“Knowledge is power”

“Knowledge has always been and always will be power. Seize it and use it to your advantage,” MEP Irena Joveva urged the young participants in a video address during the Citizens’ Dialogue event on 14 April 2023 in the Austrian province of Carinthia. The event brought together Austrian and Slovenian secondary school students in the framework of the EU Future Talks events.

They discussed the topic of “the European Year of Skills: My Opportunities in the Alps-Adria Research Area”.

A unique aspect of EU Future Talks is that young people can speak directly to politicians, experts and non-governmental organisations. The event also featured a video address by MEP Irena Joveva, who said that EU policies are not only changing our daily lives, but also industry and the labour market. “The latter is facing huge challenges and opportunities; there is a huge digital skills gap among adults, and currently less than 37% of them are actively working to improve their skills.”

The MEP stressed that skills shortages in the labour market must be addressed by organising training and education programmes to reskill and upskill the workforce in line with labour market requirements. She explained that she was drawing attention to this, especially as the young participants in the event were at an age when they were choosing their educational path and thus their future and career.

The European Union offers many opportunities through programmes such as Erasmus+, the European Solidarity Corps, Discover EU and Horizon Europe. “Make the most of these programmes”, she urged young people.

“All of these programmes and many more have been set up for you to learn, to acquire new skills or simply life experiences that will enrich your lives and to give you valuable knowledge that will help you in the future. Knowledge has always been and will always be power – seize it and use it to your advantage.”

The event was also attended by Peter Kaiser, Chairman of the Austrian Social Democratic Party in Carinthia, Martin Polaschek, Regional Minister for Education, via a video message, and Anna Seip from the European Commission’s Directorate General for Education and Culture (EAC).

A short video summary of the event (in German and English) can be found here.