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Internationales Bildungs- und Begegnungswerk in Dortmund

State government invites to the 18th International Youth Summit “Living Diversity” in NRW

State government invites to the 18th International Youth Summit “Living Diversity” in NRW

For the 18th time, the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia and the regional governments of Hauts-de-France and Silesia will invite 45 young people to participate in the German-French-Polish Youth Summit. From 18 to 25 August 2019 “Living diversity – Commitment to social cohesion” will be the theme of the week. This year, North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) will host this trilateral youth exchange. The youth summit already has quite a long tradition and to date brought together around 750 young people from the three partner regions.

In 1991, the foreign ministers of Poland, France, and Germany created the Weimar Triangle to strengthen the European axis. Since 2001, North Rhine-Westphalia, the Polish region of Silesia and the French region of Hauts-de-France have maintained intensive partnership relations. The youth summits are by now established as a valued, sustainable format. Each youth summit is concluded with a meeting with politicians from the three regions. “Every year we observe with great joy how young people from the three regions overcome language barriers, work together in the workshops, discover similarities, and make friends. This is living Europe,” says Minister for European Affairs Stephan Holthoff-Pförtner.

Every year on 22 January, Franco-German Day, commemorating the signing of the Elysee Treaty in 1963, the first call for applications for the international youth summit in the Weimar Triangle region is sent out. Furthermore, this year, on 22 January, a new chapter in Franco-German cooperation will be opened with the signing of the Aachen Treaty by Chancellor Merkel and French President Macron in Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia.

Young people from NRW between the ages of 17 and 23 can now apply to take part in the International Youth Summit, which this time will take place in Duisburg. The International Association for Education and Exchange (IBB e.V.) in Dortmund organises the Youth Summit on behalf of the NRW state government. Participation is free of charge, except for the trip to the seminar location.

Those interested can send their letter of motivation via email to info@ibb-d.de. A preparatory meeting in Dortmund is planned for July 2019.