YATA Slovenia is the Youth Section of the Euro-Atlantic Council of Slovenia. It brings together young professionals and students interested in security, defence, international relations, law, diplomacy, and wider Euro-Atlantic affairs. It provides a platform for young professionals who wish to actively deal with contemporary security challenges and engage in discussions shaping the future of Euro-Atlantic security, stability, and cooperation.
YATA Slovenia operates within the framework of the Euro-Atlantic Council of Slovenia, contributing to the Council’s mission of promoting peace, security, democratic resilience, and strategic awareness of key security developments in Slovenia, the Euro-Atlantic area, and the Western Balkans. Its work focuses on education, research, public outreach, expert discussion, publishing, international cooperation, and the organisation of professional and public events. Against this backdrop, it addresses a broad range of topics, ranging from national and international security, defence policy, and regional stability, to international relations, Euro-Atlantic institutions, hybrid threats, democratic resilience, and emerging security challenges.
YATA Slovenia’s flagship annual project is Balkan SAYS – Security Architecture Youth Seminar, a multi-day international youth conference bringing together young professionals, students, experts, diplomats, and decision-makers from Slovenia, the Western Balkans, the wider Euro-Atlantic area, and beyond. The conference serves as a platform for open dialogue on regional and international security challenges, with the aim of strengthening trust, reconciliation, cooperation, stability, and Euro-Atlantic connectivity.
YATA Slovenia is part of the global network of Youth Atlantic Councils within the Youth Atlantic Treaty Association (YATA International). Through this network, its members participate in international iniciatives, gaining access to diverse perspectives and engaging with peers, researchers, practitioners, and decision-makers from partner countries.
In addition to events and international activities, the YATA Slovenia manages the Euro-Atlantic Focus platform and operates the Situation Room, an ad hoc analytical platform dedicated to monitoring current security developments in selected regions of the world. Through these initiatives, members prepare research-based analytical content on international conflicts, security trends, strategic developments, and broader Euro-Atlantic issues. They can also contribute to the Euro-Atlantic Bulletin and other publications of the Euro-Atlantic Council of Slovenia.
YATA Slovenia has its own organisational and leadership structure, led by a President and an Executive Board. Its work is supported by dedicated teams, including the Analytical Team, providing substantial inputs, PR Team, and Situation Room Team. Through this structure, the Section offers members practical experience in policy analysis, event organisation, public speaking, leadership, strategic communication, research, publishing, and security and defence policy.
Today, YATA Slovenia represents a key pillar of the Euro-Atlantic Council of Slovenia’s youth engagement, international cooperation, and substantive project development. It connects young people with experts, institutions, and international networks, while encouraging a new generation to contribute to informed debate on Euro-Atlantic security.
The current President of YATA Slovenia is Matic Kosirnik.
