Programme and Speakers

YEYS Youth Programme

Thursday 19 March

• 13:00 - Registration

• 14:00 - Icebreaking sessions

• 15:00 - Networking and connecting activities

• 18:00 - Welcome addresses by EESC representatives

  • Marija Hanževački, Vice-President for Communication
  • Peter Byrne, Youth Group member

• 18:15 - Group photo

• 18:30 - Dinner

Friday 20 March

• 8:30 - Arrival of participants at the EESC premises

• 9:30 - Opening session (YEYS Opening Plenary) (Web-streamed/LIVE)

  Chaired by 

  • Marija Hanževački, EESC Vice-President for Communication

  Keynote speakers

  • Boris Gurzhy, Junior Enterprises Europe
  • Carolin Hochstrat, The Democratic Spin
  • Miroslav Hajnoš, EESC Youth Group member

• 10.30 - Welcome by facilitators 

• 11.00 - Youth Workshops

• 13:00 - Lunch break

• 14:00 - Youth Workshops

• 16:40 - Coffee break and wrap up session

• 17:00 - Closing session (YEYS Closing Plenary) (Web-streamed/LIVE)

  Chaired by

  •  Séamus Boland, EESC President

  Keynote speakers

  • Ingrid Bellander Todino, DG for Education, Youth, Sport, and Culture

  • Laure Niclot, EESC Youth Group member

    Presentation of the recommendations by YEYS spokespersons

• 18:30 - Dinner

YEYS Teachers' Programme

• 13.00 - Registration

• 14.00 - Knowing me, knowing you!

• 15.00 - Break

• 15.30 - Visit to the House of European History (European Parliament)

  A guided tour of the House of European History and presentation of the learning offer available to teachers, hosted and curated by Laurence Bragard

• 17.15 - Networking with EESC members

• 18.00 - Welcome addresses by EESC representatives

• Chaired by 

  • Marija Hanževački, EESC Vice-President for Communication

  Keynote speakers

  • Boris Gurzhy, Junior Enterprises Europe
  • Carolin Hochstrat, The Democratic Spin
  • Miroslav Hajnoš, EESC Youth Group member

• 18.15 - Group photo

• 18.30 - Dinner

Friday 20 March

• 8:30 - Arrival of participants at the EESC premises

• 9:30 - Opening session (YEYS Opening Plenary) (Web-streamed/LIVE)

  Chaired by 

  • Marija Hanževački, EESC Vice-President for Communication

  Keynote speakers

  • Boris Gurzhy, Junior Enterprises Europe
  • Carolin Hochstrat, The Democratic Spin
  • Miroslav Hajnoš, EESC Youth Group member

• 10.30 - Coffee break

• 11.00 - Explore & Teach Europe – Learning Resources from EU Institutions

  • Host 1: European Commission

    The EU Learning Corner by Anne-Sophie Fabry

  • Host 2: Council of the European Union - DG Communication and Information

    The Council’s ready-made and interactive materials about the EU, by Silvia Colagiorgio and Gerard Bros Perez

  • Host 3: House of European History

    HistoriCall – free digital resources for history and civic education by Florian Tuder

  • Host 4: European Commission, Schools and Multilingualism

    European School Education Platform, eTwinning and SELFIE for teachers, by Matthias Franz

• 13.00 - Lunch

• 14.00 - From Classroom to Citizenship: EU Resources and Participation

  • Host 1: Eurostat

    Statistics for teachers and students, by Luca Salini

  • Host 2: European Commission, DG Grow

    Presentation on Your Europe – your practical guide for studying, living and travelling in the EU by Adriaan Vermijs

  • Host 3: European Commission, European Citizens’ Initiative

    European Citizens’ Initiative - How to propose or support ideas for new EU rules and EU Democracy in Action toolkit for schools by Barbara Walentynowicz

  • Host 4: European Commission, Public Consultation & Feedback

    Public Consultation & Feedback - Have a say on upcoming EU policies and on simplifying existing laws by Corina Pîrleci

  • Host 5: European Commission, Citizens’ Engagement Platform

    Citizens’ Engagement Platform - Join the debate and engage with citizens on issues that affect us all by Rikke Lovgren

• 16.00 - Coffee break

• 17.00 - Closing session (YEYS Closing Plenary) (Web-streamed/LIVE)

  Chaired by

  •  Séamus Boland, EESC President

  Keynote speakers

  • Ingrid Bellander Todino, DG for Education, Youth, Sport, and Culture

  • Laure Niclot, EESC Youth Group member

    Presentation of the recommendations by YEYS spokespersons

• 18:30 - Dinner

YEYS Speakers

Séamus Boland was elected President of the European Economic and Social Committee in October 2025. He has been an EESC Member since 2011. He has held different roles at the Committee, including President of the Civil Society Organizations' Group (2020-2025) and Vice President of the Civil Society Organisations' Group (2018-2020). His policy and political interests include the eradication of poverty, social exclusion, rural development and inequality. Séamus has been CEO of Irish Rural Link since 2001, Chair of the Peatlands Council since 2012 and a Board Member of Inland Fisheries Ireland (2018-2022). In October 2024 he was appointed to the Just Transition Commission as an independent expert by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications in Ireland.

President Boland is a farmer and has worked in civil society for over 40 years, including with young people, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and people living in rural isolation.
He is a trained Speech and Drama Educator. President Boland is married to Geraldine Boland and has three children and three grandchildren.

Ingrid Bellander Todino is Head of the Youth and Volunteer Solidarity unit in DG Education, Youth, Sport & Culture of the European Commission. She was previously leading the work on fundamental rights policy in DG Justice and Consumers and has also had positions dealing with EU policy on gender equality, procedural criminal law, victims’ rights and security. Prior to joining the European Commission, she worked as legal counsel at International Fund for Agricultural Development and as an attorney in EU law. She holds a law degree from Uppsala University in Sweden and a LLM in EU law from Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium.

Boris Gurzhy studies Business Administration and Statistics at Humboldt University Berlin in his Bachelor's and has been part of a Junior Enterprise since his first year in university. He then joined Junior Enterprises Europe (JE Europe), a non-profit, non-governmental umbrella organisation that represents a network of 35,000+ students, consolidating their knowledge in over 325 Junior Enterprises from 16 different countries in Europe. It is a founding contributor to EntreComp, the European entrepreneurship competence framework and an active member of the EU Youth Stakeholders Group (DG EAC), the Youth Entrepreneurship Policy Academy (DG EMPL and OECD) & the SME Envoy Network (DG GROW). Boris Gurzhy is currently serving as Treasurer & Head of Public Affairs of Junior Enterprises Europe, representing young entrepreneurs in front of European institutions.

Miroslav Hajnoš is a professional trade union expert with experience spanning a decade. As the International Secretary and specialist in European and International Relations at the Slovak Confederation of Trade Unions, he plays a pivotal role in shaping European initiatives. Since 2019, he has also served as a specialist in digitisation and marketing, focusing on AI, Big Data, digital transformation and IT technology. He established the European Dialogue (Europsky Dialog) organisation in 2012, bringing together people with a pro-European mindset and creating a stable organisation that represents an important part of Slovak and European organised civil society.

He has worked with the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EUROFOUND) since 2016, and he is currently a member of several consulting bodies of the European Trade Union Confederation and of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), where he is also part of the EESC’s Youth Group.

Marija Hanževački is Vice President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) for Communication and General Secretary of the Independent Trade Unions of Croatia. A longstanding member of the EESC Workers’ Group and the first Croatian to hold a top leadership role in the Committee, she brings extensive European and international experience in defending workers’ rights and strengthening social dialogue. Deeply committed to amplifying the voice of civil society, she works to ensure citizens’ perspectives remain central to EU decision‑making.

Carolin Hochstrat is a political communicator and Co-Founder of The Democratic Spin, a strategic communications consultancy for democratic impact. In her work, she advises institutions and democratic actors on how to translate complex policies into narratives that resonate with younger generations in a digital public sphere. She has gained professional experience in the European Parliament, the German Bundestag and in political journalism, working at the intersection of policy, media and public trust. Alongside her advisory work, she is an EU content creator engaging young Europeans online, fostering informed debate and strengthening democratic participation across the continent.