Daniela Gašparíková, UNDP Resident Representative to Montenegro 

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Dear Chief Negotiator Drljević,

Dear Ambassador Orav,

Dear pupils, parents, teachers and partners from the media,  

I’m truly happy to be here today, among such creative young people! The future of Europe – Montenegro included – fully relies on you, our youth. Actions, attitudes and behaviours of young people will not only shape our future, they are already shaping our present. What young people have to say today about the state of our countries and the way they say it – matters. Your actions can be the force for peaceful advancement of societies and protection of our planet – objectives pursued by both the EU accession process and the Agenda 2030 - Sustainable Development Goals. 

That’s why I’m very pleased that this competition inspired around 900 pupils to express how they feel about the partnership between EU and Montenegro. Expression of their views stirs the feeling of belonging & connection; This is how EU should be communicated, so that everyone can relate to it.

It’s also one of the objectives of our joint project EU4ME which aims to break down the EU accession process in simple terms and systematically engage youth. We do so through activities such as:

a) promoting ERASMUS + scholarships;

b) organising forum for university students “Ask the Minister”;

c) EUMETRIJA TV quiz for high school students;

d) online quiz “How much do you know about EU?” for elementary school pupils;

e) promoting volunteering and climate change awareness – most recently in Gymnasium “Slobodan Škerović”;

f) and finally, organising this competition.

I am also happy that we partner with journalists, who shed a light on true impact of the EU on the ground.

Thanks to the EU funding, UNDP supports the Government of Montenegro in anchoring and communicating the EU accession process. This is part of a broader shared commitment among the government, EU and UNDP -  to work on building more responsive and accountable institutions to deliver better future for the citizens.

Now, as the saying goes – save the best for last: I would like to congratulate Veljko, Nikolina, Andrea, Evgenija, Polina and Borko for being so creative and winning the awards!  Bravo!

I trust your individual and school community efforts to make the EU a reality in Montenegro will continue, so that the voices of those who shape both our present and future are heard and responded to.