Our Student Ege Kaan Gülecen Wins Third Prize at the YICGG 2026 Finals in Venice!

The Youth Innovation Competition on Global Governance (YICGG), held annually since 2007, is a long-standing international competition established to encourage young people to develop innovative policy proposals addressing global governance challenges.

This year’s competition was hosted by the historic Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, in collaboration with Fondazione Università Ca’ Foscari and the School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Fudan University. The theme of YICGG 2026 was “World Cultural Heritage and the Development of Human Civilization.”

Our student Ege Kaan Gülecen from the Department of Political Science and International Relations served as the team leader of the TOBB ETÜ team during the preliminary stage of the competition.

The team’s policy proposal, titled “Common Threat, Common Heritage: Creating Multilateral Cooperation for Mediterranean Cultural Heritage,” addressed common threats facing cultural heritage sites across the Mediterranean basin and proposed a regional model for multilateral cooperation. With this proposal, our team qualified for the finals, held in Venice from 20 to 24 July 2026.

During the final stage, participants were assigned to international “World Teams,” bringing together students from different countries. Throughout the program, the teams participated in the Global Governance Forum, World Café, Ignite Talk, and “We Youth Common Agenda” sessions held at Ca’ Foscari University’s Santa Margherita Auditorium and San Basilio campus. Following field studies at the Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s Basilica, the teams presented their final policy proposals before the jury.

According to the results announced at the closing ceremony, the international team of which our student was a member was awarded third prize.

We congratulate our student Ege Kaan Gülecen on this achievement and wish him continued success in his future endeavors.