On 27 March 2025, IVY Alumni participated in the Interreg GO! event held in Gorizia and Nova Gorica. This was the second in-person gathering for many of the IVY Alumni, to meet with other young people active in territorial cooperation, decision makers, Interreg programmes and European Commission. It was a lovely occasion to meet together, make new friendships and discover the cross-border cities of Gorizia-Nova Goriza!
Interreg GO! was organized in partnership with the Interreg Italy-Slovenia programme, EGTC GO!, the Friuli-Venezia-Giulia region, the Ministry for Cohesion and Regional Development in Slovenia, and Interact. The event focused on presenting the outcomes of the consultation process for the future of Interreg under cohesion policy post-2027.
A day earlier, on 26 March, youth took centre stage during the Interreg GO! Youth Event organized by Youth4Cooperation at the University of Trieste campus in Gorizia. The event brought together IVY Alumni, youth representatives from Macro-Regional Strategies, Cross-Border-Ambassadors, and youth from the Italy-Slovenia border area. The event aimed at raising awareness among young people about Interreg, and promoting an open dialogue on the opportunities the programme can offer.
Throughout both days, the inclusion of youth voices in the dialogue was emphasized, with each panel including at least one young speaker, reflecting the commitment of AEBR-IVY and DG REGIO to ensure young people’s active involvement at the discussion table.
The Youth Event included a panel introducing Interreg and the broader Youth4Cooperation initiative by DG REGIO. Interreg projects such as the “CircularRainbow” project were also presented, showcasing the different faces of territorial cooperation, and how young people across all disciplines can find opportunities for participation.
Later, the high-level dialogue on Cooperation raised important reflections on the reach of youth initiatives within Interreg. Participants emphasized the importance of extending youth inclusion efforts beyond academic circles, with shared recognition of the need to avoid creating an echo chamber. The common vision is to form a diverse and representative pool of youth voices, one that can bring varied experiences and perspectives to the table and critically engage with questions about the role of cooperation in today’s complex and delicate geopolitical landscape.
During the central event on 27 March, young participants also had the opportunity to present the outcomes of the “On the Road to Interreg GO!” event organized in November in Brussels. In Gorizia, they officially launched the “Declaration by Young People on the Future of Territorial Cooperation”, in which they articulated their recommendations and actionable steps to implement the future European territorial cooperation.
The panel discussions on March 27, also featured high-level speakers and the discussion of relevant issues for the future of Interreg and European integration, as well as youth’s role in it. In particular, Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms Raffaele Fitto expressed appreciation for the active engagement of young people in Interreg, recognizing the value of their contributions and ideas in shaping a successful cohesion policy in the years ahead.
These two days represented a valuable opportunity for young people to engage critically with each other and share opinions on how European Territorial Cooperation can best support them in addressing current challenges, particularly those intersecting at Europe’s borders. Our participation underscored the need to continue expanding the space for youth voices in policymaking and to build a more inclusive, cooperative, and democratic Europe.
If you missed the event or if you would like to re-watch it, you can view it here: Interreg GO! – Streaming Service of the European Commission
– Veronica Dalla Valle from the IVY Alumni
