VIENNA, 10 July 2025 – In his first official engagement since assuming the presidency of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Pere Joan Pons (Spain) participated today in the high-level youth conference “Pact for the Future: A New Order of International Cooperation that Delivers a Better Present and Safeguards the Future?” held at the Hofburg in Vienna.
Addressing young scholars from the Regional Academy of the United Nations (RAUN), President Pons emphasized the importance of youth participation, multilateral dialogue, and parliamentary diplomacy in tackling today’s global challenges. “It is very much on purpose that this is my first official trip,” Pons said, noting his commitment to ensuring young voices are included in international policy-making.
Highlighting the Assembly’s long-standing support for youth engagement, Pons pointed to the OSCE PA’s Network of Young Parliamentarians and the work of Special Representative on Youth Engagement Lucija Tacer. “Your research, your questions, and your insights are not peripheral—they are central to finding solutions to the modern challenges,” he stated.
Pons also stressed the Assembly’s recent work, including the Porto Declaration adopted last week, and the role of parliaments in translating international commitments into meaningful policy.
Lucija Tacer (Slovenia) who also chairs the OSCE PA Network of Young Parliamentarians highlighted the vital role of young people in shaping international co-operation. She underscored the importance of bringing youth perspectives into multilateral decision-making and praised the RAUN participants for their evidence-based, forward-looking policy research. “This work reflects our firm belief that international decision-making must not only address today’s crises — but also take responsibility for the world we leave behind,” she stated, referencing the OSCE PA’s ongoing focus on future generations, and a resolution on this theme adopted during the Vancouver Annual Session in 2023.
In addition to participating in the opening session of the youth conference, President Pons held a series of bilateral meetings with key OSCE stakeholders to strengthen the Assembly’s co-operation with governmental actors. These included a meeting with the Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), underscoring the OSCE PA’s ongoing commitment to safeguarding press freedom and promoting open dialogue.
