The National Youth Council’s (KNZ) former secretary general, Jonathan Dalli (photo), was elected member of the European Union Affairs Commission of the European Youth Forum, which is based in Brussels, and of which KNZ is a full member.
The Youth Forum is the largest youth organisation in Europe representing more than 90 national youth councils and international non-governmental youth organisations from all over Europe, representing millions of young Europeans.
Mr Dalli obtained the highest number of votes among the 13 candidates from Europe, and was immediately elected for a three-year mandate. The election was held during the Youth Forum’s Council of Members, held in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, on Friday.
Commenting after the election, Mr Dalli said: “I am indeed satisfied with this result, on a personal level but also for KNZ and my country. This shows that the work of the Maltese is appreciated and recognised, and clearly presents added value, since I am now also an elected member in a permanent structure of the main European organisation which the EU institutions consult with. I wholeheartedly thank the KNZ executive for their support during this campaign, which was not an easy one since we had to campaign on a pan-European level with more than 90 organisations. Now the work starts, with the first meeting for the elected members probably being held in June.”
KNZ’s secretary general Duncan Bartolo, said: “We are very happy with this result particularly after our unanimous decision to nominate Jonathan for this important position. Now that we have a direct contact with the European Youth Forum, this should facilitate our international work. This is an excellent result that we managed to obtain and we are indeed satisfied that KNZ has nominated a member who is now elected to the European Youth Forum”.
While congratulating Jonathan Dalli for his great success in this election, the KNZ president Alessia Zammit said that this positive result reflects the great efforts that KNZ is carrying out so as to strengthen its international relations. KNZ participates in various international youth events so as to pass on the messages of Maltese young persons on various subjects.
Ms Zammit said that this result reflects the faith that the young European population has in the capacities and talents of Maltese young persons. Nonetheless, she stated that this result has a special significance for our country as we are celebrating a success story of a Maltese youth on a European level, just two days before the third anniversary since Malta became an EU member.
Mr Dalli has held various positions along the years in Malta, such as president of the University Commercial Students’ Association, executive member of KSU, and then KNZ secretary general where he launched various projects such as the European Youth Pact. He is a University of Malta graduate and works in the field of marketing.