European Youth Forum appoints new Secretary General

Member organisations of the European Youth Forum gathered in Brussels this weekend (25th-26th April) for its Council of Members. During the meeting the appointment of the Youth Forum’s new Secretary General, Allan Pall, was ratified by its members.

The 98 member organisations of the Youth Forum, National Youth Councils and International Non Governmental Organisations, between them representing millions of young people across Europe, also voted unanimously in favour of an urgent resolution proposing a statement on the situation in Ukraine.

Allan Pall, currently General Manager of the Federation of Estonian Student Unions, was previously chairperson of the European Students Union. Allan will take up his new position in June.

Allan comments: “I am delighted to be able to take up the position, which entails high responsibility as it comes at a crucial time for the economy and politics of Europe, especially concerning young people, especially concerning unemployment and security.

“As one of the first goals, we need to draw a narrative of opportunity for young people as we push for youth issues to be highest on the political agenda this year with the new European Parliament and the European Commission.”

Giuseppe Porcaro, current Secretary General of the Youth Forum, will step down from the position at the end of his 2 mandates on 31 May.

Giuseppe comments: “Carrying out my mandates as Secretary General of the European Youth Forum has been an extraordinary journey. I leave the Forum proud of what has been achieved in the past 5 years and wishing my successor all the best to take up the legacy of those years and project it into vibrant new ways. It is hard to resume such legacy but four points stands out. A greater match between Political Priorities decided by the members and the Human Resources allocation in the office. The creation of a solid brand for the Forum. A Raised public profile of the Platform proudly dialoguing to top decision-makers and reaching out to society. A History book to build the future without forgetting where we come from.”

Giuseppe thanked all the Member Organisations of the Forum with a farewell speech at the COMEM that can be read here: http://t.co/345eHasPoS

A new board member, Vasiliki Alexandri, was also elected during the meeting. Vasiliki is a member of the Youth of the European People’s Party.