The Youth Parliament to the Alpine Convention (YPAC) met in Kamnik, Slovenia, from 11 to 15 March 2024. It was hosted by the Rudolf Maister Grammar and Secondary School Kamnik.
YPAC brings together pupils from ten secondary schools from the Alpine countries and the topics are always aligned to the priorities of the Alpine Convention. Split up into four committees, the pupils discussed and proposed ideas for this year’s theme, protected natural areas.
Each of the four committees focused on one of the following sub-topics: biodiversity, quality of life, climate change and cultural heritage. The YPAC concluded with the general assembly in the Slovenian national parliament building in Ljubljana, where pupils from the ten schools presented, debated, and finally voted on the conclusions of their deliberations. The resolutions will be available here.
Unique to this edition is that the YPAC was joined by two other Alpine youth organisations, the EUSALP Youth Council and the CIPRA Youth Council, who gained insights into how the YPAC works and shared their own experiences.
In a parliamentary simulation, the Youth Parliament facilitates discussions between young people from different Alpine countries and areas on current topics affecting the Alpine region. YPAC also facilitates cultural exchanges and networking among youth from across the Alps.
To highlight the importance of the YPAC for the Alpine Convention and for Slovenia, which holds the current Presidency of the Alpine Convention, the pupils were greeted by the President of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar, Emil Ferjančič, Head of the Slovenian Presidency of the Alpine Convention, Alenka Smerkolj, Alpine Convention Secretary General, Matej Slapar, Mayor of Kamnik, Branislav Rauter, Headmaster of the school, and Jaka Rudolf Vučković, YPAC President.
In her welcoming speech, Secretary General Smerkolj told pupils that “YPAC is unique as it offers you a place to put into practice the principles of the Alpine Convention, and of democracy more broadly. It is a place of debate, discussion, networking, and problem-solving – as well as making new friends across the Alps.”
