Young European Ambassadors (YEAs) were recently involved in a range of diverse initiatives showcasing their commitment to diverse causes and the expansion of their network. In December 2023, EU NEIGHBOURS EAST witnessed a significant boost with the addition of 657 new YEAs, amplifying their impact across social media channels. In February, the YEAs launched the 'Love, Pet, Adopt!' campaign in Georgia, advocating for animal welfare and sustainability, and received valuable insights from senior officials into the EU membership journey for Ukraine and Moldova, fostering a robust diplomatic discourse. 

EU NEIGHBOURS EAST welcomes new Young European Ambassadors 

657 new Young European Ambassadors (YEAs) joined the network at the end of last year, bringing it to a total of 1,162 active YEAs and boosting the engagement on the programme's social media channels! Over the past few weeks, the project team has been welcoming the newly selected YEAs with social media posts featuring the new ambassadors from each country group. The total of 30 posts across four social media platforms have organically gained 69K impressions with an amazing 4.8% engagement rate. The top posts gained around 400 likes each. The most popular one was the Instagram video welcoming the new YEAs from Azerbaijan, which gained 443 likes in total. 

“Love, Pet, Adopt”: Young European Ambassadors campaign to shelter animals

Following a successful launch in Azerbaijan this winter, Young European Ambassadors brought the “Love, Pet, Adopt!” campaign to Georgia in February. YEAs in Georgia installed 20 shelter boxes in the streets of Tbilisi, with 80 more planned in both Tbilisi and other cities, including the regional capitals Kutaisi, Batumi and Zugdidi. The initiative offers a sustainable approach to housing homeless animals and is an example of the positive impact which can be achieved through collaboration. YEAs hope the campaign will address the social and environmental challenges faced in the Eastern Partnership and promote sustainable practices such as upcycling. The activity in Tbilisi reached 15,450 impressions with more than 815 engagements on the EU NEIGHBOURS EAST social media. 

Georgian influencer Foxy Eleniko (@foxy_eleniko) also provided coverage on her accounts. Notably, the video on her Tiktok reached more than 195k views and 15,6k engagements! She also published stories on Instagram which reached more than 10k accounts. Funding for the project was provided by the EU in collaboration with the Georgian branch of Finnish technology company “Wolt”, whose delivery bags were recycled in order to create the boxes. During the previous edition of the initiative in December, three YEAs in Azerbaijan managed to install 30 shelter boxes in the streets of Baku, Ganja, and Lankaran, sheltering over 40 cats.  

Young European Ambassadors briefed by senior officials on Moldova and Ukraine’s EU membership journey

On 12 February, over 170 Young European Ambassadors, delegates, and members of the EUNEIGHBOURS EAST team convened virtually for discussions on the EU Membership process for Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. Joining the YEAs were the EU Ambassadors to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, Katarína Mathernová and Janis Mažeiks, alongside the Team Leader for Coordination of Association and Enlargement processes at European Commission, DG NEAR, Michael A. Rupp. The YEAs came prepared with questions, most notably, whether Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova could afford EU Membership. Rupp replied that EU membership was a concept from which all stakeholders could benefit and there was no one entity in the European Union with any interest in seeing these countries struggle. When asked how YEAs and their peers could lend support, Rupp advised them to get involved in their country to be part of its future, and galvanising community support around EU Membership and its tangible benefits. “The European Union is a success story,” concluded Rupp.