Lviv, an Ukrainian city, was declared the European Youth Capital for 2025, in the ceremony held at the Opera and Ballet Theatre. The title was handed over by the mayor Erion Veliaj. Tirana held the title of European Youth Capital this year, where over 1000 activities were scheduled for young people.
“Neighbors matter! They are important to us when we have them in the same residential building, they are the ones who surround us at school, at work, but they are more important if they are countries that share a border with us. As we experience a war in Europe, like the one in Ukraine, we are all realizing that we should not take our neighbors for granted,” said Veliaj in his speech during the ceremony.
The mayor also shared a piece of his experience as the leader of the city that held the title of European Youth Capital. “When I am asked what is the legacy of the Year of Youth, I certainly think of a lot of physical work that we did. Even though I am very proud of the new libraries, of the youth centers, even though I am very happy that we have 40 schools, I am very proud of the sports grounds, I believe that the real achievement of this year, it has been the construction of a cathedral of our hearts, of our minds and of our goals as Europeans, as people who work together, win together, progress together and are proud of each other, their neighbors and their new friends”, he said.
“Even though we are at the end, the month of December awaits us with the implementation of many other activities, translated into workshops, trainings, seminars, exhibitions, festivals, concerts, sports championships and many more,” said Aspasjana Kongo, General Coordinator of the National Youth Congress “Tirana, European Youth Capital 2022”.
“I want to thank the Municipality of Tirana as a serious partner in this journey full of challenges, which has helped us at every moment and has embraced these initiatives,” said Dafina Peçi, Executive Director of the National Youth Congress.
Four was the number of the finalist cities for the title of the next European Youth Capital: Izmir, Fuenlabrada, Tromso and Lviv.
