problem of young people’s participation in the city administration. Want to know more? Check out their presentation here.

Varaždin (Croatia)

Varaždin is a cultural, economic, educational, sports and touristic center of Northwest Croatia. It is a medieval city with Roman roads that has received a number of awards for the best tourist destination in inland Croatia.

Varaždin sees the European Youth Capital year as an opportunity to strengthen youth organisations, encouraging youth engagement in society combining digital and physical environment, providing young people with experience for employment, just to name a few. Want to know more? Check out their presentation here.

What happens next?

Currently the finalist cities are going through the second round of application: the cities have submitted a more detailed application outlining an extensive programme of youth-related cultural, social and political events and activities and in August will receive recommendations from an independent Jury and a Focus Group to submit their final, updated applications by the end of September.

The independent Jury will then make a final decision on who is going to be awarded the European Youth Capital 2021 title during the Jury meeting in November where the applicant cities will be invited to pitch their proposals directly to the Jury.

...Watch this space!

The announcement of the winner for European Youth Capital 2021 will take place at the European Youth Forum’s General Assembly in November 2018 in Novi Sad – European Youth Capital 2019.