COMUNICACIÓN

The European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation has taken part in the specialised training course in International Development Cooperation held last weekend at the International Sports Innovation Centre in Natural Environments “El Anillo”, located in Guijo de Granadilla, with the participation of more than twenty young people from Extremadura. (19/3/2026)

This in-person phase, which forms part of the programme “Young People from Extremadura in Multilateral Organisations”, promoted by the Extremaduran Agency for International Development Cooperation and the Youth and Sports Foundation, with the support of Yuste Foundation, aims to train a new generation of professionals in order to position Extremadura within international organisations.

The opening of the event was attended by the director-general for Youth and Sports of the Regional Government of Extremadura, Santiago Amaro Barril; the director of the Extremaduran Agency for International Development Cooperation (AEXCID), Isabel Belloso Bueso; and the director of the European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation, Juan Carlos Moreno Piñero, who highlighted the value of this initiative in fostering young talent from Extremadura in the international sphere.

The director of Yuste Foundation stressed the need to maintain hope: “when the time comes that generations have forgotten the horrors of the past, it is you who are called upon to steer the course once again”, and underlined that the seed of commitment lies within the young participants in the programme.

The director of AEXCID highlighted the importance of achieving balance in the world, noting that “our well-being depends on what happens in other parts of the world, so seeing ourselves as part of the solution becomes a fundamental driving force”.

For his part, the director-general for Youth and Sports emphasised “humility and young talent” as two of the core values of Extremadura’s DNA “which must be exported to the United Nations”, he stated.

Over the course of the weekend, participants took part in various training sessions aimed at gaining first-hand insight into how multilateral organisations operate and at preparing for competency-based selection processes used by United Nations agencies. To this end, meetings were held with representatives from different international bodies such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

During the weekend, Yuste Foundation also coordinated a session featuring the head of External Relations at the Ibero-American General Secretariat, Cristina Manzano, and Yuste Foundation’s delegate in Brussels, Miguel Ángel Martín, who shared their experiences of working in the field of multilateralism and reflected on its present and future in a polarised world.

Furthermore, Yuste Foundation presented Extremadura’s Young People’s Network for Public Diplomacy, a stable platform for connection, participation and the return of young talent linked to the programme. Its aim is to strengthen ties among participants, foster the exchange of professional and academic experiences, and facilitate cooperation with institutions and international organisations, thereby contributing to the international projection of young talent from Extremadura.

The in-person training also created a space for dialogue with young people who had taken part in previous editions and who are currently pursuing their professional careers in multilateral organisations.

As in previous editions, the course prepares participants for the upcoming selection processes of the programme, through which six young people will have the opportunity to undertake paid professional placements for one year in various United Nations agencies across different countries.

OBJECTIVES

The programme “Young People from Extremadura in Multilateral Organisations”, promoted by AEXCID and the Youth and Sports Foundation of the Regional Government of Extremadura, in collaboration with Yuste Foundation, has become a benchmark initiative for promoting young talent from Extremadura at the international level.

More than one hundred young people have already taken part in this specialised course and, with this new edition, a total of 48 individuals will have completed professional placements in international organisations.

In addition, the programme shows a high rate of international employability, as more than 90% of those who have taken part in the placements continue to develop their professional careers in international organisations or in the field of development cooperation.