Program of the Youth Network Conference 2026 by balkanizer team

YOUTH NETWORK CONFERENCE

Youth Identities and Collective Action in Hybrid Communities

🗓 22 February | 🕙 10:00 – 14:00 CET💻 Livestreaming | Virtual ParticipationOrganised by the Balkanizer NetworkLed by Junior Youth Workers

🕙 10:00 – 10:15

Welcoming & Opening the Collective Space

Speaker	Notes
Natasha Karra – B Community, Thessaloniki Municipality	Welcome & opening remarks on youth participation & hybrid communities

🔵 Roundtable 1: Sports for Inclusion – The Power of Sports

Focus: Inclusion, disability, recreational sports, community empowermentCoordinator & Dialogue Facilitator: Dimitris Alepliotis

Time	Speaker	Title / Contribution
10:15 – 10:25	Dimitris Alepliotis	Leader in an ESC Solidarity Project – ESAEI EN ROI, Greece
10:25 – 10:40	ESAI EN ROI Sports Team (3 speakers)	1) SOCIAL INCLUSION: The Power of Sports 2) The Rhythm of Life (Turkey–Greece) 3) Hop, Skip, Jump: Street Games for All (Turkey–Greece) 4) Echo-tech Kids – Sports & Disability (Turkey–Greece)
10:40-10:45 10:45 – 10:50	Christina Brebou, SenseLab Božidar Jović, Headteacher of a Bosnian Primary School, Director of the DEMOS NGO Christina Brebou, SenseLab	Inclusive Technologies and Equal Access to Sport Digital transformation in education. The case of etwnning schools practices
10:50 – 10:55	Chiara Matilde Scarfo – Italy	From ESC volunteer to NGO founder – learning inclusion through action

Key question:How can sport become a shared language for inclusion and dignity?

🟢 Roundtable 2: Cultural issues and Youth in our Western democracies

Focus: The role of culture, new cultural habits among young people, the need for cultural democratisation and digitalisation.

Time	Speaker	Title / Contribution
10:55 – 11:10	Alexis Lidec, Law Studies, Actor	The challenges facing cultural policies aimed at young people. Spending cuts, digitalisation, legitimacy and democratisation.
11:10 – 11:25	Willy Maupetit, ctor and member of "Le Théatre des Evadés" troup - Paris. Vasili Poulizouli	Drama, texts and theatre troup in France.  Education, Art mediation at the MOMUS.
11:25 – 11:30	Labrini Boviatsou	Experimental Convergence between Artistic Fields: Challenges and Opportunities
11:30 – 11:40	Panagiotis Partsinevelos, SenseLab, Technical University of Crete (President of the Rethinking Youth Conference Board)	Short dialogue with participants

Key question:How do we reconnect youth with creativity, embodiment, and artistic presence in a digital era?

🟠 Roundtable 3: Agriculture, Nature, Ecology & Youth

Focus: Sustainability, agriculture, ecology, urban–rural linksCoordinator & Dialogue Facilitator: Georges Korra

Time	Speaker	Title / Contribution
11:40 – 11:50	Georges Korra	Youth, agriculture, failures and possibilities of contemporary society
11:50 – 12:00	Miranda Mansaku, Project Manager +Marvina Mansaku, Young Youth Worker	Urban farming model in a secondary school in Durrës – Udhetim i Lire, Albania
12:00 – 12:10	Mariam Sanikidje, Psychologist, x-ESC Volunteer, Junior Youth Worker	ESC experiences through nature-based projects – Droni Association & ESAI EN ROI
12:10 – 12:20	Sokratis Seitanidis, Urban Planning Professional, Msc, PhD, Research Fellow at AUTH	Urban Planning Committee of Polichni – local challenges & youth voice
12:25 – 12:30	Eleni Kavazidou, Director of the 4th Primary School of Polichni	e-twinning connects school gardens!
12:30-12:35	Discussion	Short dialogue with participants

Key question:Can agriculture, ecology, and public space become places of hope and agency for youth?

🔴 Roundtable 4: Sharing Good Practices among Youth Workers

Focus: NGOs, training courses, advocacy, ESC & E+ programsCoordinator & Dialogue Facilitator: Lev Narozhny

Time	Speaker	Title / Contribution
12:35 – 12:40	Andreea Ioana Bodge, President of the NGO "Empower Plus" ION Sandu, ACT NGO, Romania Gabriel Sirghi - Grandir Ensemble NGO France	Sharing Good practices from Youth worker Training courses
12:40 – 13:10	Milos Popic, ESC & Erasmus+ Coordinator, Coach, Trainer, Senior Youth Worker, SVITAC Bosnia-Herzegovina	ESC and Erasmus+ in Western balkans throught two videos
13:10 – 13:25	Hongbo Zhao, ESC Volunteer, Junior Youth Worker, Dogs trainer, etc Saba Khutsishvili	Pawsitive Parks Campaign – youth proposals to public authorities – Seiklejate Vennaskond & ESAI EN ROI the small story of a stray cat (real story, adoption)
13:25 – 13:30	Discussion / Q&A	Short dialogue with participants

Key question:How can youth programs, campaigns, and ESC initiatives be sustained and impactful?

🟣 Roundtable 5: Visa & Mobility Challenges for Youth

Focus: Barriers to ESC participation, international mobility, and inclusionCoordinator & Dialogue Facilitator: Lev Narozhny

Time	Speaker	Title / Contribution
13:30 – 13:35	Have a Dream NGO	Visa & mobility challenges
13:35 – 13:40	ESAI EN ROI NGO Saba Khutsisvili Georgia Eleni Kavazidou Greece	Visa & mobility challenges
13:40 – 13:45	Mariia Zholudeva, – ex-ESC candidate – ESAI EN ROI, Russia	Visa & mobility challenges
13:45 – 13:50	Esther Mumia, Director WEFOCO org kenya	Visa & mobility challenges,

Key question:How can youth mobility, inclusion, and participation be protected in unequal global conditions?

🌍 Collective Closing & Reflections

Time	Session	Coordinator / Notes
13:50 – 14:20 14:20-14:30	Lev Narozhny, Graphic Designer, ESC Volunteer, Junior Youth Worker	Why do companies need advertising, marketing, and design? Tips for young companies and organisations. DISCUSSION/ closing the program