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DG Democracy
Directorate of Democratic Participation
Youth Department
THINK YOUTH No 77 - January-February_2020
Council of Europe youth sector strategy 2030
On 22 January 2020, the Committee of Ministers officially adopted the Council of Europe strategy 2030, which will provide policy guidance for the period 2020-30. The following day, the strategy was officially launched by Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe and by Ambassador Irakli Giviashvili, President of the Ministers' Deputies, in the presence of the Ministers’ Deputies, as well as the chairs and vice-chairs of the youth co-managed statutory bodies. This new strategy defines the framework within which the Council of Europe youth sector will continue to enable young people across Europe to actively promote and benefit from the Council of Europe’s core values.
First ever exchange of views on youth at the Committee of Ministers
23 January 2020 - Strasbourg, France

On 23 January 2020, the Committee of Ministers held a lively and inspiring exchange of views on “strengthening democracy through youth engagement in the Council of Europe and its member States”. This informal exchange of views on youth matters, the first of its kind at Deputies’ level, was organised in the framework of the Georgian presidency of the Committee of Ministers. It was opened by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe and chaired by President of the Ministers' Deputies, who also concluded the meeting. After a series of inspirational presentations, delegations debated on the added value of the Council of Europe youth sector (notably its co-management system and its new 2030 strategy), and confirmed their commitment towards youth engagement and the youth sector. The meeting also enabled a useful exchange of good practice examples from national realities.
14 February 2020 - Brussels, Belgium

The conference Taking Young Refugees Seriously was co-organised by the Council of Europe Youth Department with the Vrij Universiteit Brussel and the Flemish Department of Media, Culture and Youth as part of the project Youth.Together.
Youth work, volunteer work, sports activities are among the best answers to support young refugees and migrants – newcomers in the city – to develop and expand their social networks. 
Taking young refugees seriously is about looking at them as young people, with resources and potential, and not just as refugees in need.
“We need to implement the Council of Europe Recommendation on Supporting young refugees in transition to adulthood” stressed Ambassador Drahoslav Štefánek, Special Representative on Migration and Refugees of Council of Europe Secretary General
The Commonwealth and the Council of Europe reinforce their links in the field of youth
The Council of Europe was invited to participate in the first Commonwealth Youth Senior Officials Meeting (Europe region and Canada) which took place in London on 13-14 January 2020 and gathered senior officials responsible for youth, as well as key youth stakeholders in order to examine issues pertinent to the regional youth policy agenda and help identify priorities for action, in line with the 9th Commonwealth Youth Ministers Meeting.
The Bureaux of the youth statutory bodies prepare for 2020

On 27-28 January 2020, the Bureaux of the European Steering Committee for Youth (CDEJ) and the Advisory Council on Youth (CCJ) met to prepare the Joint Council on Youth’s (CMJ) work in 2020 and beyond.

They notably discussed the “lessons learned” from the recent developments in the youth sector, as well as the priorities and possible projects set for the youth sector in the framework of the Programme and Budget 2020-2021.
Preparing National Training Courses for Human Rights Education
27-28 January 2020 - European Youth Centre Strasbourg, France

The preparatory workshops for co-organisers of COMPASS National Training Courses for Human Rights Education
were organised in the framework of the Council of Europe's Human Rights Education Youth Programme. It provided space to clarify roles, expectations and support between the organisers and the Council of Europe youth sector. Ten coordinators representing the organisations whose project proposals were selected took part in the meeting.

The national co-organisers will be provided either financial, institutional or education support for their programme’s implementation. In 2020 COMPASS National Training Courses will be organised in Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Spain.
News from the EYF
The EYF organised two information sessions which took place on 13 February in Brussels, in co-operation with the European Youth Forum.

They provided an opportunity for international youth NGOs and networks to meet with the EYF Secretariat and discuss their experience, challenges and questions relating to the preparation of grant applications and reports.
Partnership news

This book has three parts. The first part explores the evolution of transnational youth organisations and movements over the past 100 years. The second part adds two more country histories of youth work to the body of knowledge already established in earlier volumes in the series. The third and final part focuses on 12 “trilemmas” and reflections that have emerged from the 10-year History of Youth Work in Europe project.
Upcoming activities
  • 24-28 February 2020: 50/50 training on strengthening co-operation and partnership for promoting youth participation in Georgia, European Youth Centre Strasbourg
  • 2-6 March 2020: study session in cooperation with International Falcon Movement – Socialist Educational International (IFM-SEI), ‘’Feminists of the world, unite!’’, European Youth Centre Budapest
  • 2-6 March 2020: study session in cooperation with the European Confederation of Youth Clubs (ECYC) and Rural Youth Europe (RYEurope), ‘’Shrinking youth civil spaces’’, European Youth Centre Strasbourg
  • 2-6 March 2020: study session in cooperation with FEMYSO – Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organisations, "Outspoken: Advocacy for Youth Participation", European Youth Centre Strasbourg
  • 2-7 March 2020: study session in co-operation with European Students’ Union, ‘’LEVEL UP to EUR-UP’’, European Youth Centre Budapest
  • 8-13 March 2020: Training course for the educational staff of the youth centres in the Quality Label network, Berlin, Germany
  • 23-25 March 2020: CMJ, CDEJ and CCJ plenary meetings, European Youth Centre Budapest
Useful links
The CoE Directorate General Democracy
The CoE Youth Portal
European Youth Centre Budapest
European Youth Centre Strasbourg
European Youth Foundation
Intergovernmental Cooperation
The EU-CoE Youth Parthership
Facebook pages
Advisory Council on Youth
Council of Europe - Youth
European Youth Centre Budapest
EU-CoE youth partnership
European Youth Foundation
No Hate Speech Movement
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