Strasbourg, 11 October 2016

      CCJ(2016)10

ADVISORY COUNCIL ON YOUTH (CCJ)

36th meeting

European Youth Centre Strasbourg

17-19 October 2016

WORK PLAN 2016-2017

Item 6 on the agenda


1.            Introduction

The Advisory Council on Youth of the Council of Europe

The Advisory Council on Youth (CCJ) is made up of 30 representatives from youth NGOs and networks in Europe who provide opinions and input on all of the youth sector’s activities. The Advisory Council's primary functions are to contribute to the mainstreaming of youth policies and of the participation of young people in the Council of Europe’s programme of activities and to formulate opinions and proposals on general or specific questions concerning youth in the Organisation.

The guiding principles of the Advisory Council’s Work Plan are those of the Council of Europe, i.e. promotion of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Work Plan is also based on the strategic priorities of the Council of Europe’s youth sector for the biennium 2016–2017.¨

The Work Plan was drafted by the CCJ Bureau following discussions with all CCJ members, and sets out the thematic objectives for the strategic priorities of the CCJ’s current mandate.

2.            Priorities for the current mandate

The 2016–2017 priorities of the Council of Europe’s youth sector were defined by the Joint Council on Youth (CMJ) in 2015.

The Committee of Ministers decided on the priorities for the Council of Europe’s Youth for Democracy Programme for 2016-2107, they are:

Priority 1: Advancing democratic citizenship through innovative forms of participation

·         Expected result: Youth participation is supported as a way to increase the possibilities for all young people to influence decisions in democratic processes and structures in their living environment.

Priority 2: Autonomy of young people and their access to rights

·         Expected result: Promoting young people’s access to rights by supporting youth policy and youth work, and facilitating their transition to autonomy, citizenship and their social inclusion.

Priority 3: Promoting inclusive and peaceful societies

·         Expected result: Young people are provided with capacity-building opportunities to increase their involvement in the development of inclusive and peaceful societies.

3.            Follow up and implementation

In order to ensure effective follow up and to maintain the quality of the CCJ’s work, the Bureau has agreed to monitor the work plan on a yearly basis, assessing the implementation and progress of the objectives. The CCJ members will assist the Bureau it its task.

Transversal priorities: Advisory Council on Youth in focus

·         Enhance the visibility and status of the Advisory Council on Youth with regard to the bodies and intergovernmental committees of the Council of Europe in order to ensure strong internal support for its work.

·         Increase the visibility and status of the Advisory Council on Youth and its outreach to youth organisations, young people and the general public.

·         Safeguard and develop further the co-management system of the Council of Europe, contributing to its effectiveness and efficiency.

·         Promote the benefits of the Council of Europe’s co-management system in the youth field on a global scale, and increase co-operation with European and global stakeholders in order to address together the issues of importance to young people today.

·         Assist in the development of a new Council of Europe Youth Strategy beyond Agenda 2020 and advocate a ministerial conference on youth to support the process.

Priority 1: Advancing democratic citizenship through innovative forms of participation

Aim 1: Youth policy

Actively support the member States of the Council of Europe to develop qualitative and participative youth policies.

Objectives:

·         Advocate the development of quality assurance standards for national youth policies.

·         Advocate autonomous youth (umbrella) structures (national youth councils or their equivalent) as key partners for dialogue and decision making in youth policy development and implementation.

·         Advance the development of the Council of Europe youth sector’s capacities to support member States to develop youth policies at national level.

Aim 2: Youth participation

Encourage quality youth participation and advocate preconditions conducive to young people’s own association and organisation in the Council of Europe member States.

Objectives:

·         Further develop the co-operation with the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe to ensure qualitative youth participation at local and regional levels.

·         Monitor and accelerate the implementation of the Revised European Charter on the Participation of Young People in Local and Regional Life and consider revising the Charter so that it reflects the contemporary situation of young people.

·         Develop advocacy and joint awareness-raising initiatives on priority topics with the Council of Europe Conference of INGOs.

Aim 3: Human rights education

Strengthen the co-operation between the Council of Europe’s education and youth sectors, working jointly on human rights education and education for democratic citizenship.

Objectives:

·         Support the implementation of the outcomes of the 25th session of the Council of Europe Standing Conference of Ministers of Education (April 2016) by mainstreaming existing practices in non-formal education and human rights education in co-operation with the Steering Committee on Educational Policy and Practice (CDPPE).

·         Mainstream the youth perspective and expertise in the review of the Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education and its follow up.

Priority 2: Autonomy of young people and their access to rights

Aim 1: Implementation of Council of Europe youth standards

Raise awareness in the member States of the key standards of the youth sector, and support the effective implementation of recommendations, particularly the most topical, involving a range of stakeholders.

Objectives:

·         Raise awareness of and participate in the capacity-building measures of the Council of Europe youth sector to support key stakeholders in the implementation of Council of Europe youth standards.

·         Actively participate in and contribute to the implementation of Recommendation CM/Rec(2015)3 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on the access of young people from disadvantaged neighbourhoods to social rights, the so-called ENTER recommendation, and ensure its application also in the framework of the 2018-2019 priorities for the youth sector.

·         Following the adoption of Recommendation CM/Rec(2016)7 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on young people’s access to rights, support the development of a roadmap for its implementation which ensures all stakeholders participate actively in the process, in particular young people and youth organisations.

·         Advocate the adoption of a new Committee of Ministers’ recommendation on youth work, promote quality standards in youth work, and support the further development of youth work in local, regional and national youth policies.

Aim 2: Human rights online

Promote an open and inclusive online culture based on democratic values and the empowerment of young people: protecting young Internet users, ensuring the respect and protection of human rights online, building on the results of the No Hate Speech Movement Campaign.

Objectives:

·         Promote the capacity of youth work to foster active online participation, media and digital literacy of young people, in particular with marginalised and unorganised youth, and contribute to the drafting of the Council of Europe White Paper on Media and Information Literacy.

·         Raise youth organisations’ awareness of the Internet Governance Strategy, explore their potential role and ensure their active participation in its implementation.

·         Co-operate with the Council of Europe Media and Information Society Department on the development of a youth-friendly Human Rights Guide for Internet Users for youth organisations.

Priority 3: Promoting inclusive and peaceful societies

Aim 1: The inclusion of young refugees

Identify the challenges to and the opportunities for the inclusion of young migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Europe, as well as what they need to achieve this inclusion.

Objectives:

·         Contribute to close co-operation between the youth sector and other bodies and sectors of the Council of Europe, such as the Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Migration and the Secretary General’s Special Representative on Migration and Refugees.

·         Contribute to the drafting of a new Council of Europe Action Plan on the protection of unaccompanied refugee and migrant children/adolescents; assess the need for a new standard on the integration of young refugees and asylum seekers in European societies; and advocate for a mapping of effective practices on inclusion of young refugees.

·         Promote the empowerment of young people from minority and/or refugee background(s) living in Europe as well as young people from disadvantaged neighbourhoods, by identifying and removing barriers which hinder their full and active participation in society.

Aim 2: Countering anti-democratic movements

Safeguard democratic values and individual rights in Council of Europe member States; promote the role of young people and youth NGOs in preventing radicalisation leading to acts of violent extremism and terrorism; and increase the capacity of young people to counter the phenomenon of radicalisation.

Objectives:

·         Ensure a strong youth perspective in the Council of Europe’s Action Plan on the fight against violent extremism and radicalisation leading to terrorism and promote the development of youth initiatives and actions in that respect.

·         Contribute to the implementation and follow-up of the Framework for Competences for Democratic Culture and Intercultural Dialogue.

·         Ensure the visibility of the outcomes of the No Hate Speech Movement Campaign after 2017 and develop a follow-up process based on these outcomes.

Aim 3: Building inclusive societies

Promote the continuous building of inclusive societies where the voices of young people are heard in all relevant processes and an intersectional approach is used in assessing needs and objectives within the youth sector

Objectives:

·         Advocate financial support for the implementation of the new 2016-2020 Roma Youth Action Plan and motivate Roma and non-Roma youth organisations to join in its activities.

·         Mainstream disability issues and support the independent living of young people with disabilities as a cross-cutting issue in the Council of Europe’s overall by contributing to relevant policies, practices and activities.

·         Promote gender mainstreaming – that is inclusive also of transgender and non-binary people – in all of the youth sector’s activities, and promotes LGBTQI inclusion in all spheres of the Council of Europe.

Additional reading:

Council of Europe Action Plan on the fight against violent extremism and radicalisation leading to terrorism

Council of Europe Action Plan on Building Inclusive Societies (2016-2019)

Council of Europe Thematic Action Plan on the Inclusion of Roma and Travellers (2016-2019)

Appendix I

20162017 Priorities of the Council of Europe’sYouth Sector

The strategicpriorities for each biennialprogramme of the youth sector are definedby the Joint Councilon Youth, which is the centralcomanaged political body of the youth sector.

The threestrategic priorities for the 20162017 biennium will be to focuson:

‐     supporting young peopleand member Statesin increasing the participation of young people in democratic processes;

‐     supporting member Statesand youth NGOs in the implementation of Committeeof Ministers’ Recommendation CM/Rec(2015)3 on the access of young people from disadvantaged neighbourhoods to socialrights (ENTER recommendation);

‐     supporting the promotion of inclusiveand peaceful societies, especially through the

extended No Hate SpeechMovement and the Roma Youth Action Plan.

The Programming Committee on Youth is the comanaged 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 Committeeon Youth examines a proposed project’s links with the expectedresults and how it can contribute to achieving the overall objectives of the youth sector.

The followingexpected resultsand programme orientations have been definedfor 2016 2017.

Expectedresult 1: Youngpeople and youth organisations have developed their competences and knowledge to influence decisions in democratic processes

Programme orientations:

a. Eforms of youth participation and promoting human rights online

b. Promoting real influence of young people in decisionmaking processes, particularly participation at the local and regional level (European Charter of Local SelfGovernment; Charter on local and regional youth participation)

c. Acquisition of competences for democratic citizenship

d. Promoting youth participation in formal education

Young people will have a keyrole in renewing democracy and developing an effective citizenship, especially through new and innovative forms of participation. Youth work, volunteeringand nonformal education will be recognised as models of youth participation that contribute to young peoples selfdevelopment and citizenship. Youth organisations will be supported as spacesfor democratic participation and as partners in implementing the CharteonEducation for Democratic Citizenshipand Human Rights Education (EDC/HRE).

Expected result2: Stakeholders have been assisted to take actions to foster young people’ access to their rights and young people’sautonomy

Programme orientations:

a. Young people’s transition to autonomy through a rights‐based approach

b. Young people’s access to rights and the implementation/follow‐up of the Committee of Ministers recommendation on young people’s access to rights

c. Increasing knowledge of and capacity to combat intersectional, multiple and other forms

of discrimination

d. Acquisition of competences through non‐formal learning and its recognition

A rightsbased approach to youth policies,built on the standards and principles of the Council of Europes human rights instruments will be developed.Responses to exclusion, discrimination in all its forms and xenophobia will be developed in the framework of the implementation of the Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member States on the access of young people from disadvantaged neighbourhoods to social rights. Support to the further development of Youth Cards throughout Europe and beyond will continue to improve social integration, mobility and selfdevelopment of young people. Young peoples transition to autonomy will be supported through the recognition of youth work and nonformal learning practices.

Expected result 3: NGOs and youth workers have been supported in their work on intercultural dialogueand peacebuilding

Programme orientations:

a.  Peacebuilding  and  intercultural  dialogue  through  nonformal  learning  and  formal

education

b. Countering violent extremism

c. Integration/social inclusion of migrants, young refugees, minority and vulnerable groups,

including follow‐up of the Roma Youth Action Plan

d. Supporting youth NGOs in conflict affected regions

e. Continuing building strong links with relevant actors in the youth‐field on a global level

Youth policiesor strategies will be designed to prevent or reverse the marginalisation and/or exclusion of individuals and groups, particularly members of the most vulnerable groups in society, for example in the follow up to the Roma Youth Action Plan. Young people and youth organisations will be empowered to take an active role in peacebuilding and conflict transformation as well as in fostering intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding with neighbouring countries and international cooperation. Rising extremism and hate speech will be countered through the followup of the No Hate Speech Movement Campaign with activists and National Campaign Committees. The Council of Europe White paper on Intercultural Dialoguewill serve as a reference when implementing this priority.


Appendix II

8th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers

responsible for Youth

Kyiv, Ukraine

10-11 October 2008

“The future of the Council of Europe youth policy:

AGENDA 2020”

Declaration

We, the Ministers responsible for Youth from the 49 States party to the European Cultural Convention of the Council of Europe, meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, on 10 and 11 October 2008, on the occasion of our 8th Conference, are committed to actively promote, in all the member states of the Organisation, the development of youth policies which are likely to result in the successful integration of all young people into society. 

In this regard, we are determined to pursue the objective of ensuring young people’s access to quality education and training, to decent work and living conditions, as well as developing the conditions to enable them to contribute to the development of society. 

Having regard to the Declaration and Action Plan adopted by the third Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe in Warsaw in May 2005, which, in particular, stated that “The Council of Europe will further develop its unique position in the youth field…”, thus reaffirming the pan-European character of the Organisation;

Having regard to the Parliamentary Assembly's Recommendation 1844 (2008) on refreshing the youth agenda of the Council of Europe;

Underlining the specific contribution of the Council of Europe’s youth sector, since 1972, to the objectives of the Organisation and its capacity to develop appropriate responses to new situations and challenges;

Bearing in mind that the aim of the Council of Europe youth policy is to provide young people, i.e. girls and boys, young women and young men  with equal opportunities and experience which enable them to develop the knowledge, skills and competencies to play a full part in all aspects of society;

Bearing also in mind the cross-sectoral dimension of this policy and the importance of involving young people in its formulation, implementation and follow up;

Considering the challenges young people face, both in terms of greater opportunities offered to them as well as increased risk of precariousness, but convinced nevertheless of their considerable potential and therefore fundamental role in promoting the Council of Europe’s core values;

Convinced of the need for a dynamic youth policy in the Council of Europe, which includes children as well as young people;

Stressing the importance of following up the Action Plan adopted in Warsaw in 2005, particularly the youth Campaign on diversity, human rights and participation “All different-all equal” as well as the programme “Building a Europe for and with children”;

1. We agree that the following issues should be regarded as priorities for the Council of Europe youth policy and action :

                 1.1. Human rights and democracy, with special emphasis on:

·        Ensuring young people’s full enjoyment of human rights and human dignity and encouraging their commitment in this regard;

·        Promoting young people’s active participation in democratic processes and structures;

·        Promoting equal opportunities for the participation of all young people in all aspects of their everyday lives;

·        Implementing effectively gender equality and preventing all forms of gender-based violence;

·        Promoting awareness education and action amongst young people on environment and sustainable development;

·        Facilitating the access of all young people to information and counselling services.

1.2. Living together in diverse societies, with special emphasis on:

·        Empowering young people to promote, in their daily life, cultural diversity as well as intercultural dialogue and co-operation;

·        Preventing and counteracting all forms of racism and discrimination on any ground;

·        Supporting initiatives of young people and their organisations in conflict prevention and management as well as post-conflict reconciliation by means of intercultural dialogue, including its religious dimension;

·        Supporting youth work with young refugees, asylum-seekers and displaced persons;

·        Further encouraging the development of sub-regional youth co-operation in Europe and beyond;

·        Encouraging young people to promote global solidarity and co-operation.

1.3. Social inclusion of young people, with special emphasis on: 

·        Supporting the integration of excluded young people;

·        Ensuring young people’s access to education, training and the working life, particularly through the promotion and recognition of non-formal education/learning;

·        Supporting young people’s transition from education to the labour market, for example by strengthening possibilities to reconcile private and working life;

·        Supporting young people’s autonomy and well-being as well as their access to decent living conditions;

·        Ensuring young people’s equal access to cultural, sporting and creative activities;

·        Encouraging intergenerational dialogue and solidarity.

2. We agree that the implementation of above priorities should be based on the following approaches, methods and instruments:

As regards youth policy development and co-operation

2.1. intergovernmental and international co-operation on youth policy development, with particular focus on setting standards and supporting their implementation ;

2.2. service to countries, in particular through international reviews of national youth policies and youth policy advisory missions;

2.3. co-operation with the European Union;

2.4   partnerships with other stakeholders and services involved in areas which are relevant to the Council of Europe youth policy;

2.5 co-management, as a unique and valuable co-operation mechanism between governments and youth organisations;

As regards youth work, education and training,

2.6. multilateral youth co-operation as an appropriate way of promoting international understanding in the spirit of the core values of the Council of Europe;

2.7. working with multipliers as well as supporting the development of quality youth work and its recognition;

2.8. intercultural learning as a non-formal educational/learning method particularly relevant for promoting intercultural dialogue and combating racism and intolerance;

2.9. the European Youth Centres and European Youth Foundation as  unique instruments for developing European youth co-operation;

As regards  youth research and knowledge of youth

2.10. youth research and co-operation between youth researchers and policy makers in order to promote evidence-based youth policies and support the work of practitioners in the youth field;

2.11. the realisation of studies, publications as well as educational and training material in order to support youth work and policy;

2.12. the further development of the European Knowledge Centre for Youth Policy;

3. In view of the above, we recommend to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe,

3.1. to support the present Declaration as a contribution to the further implementation of the decisions adopted at the Warsaw Summit  in 2005;

3.2. to invite the relevant co-management bodies of the Council of Europe’s youth sector to develop programmes of activities based on the present Declaration;

3.3. to invite these bodies to review, where appropriate, the working methods of the youth sector, and, if necessary, to submit their proposals to the Committee of Ministers;

3.4.  to strengthen the Council of Europe’s youth sector and further enhance co-ordination and co-operation on administrative as well as political levels between child and youth – related activities;

3.5. to take the necessary political and administrative measures to encourage all Council of Europe sectors, in co-operation with the youth sector, to take into account a youth dimension when defining and carrying out their programmes of activities;

3.6. to further support the role of the European Youth Centres and European Youth Foundation;

3.7.  to foster the Partnership with the European Commission in the youth field as an example of good co-operation between the two partners; 

3.8.  to further develop a communication strategy to ensure the best possible visibility of the youth sector of the Council of Europe, inside and outside the Organisation;

3.9.  to endeavour to secure, when planning the annual work programme, adequate budgets for the youth sector.

4. We will take the present Declaration into consideration in the development of our youth policies, and support the contribution of young people and youth organisations to the implementation of the priorities included in it, at local, regional, national and European levels.

5. Furthermore, we will encourage and support the development of youth mobility, voluntary activities and exchanges across Europe and beyond.