19 Young Professionals from Estonia and Sweden Explored Cooperation Opportunities at Stockholm Conference

Nineteen emerging leaders from Estonia and Sweden convened in Stockholm from May 21-23 for a three-day meeting to explore cooperation opportunities and leadership challenges. Young Leaders Program is a development program, which was launched in 2022 and is supported by SEB and Swedbank. The initiative aims to promote regional integration and facilitate the exchange of ideas among young leaders from both nations.

During the Stockholm program, participants had the chance to engage with esteemed business executives, leadership experts, researchers, politicians, and diplomats from both Sweden and Estonia. This provided a platform for listening, learning, and exchanging ideas on a range of important topics.

In conjunction with the Young Leaders Program session in Stockholm, an inaugural Nordic-Baltic Young Leaders Afternoon Conference was held in clseo cooperation with the Nordic Council Of Ministers and Strawberry hotel company. This event gathered more than 140 participants and alumni from the  Nordic and Baltic leadership programs. Facilitated by Nordic Cooperation Funds at institutions such as Hanaholmen and Voksenåsen, these programs have been recognized for over a decade as effective tools for fostering connections among young professionals in Sweden, Finland, and Norway, and now extend to include Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

The conference featured prominent speakers, including Ann Linde, former Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs and former Minister for Trade; former President of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves; and Maria Gratschew, Director of the Nordic Council of Ministers' Office in Estonia and Noura Berrouba, Chair of Swedish Youth movement and Swedish-Norwegian Cooperation Fund. 

The Young Leaders program is dedicated to developing the capabilities of young leaders while fostering new connections in the Baltic Sea region. Participants are carefully selected from diverse sectors, including business, politics, culture, academia, the public sector, and NGOs. The Young Leaders program consists of two sessions: a spring conference held in Stockholm and an autumn conference scheduled to take place in Tallinn from October 2-4, 2024.