Ministers’ Deputies

CM Documents

CM(2006)48      10 April 2006[1]

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965 Meeting, 24 May 2006

8 Youth and sport

8.1 European Steering Committee for Youth (CDEJ)

a. Abridged report of the 36th meeting (Strasbourg, 1-3 March 2006)

b. Draft Recommendation Rec(2006)… of the Committee of Ministers to member states on

citizenship and participation of young people in public life

Item to be prepared by the Rapporteur Group on Education, Culture, Sport, Youth and Environment (GR-C) at its meeting of 4 May 2006
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1.         The 36th meeting of the European Steering Committee for Youth (CDEJ) took place in Strasbourg on 1-3 March 2006. The list of participants is available on the website of Directorate General IV, http://www.coe.int/DGIVRestricted. The agenda of the meeting, as adopted, appears in Appendix 1. The main items discussed and decisions taken can be summarised as follows:

2.         The CDEJ elected its Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson for 2006, and renewed partially its Bureau. Ms Astrid UTTERSTRÖM (Sweden) was elected Chairperson and Mr Alexis RIDDE (France) Vice-Chairperson.  Mr Zorko SKVOR (Slovenia), Ms Irina SOLTUZ (Romania) and Mr Ricardo VENTURINI (San Marino) were elected members of the Bureau for a first term of office of two years (2006-2007). Ms Linda ATHANASSOULI (Greece) and Mr Marians NILENDERS (Latvia) were elected members of the Bureau for a first term of office of one year (2006).

3.         The CDEJ held an exchange of views on the aims and content of the 8th Conference of European Ministers responsible for Youth to be organised in Ukraine in 2008 on the invitation of the Ukrainian government. In this perspective, the CDEJ considered the possibility of preparing a White Paper on the Council of Europe’s youth policy, which would contain and describe the “essentials” of youth policy specific to the Council of Europe. The CDEJ members expressed their support for this proposal and invited the Ukrainian government to share its views on it as well as on any other proposal it may wish to formulate, if any.

Also in this context, an exchange of views took place on the relevance and feasibility of a European Framework Convention on Youth Policy. The CDEJ acknowledged the fact that the creation of such an instrument would need careful examination, bearing in mind the reservations some governments might formulate in this respect. This item would be further examined during the forthcoming meetings of the committee.

4.         The CDEJ took note of the report of the joint meeting between the CDEJ and CDCS Bureau
(31 January 2006) to examine proposals for improving co-ordination between the two sectors in the field of child and youth policies. Although the meeting, the first of its kind, did not lead to any immediate concrete proposals for joint actions (in 2007), both Bureaus agreed on the importance to meet again. For its part, the CDEJ proposed both Secretariats concerned maintained contact in order to further examine proposals in this respect.

5.         In the framework of the meeting of the Joint Council on Youth (members of the CDEJ and members of the Advisory Council on Youth), the following items were considered with particular attention:

-           preparation of the European Youth Campaign for diversity, human rights and participation: the Joint Council approved a proposal for a revision of the terms of reference of the Campaign's European Steering Group in order, notably, to enable the said Steering Group to take decisions on the organisation of European-level activities financed within the budget of the Campaign, and to make proposals on other Campaign-related activities, based on guidelines given by the Joint Council on Youth.[2]

-           evaluation of the implementation of the European Year of Citizenship through Education: the Joint Council was informed of the successful implementation of the Year as well as the youth sector's positive contribution to it, for example, through its Human Rights Education Programme and the Council of Europe Award “Young active citizens”. The involvement of the youth sector in this major activity had led to new possibilities for co-operation with the education sector, which would be translated into concrete actions, in particular, in the framework of the Youth Campaign;

-           programme and budget of the youth sector for 2007: the Joint Council stressed, in particular, the importance of the European Youth Campaign for diversity, human rights and participation, and the need for adequate financial support, including from the Council of Europe’s budget. The Joint Council asked the CDEJ and Advisory Bureau to make further proposals on the budget appropriations for the different priority programmes of the youth sector;

-           Draft recommendation from the Committee of Ministers to the member states: the Joint Council approved a draft recommendation on citizenship and participation of young people in public life, with a view to submitting it to the Committee of Ministers for adoption (Appendix 2).

Appendix 1

Agenda

1.         Opening of the meeting and adoption of the agenda

2.         Election of the Chair and Vice-Chair for 2006

3.         Partial renewal of the CDEJ Bureau

4.         Exchange of views with the Director of Youth and Sport on recent developments within the Council of             Europe and the youth sector

5.         Report of the Bureau meeting held on 30-31 January 2006

6.         Progress review report of the 2005 intergovernmental programme

7.         European Youth Campaign for Diversity, Human rights and Participation

8.         Methods of implementation of the 2006 intergovernmental programme and schedule of activities

9.         Exchange of views on the aims and content of the 8th Conference of European Ministers responsible      for Youth (Ukraine, 2008)

10.        Youth information policy and future of the Partnership Agreement between the Council of Europe and             ERYICA

11.        Co-ordination of Child and Youth Policies (Draft strategy Paper)

12.        Proposals of the draft intergovernmental programme of activities in 2007

13.        Co-operation with the Russian Federation and field activities

14.        Preparation of the 14th meeting of the Joint Council on Youth

15.        Information on recent developments concerning youth policies in the member states

16.        Nomination of CDEJ members in the Programming Committee on Youth (CPJ) for 2006-2008

17.        Any other business:

18.        Date and place of the next meeting

Appendix 2

Draft Recommendation Rec(2006)…

of the Committee of Ministers to member states

on citizenship and participation of young people in public life

(Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on … … 2006

at the …th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies)

The Committee of Ministers, in accordance with Article 15.b of the Statute of the Council of Europe,

Having regard to Resolution Res(2003)7 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on youth policy at the Council of Europe;

Having regard to the Declaration and Action Plan adopted by the Third Summit of Heads of State and Government;

Having regard to the revised European Charter on the participation of young people in local and regional life, adopted within Recommendation 128 (2003) of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, as well as Recommendation Rec(2004)128 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the participation of young people in local and regional life;

Having regard to Recommendation Rec(2006)1 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the role of national youth councils in youth policy development;

Having regard to Resolution 1353 (2003) of the Parliamentary Assembly on the future of democracy: strengthening democratic institutions;

Having regard to Recommendation Rec (97) 3 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on youth participation and the future of civil society;

Bearing in mind the achievements of the Council of Europe’s youth sector since 1972 regarding the promotion of youth participation;

Bearing in mind the outcomes and results of the European Year of Citizenship through Education, organised by the Council of Europe in 2005;

Considering that education for participation and providing opportunities for experiencing participation is a prerequisite for the necessary ongoing improvement of democracy, and that participation is a lifelong learning process, which takes place at all levels and at all ages, including within the family and school;

Considering that participation is fundamental to social organisation and cohesion, and does not allow for any restriction according to gender, ethnicity, religion, choice of lifestyle or social status, and concerns all young people;

Considering the preamble to the revised European Charter on the participation of young people in local and regional life which stipulates in particular that participation is about “having the right, the means, the space and the opportunity, and where necessary, the support to participate in and influence decisions and engage in actions and activities so as to contribute to building a better society”;

Considering that supporting young people’s participation is not restricted to asking their opinions but must include empowering them to be actively involved in a creative and productive manner; that youth participation is not limited to areas and issues which only concern youth.

Considering that there is a need, in particular, to encourage and support the participation of young people who do not belong to youth organisations;

Considering that effective youth participation is best achieved through practice and by participation mechanisms which allow young people to develop their own working methods;

1.         Recommends that the governments of member states,

a.         consider helping young people to be active citizens as a priority in public youth policies, and, in that respect, provide them with learning opportunities and experience that will increase their participation in public life;

b.         encourage the exchange and use of good practice concerning youth participation, at local, regional and national levels, taking into consideration notably the expertise of the Council of Europe in this respect, as well as its educational and training tools;

c.         further acknowledge the important role of non-formal learning, and, in this context, of youth associations in education for democratic citizenship and participation;

d.         encourage the establishment of youth councils at local, regional and national levels, open to young people who do not belong to organisations and independent from political authorities;

e.         promote the development of partnerships between public authorities and youth councils and organisations, taking into consideration the long practice of the Council of Europe’s youth sector regarding co-management between youth organisations and governments;

f.          support the establishment of pupil and student councils within educational establishments, with the possibility of participating in their governance, and in this context, stimulate dialogue between actors in non-formal and formal education, with a view to promoting the use of innovative methods for citizenship education;

g.         develop a favourable environment for effective youth participation, by:

i.          working towards the improvement of living conditions of the many young people in Europe facing precariousness, as a prerequisite for their participation in society and in democratic structures and processes;

ii.          paying special attention to enabling disadvantaged and vulnerable young people to participate at local, regional and national levels;

iii.         stimulating the development of youth research with a view, in particular, to enabling better understanding of young people and youth cultures, to identifying obstacles to youth participation and reviewing the issues of current concern and adapting forms of participation;

iv.         providing young people with information on the basis of the following principles: equal opportunities and free access, proximity, flexibility and user-friendliness, high standards of ethical behaviour; 

v.         securing adequate funding for youth participation, while ensuring transparency through clear allocation criteria;

vi.         encouraging political parties to open up dialogue with young people and build on their creativity;

h.         stimulate the effective implementation, by local and regional authorities, of the revised European Charter on the participation of young people in local and regional life of the Council of Europe,

2.         Asks the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to address this recommendation to governments of States Parties to the European Cultural Convention that are not members of the Council of Europe.