Austria's Commitment to the 2030 Agenda

Valentina Gutkas
Student at the University of Natural Resources and
Applied Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU) and representative
of the Austrian citizens at the “Conference on
the Future of Europe”
© Privat
“The future” is a strong expression. It
concerns all of us, and especially us young
people. I am currently studying in Vienna,
but originally I come from Raabs an der
Thaya, a region located in Lower Austria,
so I know urban and rural life. Measures
for more sustainability in our lives as well
as broadband expansion are important
concerns for me.
The “Conference on the Future of
Europe” made it possible, especially for
young people, to participate in the political
process and a variety of topics - be it
via social media, websites or in personal
conversations. I was impressed by the
desire of all participants to work together
on solutions in the face of differing positions
- in line with the motto “Together we
are stronger.”
A few years ago, Europe was mainly a
geographical concept for me. Later on,
I could feel the “Europe-feeling” during
my school days when I could benefit from
financial support through the “Erasmus+”
program during an internship in Ireland.
My vision for the European Union (EU) is
to expand hands-on environmental and
climate education, especially to show the
basic understanding of agriculture and
forestry with their multiple functions. It,
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