On 18 August, the Ukrainian Youth Forum took place in Bucharest, bringing together more than 70 Ukrainian students and youth activists from cities across Romania.

The forum was opened by Ihor Prokopchuk, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Romania.

Metinvest was represented at the forum by Nazarii Khrystiuk, CEO of Metinvest Carpathia and Metinvest Tubular Iasi Sales, who took part in the panel discussion “Ukrainian Youth Abroad: Opportunities, Identity and the Future”.

During the discussion, participants explored the professional development of young Ukrainians abroad, career opportunities available to them, and the role of Ukrainian youth in shaping the future of Ukraine.

Additionally, Nazarii Khrystiuk introduced participants to Steel Force, a Metinvest programme for Ukrainian students studying abroad, which combines work on real business cases, mentoring support, and opportunities for professional development.

Symbolically, the forum’s organising team included Oleksandr Dan, Anna Shevchenko and Robert Konoplia, participants in the second season of Steel Force and students at Romanian universities, who had previously been mentored by Nazarii Khrystiuk. This time, however, he met them again as a forum speaker.

After completing the first stage of Steel Force, Oleksandr, Anna and Robert continued their participation in the programme and are currently undertaking the next stage of their internships in different functions.

Oleksandr Dan is the initiator of the Ukrainian Youth Forum. He developed the concept for the forum as part of his scholarship programme, Eastern European Youth Empowerment Space (EEYES), run by the International Charitable Foundation "You Create the Nation."

The forum was organised by the International Charitable Foundation "You Create the Nation" as part of the EEYES programme, in cooperation with the Association of Ukrainian Youth in Romania (ATUR), with the support of the Embassy of Ukraine in Romania and media partner RFI Ukrainian.