Strasbourg, 16 January 2017                                                                                                                                                

Priorities for the 2018-2019 programme of activities

of the Council of Europe’s Youth Sector

Guidelines for submitting

grant applications to the European Youth Foundation

The strategic priorities for each biennial programme of the Council of Europe’s youth sector are defined by the Joint Council on Youth, which is the central co-managed political body of the youth sector.

The three strategic priorities for the 2018-2019 biennium[1] are:

1.         Access to rights

2.         Youth participation and youth work

3.         Inclusive and peaceful societies

The Programming Committee on Youth is the co-managed body taking decisions on the programme of the youth sector, including the grants awarded by the European Youth Foundation.

When taking its decisions, the Programming Committee on Youth examines a proposed project’s links with these priorities (expected results) and how it can contribute to achieving the overall objectives of the youth sector.

The following expected results and programme orientationshave been defined for 2018-2019 and should be taken into account by youth NGOs submitting a grant application to the EYF.

Programme orientations:

a. Implementation and dissemination of the Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation CM/Rec(2016)7 on young people’s access to rights (following a road map to be approved by the Joint Council in 2017)

b. Support measures to member states, local authorities and youth organisations in the implementation and review of the Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation CM/Rec(2015)3 on the access of young people from disadvantaged neighbourhoods to social rights (ENTER Recommendation)

c. Continuation of the Human Rights Education Youth programme, including media literacy with children and young people

d. Implementation of the Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education, based on the conclusions of the review

The Council of Europe’s youth sector will consolidate its rights-based approach to youth policies in order to address the needs of young people across different policy areas. The promotion of all young people’s access to rights will be pursued with member states and youth organisations through measures to support the implementation (at local, national and European levels) of the Committee of Ministers’ Recommendations CM/Rec(2016)7 on young people’s access to rights and CM/Rec (2015)3 on the access of young people from disadvantaged neighbourhoods to social rights. Special attention will be paid to the continuation of the Human Rights Education Youth Programme online and offline, the review of the implementation of the EDC/HRE Charter and relevant experiences of the NHSM campaign, evaluation and other latest developments within the Council of Europe in the field of Internet and media literacy.

Programme orientations:

Youth participation

a. Removing barriers for youth civil society to organise itself and participate (including legal barriers)

b. Supporting youth participation in Internet Governance processes (taking into consideration the results of the NHSM campaign evaluation)

c. Supporting member States and youth organisations in implementing the principles of the revised charter on participation of young people in local and regional life, further dissemination of the ”Have your say” manual to public authorities and non-governmental sector

Youth work

d. Supporting the dissemination and implementation of the future Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation on youth work (following the road map and mid-term strategy to be developed in 2017)

e. Supporting the dissemination of the Council of Europe Youth Work Portfolio

f. Measures to support the quality development and the recognition of youth work and non-formal education and learning in the programme of the European Youth Centres and their dissemination to member states (e.g. through training staff of Youth Centres having been awarded with the Council of Europe Quality Label for Youth Centres)

The sustainability of the Council of Europe core values relies also on the creativity, competencies, social commitment, and contribution of young people as well as on their confidence in the future. Youth policies and youth work practice must support young people in realising their full potential as autonomous members of society, enabling them to develop life plans and exercise their democratic citizenship. Youth work as a social practice makes an important contribution to active citizenship and youth participation through by providing opportunities to acquire the values, attitudes, skills, knowledge and critical understanding required for effective civic engagement and social action in democratic culture. Young people active in civil society require support and assistance to remove obstacles to their involvement and to their full enjoyment of the freedom of association. 

Programme orientations for strategic priority 3:

Combating all forms of discrimination and exclusion, with a specific focus on:

a. Roma youth participation

b. Social inclusion of young refugees and their transition from childhood to adulthood

c. Multiple discrimination and intersectionality[2] (including gender equality, sexual orientation LGBTQI, gender identity and disability)

Enabling young people to promote peaceful societies by providing them with opportunities to play an active role in:

d. Intercultural dialogue/learning

e. Preventing violent extremism (following up on the NHSM)

f. Peace-building and conflict transformation

g. Co-operation with neighbouring and other world regions

Persistent forms of structural discrimination, combined with prejudice and stigma, impact negatively on the prospects of social inclusion and well-being of vulnerable and/or minority groups of young people, notably young Roma, refugees and migrants and young people with disabilities. Sexual orientation and gender identity are additional factors of vulnerability that affect young people. Mental health difficulties are a supplementary ground of discrimination against young people. Preventing and counter-acting discrimination, to allow the participation of all young people, remains central to the youth policy of the Council of Europe and a permanent concern of its partners. In addition, the lives of too many young people are still shaped by armed conflicts and their sequels. Youth organisations and youth workers play an important role in supporting young people in these situations and in promoting the application of Council of Europe standards and experiences across the member states; and in supporting intercultural dialogue with neighbouring regions and involving young people in confidence-building and conflict transformation activities in the spirit of the UN Security Council Resolution on Youth, Peace and Security and of the White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue.