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This weekend young liberals from all over Europe and even the United States gathered in Tallinn for the 40 Years of LYMEC (European Liberal Youth) Celebration Congress.  Under the title: “Living on the Internet and Celebration of 40 Years of LYMEC“, young delegates debated resolutions and formed positions on a number of current political issues.

The Congress kicked-off on Friday with the European Liberal Forum’s seminar “Living on the Internet” where Kaspar Krojus, e-Residency Program Director shared his knowledge and insights on digitisation of public services in Estonia. The seminar continued throughout the afternoon and acovered issues relating to sharing economy, cyber war and exponentiality of technology.

During the opening session of the Congress LYMEC President Sissel Kvist highlighted: “It is so good to see so many young delegates here in Tallinn, a country with deep roots in liberalism. In recent months we have seen history in the making by Britain voting to leave the European Union, Mr Trump being elected as President of the United States and finally the change of Estonian political direction. I know we are yet to face many challenges ahead of us and I hope this congress is not only an opportunity to reflect on the last 40 years, but also to think ahead and work towards our shared vision of the Europe.”

On Saturday afternoon Taavi Rõivas, Estonian Prime Minister and Leader of the Reform Party joined the Congress and addressed the delegates by encouraging them to be active in politics and continue shaping Europe’s future.

The Congress accepted and welcomed European Youth Movement (Ukraine), Alliance Youth (Northern Ireland), SMC Youth (Slovenia) and Youth Forum of AKR (Kosovo) as new associate member organisations. The delegates then moved to discuss and adopt resolutions including, among others a resolution in defence of CETA and free trade.

The delegates and guests wrapped up the Congress with LYMEC 40th Anniversary Gala Dinner where some of the previous presidents attended as well including: Jeroen Diepemaat, Daniel Tanahatoe, Roger Albinyana, Jan Burdinski, Denis Straat and Vedrana Gujic.