Celebrating Europe Day 2023 – Launch of the European Year of Skills
Event at the Athens Conservatory, 9 May 2023, 13.00-18.00
The keynote speaker is the Vice-President of the European Commission, Mr. Margaritis Schinas
At 9 May 2023, Europe Day, the Representation of the European Commission in Greece in collaboration with the Office of the European Parliament is organizing an event in Athens, at the Athens Conservatory (13:00-18:00), titled “Europe Day 2023 — Celebrating the European Year of Skills” and invites you to attend! We are celebrating peace, unity and cooperation in Europe, as well as the European principles and values that bring us together in the European Union.
This year, Europe Day also marks the beginning of the European Year of Skills.
Programme
The opening speeches will be made by Ms Niovi Rigou, Head of the EC Delegation to Greece, and Mr. Konstantinos Tsoutsoplidis, Head of the European Parliament Office in Greece.
Then, through a live link to Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will open the European Year of Skills.
The event will continue with a skills dialogue involving young people from Vocational and General Schools, Vocational Training Institutions, Universities and start-ups, focusing on the skills they need in various sectors of the economy, particularly those that are critical in the context of the green and digital transition, with emphasis on youth employment. The keynote speech will be given by Mr Margaritis Schinas, Vice President of the European Commission responsible for Promoting our European Way of Life, who will also participate in the skills festival hosted by the European Commission, with live links from Brussels (skills events will be held on 9 May throughout Europe). The dialogue will culminate with the award of diplomas by Vice-President Margaritis Schinas to 15 young forest fire-fighters from third countries who graduated the previous day, 8 May.
This will be followed by round-table discussions with representatives of European institutions and national agencies active in the skills area, with journalist Giorgos Evgenidis.
The first panel will discuss on the subject ‘The European dimension of skills in green and digital transition.’
Speakers:
Jürgen Siebel, Executive Director of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop)
Juhan Lepassaar, Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA)
Chris Allen, Resident Adviser in Athens, on the Economy of Greece, Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs (ECFIN)
Ioannis Hatzigiannis, Head of the Athens Office of the Directorate General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM)
Aristidis Psarras, Head of the Greek Sector, Directorate General for Migration and Home Affairs in Athens (DG HOME).
In the second panel, the topic of discussion will be “Implementing the European Skills Agenda in Greece”.
Speakers:
Spyros Protopsaltis, National Coordinator for Skills, Governor of the Public Employment Service, National Coordinator for the Year of Skills
Iordanis Ladopoulos, f. Professor of the Athens University of Economics and Business and Organiser of the “Entrepreneurship and Career Panorama”
Kostas Dervos, Chairman of the Youth and Lifelong Learning Foundation (INEDIVIM)
Roula Bachtalia, Director and Member of the EGG – Eurobank Steering Committee
Christos Goulas, Director General of the GSEE Labour Institute
Christos Ioannou, Director of Employment and Labor Market, Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV)
Throughout the event there will be stands with leaflets and brochures from embassies of EU member states and European Economic Area countries, European agencies and networks, and national public-sector institutions.
The programme in detail: See the detailed programme in pdf. format EL•••
Europe Day in Thessaloniki
Mr. Margaritis Schinas, Vice President of the European Commission, as part of his visit to Greece, will also participate in events to celebrate Europe Day in Thessaloniki. On Monday, May 8, Mr. Schinas will attend an event of the Secondary Education Directorate of Eastern Thessaloniki at the Olympic Museum, and will follow with a visit to the Vocational Lyceum of Evosmos where he will participate in the event of the Secondary Education Directorate of Western Thessaloniki. The events for 9 May will be attended by pupils and teachers of the schools in the region.
