Young Entrepreneurs from the Western Balkans gather in Graz for Innovation Festival

The Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) brought 19 young innovators and start-uppers from the Western Balkans to Graz, Austria from November 27 to 29 to participate in the European Young Innovator’s (EYI) festival.

The young innovators came together to participate in a series of workshops, seminars, and other professional activities that aimed to help them kick-start their careers. The 19 young women and men were scholarship award winners from the OSCE Young Developers and Entrepreneurs to Advance Start-ups (YDEAS) programme, a three-week immersive business programme that took place in Porto last year.

“Being part of the EYI and YDEAS event has been an inspiring experience… Over the past few days, it’s been clear how diverse ideas and perspectives are driving meaningful change, creating solutions that foster economic growth, security, and social impact,” said Almira Ljaic, an YDEAS scholarship awardee and an attendee of this week’s events.

Another awardee, Petar Huska, added that “This festival has been a powerful reminder of how AI, combined with collective knowledge, creativity, and innovation, can turn challenges into opportunities, driving progress toward a brighter and more stable future.”

The event was part of a partnership between the OSCE and the World Summit Awards (WSA), which organized the event. The event also marked the conclusion of OCEEA’s extrabudgetary YDEAS project.

“With YDEAS, the OSCE is making a real contribution to innovation and human capital development in the Western Balkans,” said Vera Strobachova-Budway, Senior Economic Officer and Head of the Economic Governance Unit at the OSCE. “By supporting these young people, we are tackling persistent unemployment and brain drain by providing an opportunity to develop entrepreneurial skills so they can start businesses, create jobs and improve their communities.”

The YDEAS project expands opportunities for skills development and job creation. The project, which is funded by Italy, Germany and Poland, has a primary aim of improving the employability of youth and women and promoting an enabling environment for innovative, socially-impactful and green start-ups. It works to establish regional networks of social and green entrepreneurs and leverage innovation and the social economy to foster trust, connectivity, inclusive development, and reconciliation in the Western Balkans and in the OSCE region.