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.

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.

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.

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.

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”.

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.