Over a hundred students from around the world participated in the annual European Horizons Policy Competition this year, where they were challenged to provide specific policy solutions to problems. The tournament, which was sponsored by Edelman, Hertie School, and the European Commission, took place on October 1-2 in Ghent, Belgium. Our Faculty was represented by two second-year Masters in International Relations (MIR) students, Diellona Hyseni and Sardor Allayarov.

Ms. Hyseni comes from Kosovo, where she earned a degree in Political Science from the University of Pristina. She is currently studying International Relations at the Faculty of Law at the University of Szeged, and she is conducting research on security, EU enlargement, and resolving Western Balkan conflicts through negotiations at CAMR (Center for Analyses, Monitoring, and Reporting), a think tank based in Bratislava, Slovakia.

She grew up with the intrinsic feeling of duty that as a young Kosovar, she is a vital pillar of her community and must contribute to the progress of her nation. As a result, she believes that by enrolling as an International Relations student, she will be able to achieve her aspirations of becoming a future leader and reforming Kosovo’s public policies through seeing best practices and models from many other democratic nations. She firmly believes that Kosovo is in serious need of young leaders who can rekindle the country’s flame.

Along with Mr. Allayarov, she co-founded the DIELS School of International Relations and Diplomacy, which intends to provide academic resources (essays, articles, debates, and podcasts) in the fields of diplomacy, politics, and global affairs.

Mr. Allayarov is from Uzbekistan and earned a BSc in Economics from Urgench State University. He has worked as a project manager for Projects Factory, which is part of the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan, and as a research intern at the Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade (IFAT) and the American Councils for International Education in Uzbekistan.

He previously competed in the “100 Ideas for Uzbekistan” contest, where he was a finalist, and then in the TOP-100 Innovative Ideas of Uzbekistan. He also won the National Innovative Research contest, which was organized by the Ministry of Innovative Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Westminster International University in Tashkent, and the UNDP. Given their academic backgrounds and goals, it is no surprise that when they learned about the European Horizons Policy Competition, the two students decided to sign up.

European Horizons, founded in 2015, seeks to bring together students, professionals, scholars, and notable members of government and business to engage in constructive dialogue in order to devise a fresh vision for the future of Europe and transatlantic relationship. Their activities are supported by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission.

Given that 2022 is the European Year of Youth, this year’s competition focused on how cities might develop policies that benefit and involve young people. Participants’ policy suggestions had to focus on one of the following policy tracks: increasing political awareness among youth through educational reform, reforming Ghent’s institutions, or proposing a youth-led project to encourage political engagement.

Ms. Hyseni and Mr. Allayarov competed brilliantly on behalf of the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences. Following the first round of evaluation, they offered their policy recommendation titled “Innovative approaches to the youth-targeted information campaigns” to an expert jury comprised of local policymakers, youth activists, private sector representatives, and EU officials. They only had three minutes to impress the judges, which they did, and they were one of five teams who advanced to the final round of the competition. The following day, the top five teams were to give their policy suggestions in the form of a 10-minute presentation. Congratulations to Diellona Hyseni and Sardor Allayarov for finishing third in the European Horizons Policy Competition!

Mr. Allayarov urges his fellow students to thoroughly look into the details and conditions of each competition in which they choose to participate, as well as to learn about the organizers and what they stand for. Ms. Hyseni adds that students should ensure that the event they attend is hosted by the type of people they want to network with in the future.

If you would like to learn more about the students’ participation and how they found out about the competition, please join us on November 8 at the next International Café event, when they will present their insights!

More about the International Café event available at:

https://fb.me/e/2nRxk8pb6