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DG Democracy
Directorate of Democratic Participation
Youth Department
THINK YOUTH| No 101 - March 2022
The youth statutory committees set the road map for the new four-year programming period
The youth statutory committees set the road map for the new four-year programming period

The Joint Council on Youth (CMJ) met for the first time in the new four-year programming period on 22 and 23 March 2022. Meeting in hybrid format, this was the first time the members had been able to meet in person since October 2019.

The statutory meetings were held at a sombre time, under the shadow of the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine, which influenced both the discussions and the decisions. The CMJ adopted a non-exhaustive list of measures and activities to be implemented in the Youth for Democracy programme, as well a statement condemning the aggression and expressing its unwavering support to Ukraine and its young people, citizens, residents and undocumented people.  The CDEJ member for Ukraine, participating online, issued a plea to redirect resources, from the youth sector’s framework co-operation programme with Ukraine, to support youth work in the reality of war, support that is greatly needed.

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The CMJ expresses its unwavering solidarity and support to Ukraine
Photo by Gayatri Malhotra on Unsplash
The CMJ expresses its unwavering solidarity and support to Ukraine

At its 46th meeting (Strasbourg, 22-23 March 2022), the Joint Council on Youth (CMJ) adopted a statement in which it expressed its unwavering solidarity and support to Ukraine.

The Joint Council pledged to assist its Ukrainian partners in meeting present and future challenges by mobilising the experience, skills and expertise of the Council of Europe's youth sector.

Various actions and measures will be implemented, when and where possible, within the framework of the project Youth for Democracy in Ukraine, adapting to the situation on the ground. These measures include, for example, assistance to youth workers who are still active in Ukraine, adapting this offer to the youth work being undertaken in the reality of war, as well as action to address the consequences of the conflict and allow youth and human rights activists to share experiences and propose action.

A Joint Council working group has been set up to determine the support activities to be implemented in light of the needs expressed by the Ukrainian authorities.

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HERE AND NOW: a new youth campaign is launched!
Bjørn Berge, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, 21 March 2022
HERE AND NOW: a new youth campaign is launched!

The youth campaign for revitalising democracy: Democracy Here | Democracy Now was launched on 21 March 2022 with the support of the Italian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers.

At the launching event, organised at the headquarters of the Council of Europe during the meetings of the Joint Council on Youth, the Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge, noted that the campaign “could not be more fitting for what we see and experience in Europe today”. “In these times of a deep crisis in Europe we must reach out to our young people. If we are to stop democratic backsliding, we need young people to take a leading role in the fight back: to co-pilot our future, to share ideas and create opportunities, to play an active, meaningful part in decision-making”, he added.

Representatives of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, and Conference of International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs), the City of Strasbourg, the European Steering Committee for Youth, the Advisory Council on Youth and the European Youth Forum took part in the event, personally or online.

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Four campaign projects selected for funding by the European Youth Foundation
Four campaign projects selected for funding by the European Youth Foundation

As a result of the EYF special call for the new youth campaign, four grants for international activities were approved by the Programming Committee on Youth:

  • Youth Green-oble Summit by YEE – Youth and Environment Europe, will be a forum for 50 participants from 20 countries to meet for three days and develop ideas on increasing local democracy in view of greening local policies.
  • The power of human rights education by WOSM – World Organisation of the Scout Movement, will be a training for 30 youth leaders from the scout movement that will develop their capacities on using human rights education within the scout organisations at national level, as a tool to encourage young people’s engagement in society.
  • Changemakers of tomorrow by IFM – SEI – International Falcon Movement – Socialist Education International, will be a training that will allow 20 youth leaders from the organisation to develop their competences to run local projects based on active youth participation, and develop as a network within IFM-SEI.
  • Advocacy Academy: Connect, Communicate, Change by WSCF - World Student Christian Federation in Europe, is a training that will empower 25 participants from 15 countries to carry out local advocacy activities that will reach over 500 young people. In this way, youth leader will lead positive changes within their local and national communities.
 
Special call open until 16 May 2022 ›
The European Youth Foundation support to local projects

In March 2022, the Programming Committee on Youth approved 27 pilot activities, for a total amount of €370 074, from the applications submitted to the EYF before 24 January 2022.

The European Youth Foundation support to local projects


Pilot activities are projects that address young people’s needs or challenges at a local level, in line with the Council of Europe’s youth sector’s priorities. The 27 projects approved will be organised throughout 2022, in 13 Council of Europe’s member states, by local or national youth organisations. Several projects include training and awareness raising activities for young people, as well as youth workers and youth leaders.

The next deadline for pilot projects is 6 June 2022.

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The European Youth Foundation report of activities 2021 just published
The European Youth Foundation report of activities 2021 just published


The EYF annual report provides data and statistics on the youth activities supported in 2021. The embedment of the EYF in the youth sector’s co-managed governing structure ensures that the EYF grants are directed towards real needs and pressing concerns of youth civil society.

The EYF is more than a donor: it offers financial support, advice and training to youth NGOs, online and in member states; it organises information sessions and monitors the implementation of supported projects.

In 2021, the EYF grants totalled €3 616 200, distributed to 134 youth organisations; it received 358 grant applications altogether, out of which 187 were approved. In 2021 as in 2020, the work of the EYF was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and specific measures were in place to mitigate the effects on youth projects, through advice and support to youth organisations, the possibility to extend the grant duration and a specific consultancy service.

Read the EYF report of activities 2021 ›
New edition of the Manual for facilitators
New edition of the Manual for facilitators

Revised in 2021, the Manual for Facilitators is a guide for organising and facilitating the educational process of the study sessions which are held at the European Youth Centres.

These activities bring to the Youth for Democracy programme of the Council of Europe the unique experiences, expectations and concerns of young people regarding contemporary issues and challenges that affect their access to rights and of participating in all spheres of society.


The programme of study sessions, held in cooperation with European youth organisations and networks, remains a benchmark for intercultural youth activities.

This Manual for Facilitators provides information and practical tips in the planning and delivering of non-formal education activities.

Read the MANUAL FOR FACILITATORS ›
New: Handbook for organisers of Compass training courses

Compass National and Regional Training Courses on Human Rights Education are core activities in the programme of the Council of Europe's Youth Department, as a contribution to the promotion of human rights.

These courses also are an important contribution to the implementation of the Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education.

New: Handbook for organisers of Compass training courses

This handbook provides the organisers and trainers of Compass training courses essential ingredients for a successful course.
Read the HANDBOOK FOR ORGANISERS ›
“Mind the Gap” on Mental Health
“Mind the Gap” on Mental Health

The European Youth Centre Budapest was home to a study session co-organised with the Forum of European Muslim Youth and Students Organisations (FEMYSO) from 7 to 11 March 2022. 

The activity brought together 28 participants from 15 countries engaged in the recovery of their communities and to find ways to tackle mental health issues and taboos surrounding them through education on human and social rights. This was done through exploring mental health as a topic and how it exists in the everyday life of young people with minority background. Taboos and misconceptions were further discussed, resulting in a reflection on ways in which mental health itself is somehow seen as a taboo in local communities, which prevents young people from learning about it and accessing support services. The participants furthermore explored how youth participation and activism is affected by mental health, such as stress and even burnout. It was concluded that activists also need to rest and to take care of their mental health, in order to continue their work.

Guest speaker Dr Tarek Younis, clinical psychologist, delivered an online presentation on the connection between islamophobia and mental health, and Dr Hooman Keshavarzi who is a practicing psychotherapist, further built on this in his presentation on decolonisation of mental health. Participants were also introduced to the Council of Europe Youth department campaign “Democracy here, democracy now”.

New podcast: Do we need radical citizenship education?
New podcast: Do we need radical citizenship education?

Citizenship education remains a contested term, lacking a universally accepted definition. While it is often understood in relation to democracy, human rights and young people's participation in decision-making processes, some argue that we need to consider a radical reform in the way citizenship education is taught.

Listen to the new episode of Under 30’ podcast where guests Sérgio Xavier (PEYR) and Nika Bakhsoliani from the Advisory Council on Youth of the Council of Europe explore this topic. Read the study Radical Education: A pathway for new utopias and reimagining European democracies to learn more about what makes citizenship education radical and how it can help us to improve our democracies.

New podcast: Do we need radical citizenship education?
New podcast and a study: Limits of digital youth work


What is the cost and the benefit of digital youth work? What are its limitations in connection to:

- Digital technologies, mental health, and feelings of disconnectedness
- Big tech and AI related to meaningful communication and youth empowerment
- Digital inequalities in youth work
- Strategic digitalisation of youth work
- Space in digital youth work?

Read the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership’s new study: Technology and the new power dynamics: limitations of digital youth work by Alicja Pawluczuk and Adina Marina Serban and listen to the Under 30’ podcast episode exploring this topic.

Sustainability in learning mobility
Sustainability in learning mobility

How do we define sustainability? Is it environmental, social or economic? How does it apply to youth learning mobility? What are youth organisations doing about it?

The EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership conducted various research on sustainability, including the recently published exploratory study on sustainability and learning mobility.

Read the study and visit the Partnership’s website for further information on the topic.

Covid-19 impact on young people

What has been the impact of Covid-19 on young people’s education, social inclusion and access to services; employment and financial security; mental health and well-being; youth participation; youth work and youth organisations; and digitalization? Have a look at the new meta-analysis on the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership’s Covid-19 Knowledge Hub and find out more about the impact of the pandemic!

Covid-19 impact on young people
Insights into meaningful youth political participation
Insights into meaningful youth political participation

How to identify meaningful youth political participation? What are the conventional and unconventional ways of engaging in politics? How does inequality affect young people’s participation?

Read the new Insights into meaningful youth political participation of the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership and have a look at the video and graphic recording of the launch of the study on the same topic with Directors Sophia Eriksson Waterschoot and Matjaž Gruden, which took place on 9 March.

Upcoming Activities
  • 4-8 April 2022, European Youth Centre Budapest, Study session - Skills Up! - in cooperation with the Youth Social Rights Network with the support of the I-PARTICIPATE NGO (Greece)
  • 5-9 April 2022, European Youth Centre Strasbourg, Seminar Roma Youth Together, organised by in co-operation with Phiren Amenca International, ERGO Network and the European Roma Institute of Arts and Culture
  • 6-9 April 2022, European Youth Centre Strasbourg, Conference Roma Youth Together
  • 11-14 April 2022, Torino, Italy, 4th Forum on Human Rights Education with Young People
  • 25-26 April 2022, Valetta, Malta, 50/50 training seminar of the Partial Agreement on Youth Mobility through the Youth Card, in co-operation with the Youth Agency of Malta (Aġenzija Żgħażagħ)
  • 25-29 April 2022, European Youth Centre Strasbourg, Study session - Climbing the ladder - Capacitating youth leaders to facilitate youth participation in decision-making processes at the local level - in cooperation with the DYPALL Network and the Assembly of European Regions
  • 25-29 April 2022, European Youth Centre Budapest, Study session - Feed it forward - Food as a Human Right - in cooperation with the Rural Youth Europe (RYEurope) and European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA)
  • 27-29 April 2022, Valetta, Malta, European University of Youth Policies (CDEJ Spring University), in co-operation with the Youth Agency of Malta (Aġenzija Żgħażagħ)
  • 2-6 May 2022, European Youth Centre Budapest, Study session - Active peace - students strengthening peace through Human Rights’ Education”  - in cooperation with the European Coordination JECI-MIEC (International Young Catholic Students – International Movement of Catholic Students)
  • 9-13 May 2022, European Youth Centre Budapest, 50/50 training on strengthening co-operation and partnership for promoting youth participation in decision-making processes and in the implementation of youth policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • 9-14 May 2022, European Youth Centre Strasbourg, Training course on non-formal education for trainers and organisers of study sessions and of projects supported by the European Youth Foundation
 
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 Partnership

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
Coyote magazine

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