The international event "# EU4YOU: Where Changes Happen" was held on Friday, June 9, 2017, in the Deli space in Niš. The event represents the Day of the Four Freedoms of the European Union, which so far, except in Niš, was held in Belgrade and in Mirkurea Ćiuk, Romania.The day brought together over sixty representatives of local self-government units, civil society organizations, media and foundations from Serbia, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania, and Austria. The event dealt with the role and view of local self-government units when it comes to the policy of the four freedoms of the EU. The event was organized by the Belgrade Open School, in cooperation with the National Coalition for Decentralization and the Information Corner of the European Union in Niš.
Opening remarks were given by Milena Velojić from the National Coalition for Decentralization, Vanja Dolapčev, from the Belgrade Open School, Marija Marinković from the Information Corner of the European Union in Niš, and Mr. Jozef Kepli, Deputy President of the Municipality of Heviz, from Hungary. "In fact, four freedoms are very important, not only for the EU but also for Serbia, which has tendencies for EU membership. Today we are talking about which experiences can be exchanged in this respect, and that they benefit from the four freedoms in the local self-government units, where the changes are really happening ", Vanja Dolapčev said. Milena Velojić, however, expressed the concern that in our country the centralization is becoming increasingly pronounced. "The message we want to send today is that decentralization must be the priority of the Government of the Republic of Serbia if we want to successfully implement the process of Euro-integration," Velojić said.
Within this day, three round tables were held on topics of youth, public policies and the fight against corruption. Within the event, an exhibition of the most successful student art works with which they applied on prize competition, which covered topics related to the EU, was also opened.
The event is part of the project "Debate on the future of the four freedoms of the EU: Freedom of the EU", which the Belgrade Open School conducts with the support of the EU through the program "Europe for Citizens". In addition to BOŠ, the Municipality of Hévíz (Hungary), Council of Harghita County (Romania), Lendava Municipality (Slovenia) and Foster Europe organization (Austria) participated in the project. Within this project, one such event has already been held in Belgrade and the next will be held in Novi Sad.