The BYEF, an international event focused exclusively on youth unemployment, will be held on 24 and 25 November. Within the framework of the Youth Employment Decade that the Novia Salcedo Foundation is planning, the Bilbao Youth Employment Forum (BYEF) will take place following a particular method that will result in an updated X-ray of the employment status of young people.

The event will feature prominent participants from various agencies related to youth issues.  Diplomats, representatives of private companies, public administrators, international institutions, academics… a wide range of first-rate personalities will offer their views on a problem that is affecting many countries.

Some participants who have already confirmed their attendance are:

Benita Ferrero Waldner
Born in Salzburg on 5 September 1948, she has a doctorate in Law from the Paris-London University of Salzburg (Austria) and an Honorary Doctorate from the Lebanese American University (Beirut). She entered the diplomatic service in 1984 after her experience in the business world. In 1995 she was appointed Head of Protocol to the Secretary General of the United Nations. She then entered Austrian politics, occupying foreign portfolio between 2000 and 2004. Today, she chairs the EU-LAC Foundation, which is trying to operate as a bridge between Europe and Latin America.

Ekkehard Ernst
Doctor in Social Sciences from the University École des Hautes Études. Prior to being an active member of the International Labour Organization (ILO), he worked in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Today, he is Chief of the ILO Employment Trends Unit, whose main purpose is to prepare reports that become a compass providing guidance on employment projections at global and regional levels.

José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs
Doctor in Economics from Cambridge. Before working for the ILO, he held a number of positions in national and international institutions from the OAS, to the ministry of foreign trade of Costa Rica to a member of the PNUD advisory group in 2010.

Luis Miguel Paniza
Member of the Comisiones Obreras trade union, he has been on the European Economic and Social Committee since 1998. He also advises various European institutions and has worked on several scientific projects.

Alejo Ramírez
Mr Ramírez has been the Secretary General of the Latin-American Youth Organization (OIJ) since 2010. His success has been to expand the OIJ’s field of action from 11 to 18 countries in Latin America. The first Latin American survey of young people has been one of the latest actions of this Argentine who began his political career in the province of Buenos Aires.

Vladimíra Drbalová
Ms Drbalová belongs to the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic. Vice President of the Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship. She is a member of BUSINESSEUROPE, the Social Affairs Committee (SAC) and the Internal Market Committee (IMCO). In addition, she belongs to the Eurofound Bureau and Board, she is a European Social Dialogue Committee member and a member of the Advisory Committee for free movement.

These are some of the people who will meet in Bilbao next November at the Youth Employment Forum to discuss the situation of young people and how to curb these excesses that may seriously affect the social construction of the world in the coming decades. The representatives mentioned will try to shed light on these issues based on their extensive professional experience.