Azerbaijan, Baku, June 23 / Trend /
A two-day international conference on "Young Southeastern European Leaders for Cooperation and Security" came to an end in Istanbul Tuesday, the Youth Forum of the Organization of the Islamic Countries (OIC) told Trend.
The event aimed to strengthen the role of youth in promoting neighborly relations among countries in the Balkan region and working toward lasting regional peace and stability.
The conference was initiated by the OIC Youth Forum.
Azerbaijani Ambassador to Turkey, OIC Youth Forum Secretary General Elshad Isgandarov and Association of International NGOs Under the Council of Europe Vice President Veysel Filiz spoke at the event.
They called on young leaders to play an active role in the conference, and expressed confidence that the ideas and proposals adopted during the event would be effectively implemented.
The conference was attended by over 100 young leaders from Greece, Croatia, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and other Balkan countries. Specialists of leading universities and research institutions arrived from Western countries to lecture the participants on education and intercultural dialogue, prejudice and stereotypes in media and civil society, the growing role of youth in conflict resolution and how young entrepreneurs improve the unemployment rate.
Discussions also addressed humanitarian disasters in the 20th century. Lithuanian National Campaign Coordinator Eva Lukosevikiute reported on activities undertaken within the "Justice for Khojaly" campaign initiated by General Coordinator of the Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Intercultural Dialogue Leyla Aliyeva. The participants discussed holding the campaign in Southeastern European countries, and adopted the initiative in the event's final declaration.
The declaration reflected concrete mechanisms of cooperation for the region.