Following a complaint lodged in 2017 with the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) by the European Youth Forum (YFJ) on issues of unpaid internships, the Committee of Ministers, the Council of Europe’s decision-making body, has found in favour of the YFJ that efforts should be made to fight against “bogus internships” and respect young people’s right to a fair wage.

On examining the complaint against Belgium, the ECSR ruled that cases where an internship involves performance of real and genuine work without allowing for a real learning experience, i.e. bogus internships, the intern should be considered as a “worker” and remunerated as such. Fearing that disadvantaged young interns may not be aware of their rights or may not want to take legal action in order not to affect their potential for future employment, the ECSR noted a proactive approach to monitoring internships is needed by relevant national authorities to ensure internships allow for real learning experiences and are not used to replace regular workers.

This decision sets an important precedent to be taken into account by other States Parties to the European Social Charter.

This is also a big step forward in putting an end to exploitative practices that hinder young people’s financial security and career prospects, and are an obstacle to their transition to autonomy.

Miriam Teuma, chair of the Joint Council on Youth (CMJ)  and Spyros Papadatos, chair of the Advisory Council on Youth (CCJ)  met the Organisation’s decision-making body and Secretary General.

On the invitation of the chair of the Committee of Ministers’ Group of Rapporteurs on Education, Culture, Sport, Youth and Environment (GR-C), Miriam Teuma and Spyros Papadatos held an exchange of views with the representatives of the member states present.  Underlining the clear distinction of the Council of Europe youth sector compared to those of other international organisations, Miriam Teuma spoke of the unique relationship between the governmental and the youth representatives, combining the evidence-based action of the former to address the needs and concerns of young people highlighted by the latter.  The resulting quality standards for youth policy development and training for young multipliers are grounded in the Council of Europe’s values of human rights, democracy, the rule of law and human dignity.

For Spyros Papadatos, the Council of Europe’s youth sector, by empowering young people, helps to make them agents of change.  The Call for action, the fruit of four days’ work of the 450 participants attending the Youth Action Week of the Campaign Democracy Here|Democracy Now last June, attested to the creativity of young people in shaping policy proposals that correspond to their realities.

On 20-21 September 2022, representatives of the Council of Europe Quality Label for Youth Centres network met for their annual meeting of a European Platform of Youth Centres sharing knowledge and experiences in strategic management of youth centres recognised with the Quality Label and those aspiring to its acquisition.

The meeting was organised in the beautiful setting of Marttinen Youth Centre in Finland. This year’s Platform was a special occasion for participants present from labelled youth centres and candidate centres from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, Germany, Italy and Portugal to reconnect after two years of online/hybrid events, to exchange experiences and to identify potential areas for future collaboration. It was also an occasion for the participants to learn more about the mission and operations of Marttinen Youth Centre.

This year’s Platform addressed the strategic role of non-formal education as well as how to sustain innovative practices developed in recent years as a response to the challenges caused by pandemic. The Platform also held an exchange with Olena Chernykh, project coordinator of the Council of Europe “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine" project to explore support and cooperation possibilities between the Quality Label network and the youth centres in Ukraine.

The European Youth Foundation, through its pilot activity grants, supported the project implemented by ESN Portugal, aimed to combat discrimination, xenophobia, stigmatisation, and stereotypes that affect minority young people.

While society is becoming more diverse, attitudes of intolerance and hostility against minorities, such as migrants, refugees, LGBTQI+ community, among others, unfortunately do not seem to decrease. Additionally, this negative phenomenon has been aggravated by the effects of the pandemic. Thus, the NGO organised many awareness raising and training activities with young people from rural areas of Coimbra, Covilhã and Tomar in Portugal, to act as change agents in their communities and higher-education institutions.

The activities focused on raising awareness on how to deconstruct the mechanisms of underlying discrimination and addressed topics of respect, tolerance, European values, diversity, and mutual understanding. The training activities provided also the young people with various tools to combat discrimination and exclusion. As a result of the project the young people taking part have been equipped with new skills and competencies to intervene in cases of discrimination and to raise awareness among peers.

The project received the award as the “most impactful project” by the ESN Network.

In September 2022, the European Youth Foundation (EYF) organised 3 meetings for international youth organisations to inform them on how to apply for international activities and annual work plans in 2023 and to take stock of the co-operation with them.

On 8 and 9 September 2022, the EYF held meetings for international youth organisations in Brussels, with the support of the European Youth Forum. Over 20 organisations joined these meetings and, during the sessions, shared updates on their projects and evaluated their co-operation with the EYF. Organisations also made proposals for making the EYF grants more accessible and environmentally friendly.

On 15 September, over 50 youth organisations, both international and national, attended another  information and dialogue session with the EYF.

As a result of these meetings, the EYF has already taken steps to simplify changes in EYF-approved projects for youth organisations and better define condition for co-funding for international activities and work plans.

Furthermore, on 12 and 20 September, the EYF together with the EU-Council of Europe’s Youth Partnership trained 17 youth organisations on the use of the sustainability checklist in youth projects.

Given the impact of the pandemic on youth organisations, the EYF will continue to take steps to support their recovery and further development.

The Centre for Human Rights AMOS in Bitola, North Macedonia, has published the Macedonian version of Compass, the Council of Europe manual for human rights education with young people.

The new publication was launched in Bitola on 14 September during a public event led by Prof. Dr. Sasho Kochankovski - President of Centre for Human Rights AMOS Bitola, Biljana Bejkovska and Jasminka Kochankovska.

Forty-five guests from different sectors in North Macedonia who work in the field of human rights, representatives from formal education, non-governmental organizations and representatives from the Municipality of Bitola took part in event.

The launch of Compass was followed by a Compass training course Let's Give Life to the Macedonian Compass, organised by the Centre for Human Rights AMOS Bitola in cooperation with the Youth Department of the Council of Europe from 14 to 18 September 2022.

The seminar “Common grounds for networking for non-formal education” was organised in Baku, Azerbaijan from 28 to 30 September 2022.

The activity fostered exchange between youth workers and trainers and encouraged the further development of trainers’ networks in Azerbaijan interested to work with the Council of Europe youth work values and approaches. Thirty participants explored the notion of quality in non-formal education and training activities and how to apply it in Azerbaijan.

One of the main outcomes of the event was a new informal network and springboard for establishment of a future trainers’ pool which should play a key role in the new chapter of quality and development of non-formal education in Azerbaijan.

The seminar was co-organised by the Council of Europe Youth Department in partnership with the Ministry of Youth and Sport of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan Youth Foundation and the National Assembly of Youth Organisations of the Republic Azerbaijan as part of the Council of Europe Action Plan on Azerbaijan.

The European Youth Centre Strasbourg (EYCS) is delighted to reopen its doors to participants after a summer closure dedicated to renovations.

Our guests can now enjoy new features such as comfy beds, and a safe deposit box in all 63 completely refitted bedrooms.

New furniture and parasols have been installed on the German terrace, offering a colourful new design and environmentally friendly material with various areas for eating, working or relaxing in the outdoor lounge.

The EYCS biodiversity initiatives have also been blooming during the summer and participants can now enjoy a new self-service aromatic garden.

The UNHCR recorded 7,5 million refugees from Ukraine by the end of September 2022, including many vulnerable groups.

Between April and September 2022, the European Youth Information and Counselling Agency (ERYICA) and the Ukrainian Centre in Barcelona, Spain conducted a survey on 258 Ukrainian youth between 13-35 years old. Experts from the Ukrainian community analysed the data, and their conclusions and recommendations have been drawn in cooperation with ERYICA.

The survey results were presented in September 2022 at an event organised in Sibenik, Croatia, in the framework of the ERYICA YinfoPeers project and in an online café organised by ERYICA in the framework of its Partnership with the Council of Europe.

The survey highlights six areas in which it is crucial for youth information and counselling services to be active and aware, followed by our recommendations.

We invite you to consult the survey, which hopefully will help youth information providers to adapt their services to the needs of young refugees across Europe.