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DG Democracy and Human Dignity
Directorate of Democratic Participation
Youth Department
THINK YOUTH| No 108 - November-December 2022
SEASON'S GREETINGS



THINK YOUTH! and all staff of the Youth Department of the Council of Europe thank our readers and partners for their interest, feedback and continued support during 2022. 

We wish you a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year.





Youth portal ›
SEASON'S GREETINGS
The Youth Delegation and the Advisory Council on Youth at the 10th edition of the World Forum for Democracy
The Youth Delegation and the Advisory Council on Youth at the 10th edition of the World Forum for Democracy

A delegation of some 50 young people from more than 40 countries from all continents travelled to the Council of Europe headquarters in Strasbourg, France to contribute youth voices to the burning debate: “Democracy: A new Hope ?”.  

With democracy in decline – in distress even – these young people shared their perspectives and experience from their parts of the world, thereby adding a rich global dimension to the Forum. Several youth delegates assumed different roles as discussants and moderators in the Labs and Forum talks. For the first time in the ten-year history of the World Forum for Democracy, a youth delegate was invited to be Youth rapporteur in the closing Plenary Session.

Advisory Council members Anna Knobbout and Marko Lončar addressed the chilling effect of the shrinking space for youth civil society and presented the Committee of Ministers recommendation on protecting young people and their organisations, an initiative of the CCJ. Advisory Council Bureau member, Nedeljka Ivošević, co-chaired the reporting session with Marja Ruotanen, Director General of Democracy and Human Dignity.

Read more ›
A "youth partner" status with the Parliamentary Assembly

Speaking during a hearing on his proposal to establish a youth partner status with the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) of the Council of Europe, Anastasios CHATZIVASILEIOU (Greece, EPP) acknowledged that young people make an essential contribution to democracy and human rights.  

A "youth partner" status with the Parliamentary Assembly
From left to right: Anastasios CHATZIVASILEIOU (Greece, EPP), Spyros PAPADATOS, Chair of the Advisory Council on Youth (CCJ)

Responding to the PACE Rapporteur, Spyros Papadatos, Chair of the Advisory Council on Youth (CCJ), recalled the Council of Europe’s 50-year-old co-management system and how the CCJ brings a diversity of young people’s voices to the Organisation.  As an example of young people’s creativity and dynamism, he spoke of the call for action containing 50 different proposals to revitalise democracy. 

At a time when the Council of Europe High-level Reflection Group has recommended the inclusion of a “youth perspective” in the Organisation’s work, this PACE’s initiative is very timely and welcome.

Read more on the event ›
Values-based youth work in war context
Values-based youth work in war context

The Council of Europe and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine organised a study visit and seminar for youth workers and representatives of youth 

centres providing youth work during war time in Ukraine.providing youth work during war time in Ukraine. The activity brought together 35 participants who continue organising and providing youth work in various regions and places of Ukraine at the European Youth Centre in Strasbourg from 5 to 10 December 2022. 

The study visit and seminar in Strasbourg responded to the needs of the youth sector in Ukraine to strengthen competence and motivation of the specialists who are responding to challenges in their communities caused by military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

Read more on the Study visit and the Seminar ›
EYF funded youth project in the spotlight: Voices of young people in Ukraine
EYF funded youth project in the spotlight: Voices of young people in Ukraine

The project “Voices of Young People in Ukraine” aims at amplifying the voices of young people from 5 regions of Ukraine regarding the impact of the war. During the project, young people were involved in several activities and 20 life stories were collected and shared on social media, to advocate the interests and concerns of young people in Ukraine among different stakeholders. Several meetings with local authorities were organised, during which young people could raise their voice regarding their needs.

Check out the life stories of Masha, who talks about accepting the new reality and planning for the future, about psychological support and self-fulfillment, Vlad, who talks about the value of helping his own city, of Inna who talks about how her whole life changed with the war, and Danya, who is looking for a place in society by making music. All the young people expressed their dreams and their fears for the future, during a war that has affected them deeply.

The project is implemented by Donetsk Youth Debate Centre with the support of the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe within the Youth Campaign Democracy here I Democracy now, and in partnership with 5 youth centres in Ukraine.

Find out more about the special call in support of young people in Ukraine ›
Study visit of Bulgarian youth experts to the European Youth Centre Budapest
Study visit of Bulgarian youth experts to the European Youth Centre Budapest

On 30 November-1 December 2022, a study visit took place at the European Youth Centre Budapest with the participation of government representatives, local authorities and managers and youth workers from youth centres in Pernik, Burgas and Vratsa. This visit was organised with the aim to provide participants with an overview of the Council of Europe’s values and standards in the youth field, as well as the functioning of the European Youth Centres.
Read more on the Study visit ›
International Conference of the German delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe: Democracy and human rights in times of crisis – the contribution of young people in Europe
International Conference of the German delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe: Democracy and human rights in times of crisis – the contribution of young people in Europe

At the invitation of the German PACE delegation and in cooperation with the German National Youth Council (DBJR), an international conference taking place in the Bundestag in Berlin on 1-2 December 2022 discussed the role of the Council of Europe as leading institution protecting and promoting human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe.

Some 60 representatives of National Youth Councils from 25 countries had a fantastic opportunity to exchange with members of PACE on policy responses to crisis. Aydan Özoguz, Vice-president of the Bundestag, Frank Schwabe, Head of the German delegation to PACE, Antje Rothemund, Head of the Council of Europe Youth Department and Marius Schlageter, DBJR Board member opened the conference. Anastasios Chatzivasileiou, PACE Rapporteur on a “Youth Partner status” presented his proposal to increase youth participation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

The participation of young people from Belarus and Ukraine was key in the development of relevant and practical proposals and the needs and role of youth civil society in nowadays Europe. The participation of members of the Advisory Council on Youth put the spotlight on the youth contribution to the preparation of the 4th Council of Europe Summit of Heads of State and Government

 You can watch a summary presentation video of the Conference (4'11'')

Watch the video of the Conference! ›
Visible Value regional seminar

Youth work development is one of the key areas of the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership's activities, including a specific regional focus on Eastern and Southeast Europe.

Visible Value regional seminar

In order to strengthen the implementation of the European Youth Work Agenda (EYWA) in the two regions, a seminar was organised on 15-16 November, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina to look at the state of implementation of the EYWA, to reflect on achievements and challenges faced so far, as well as to “reconnect” with the community of practice after the pandemic.

Visit the seminar’s website for more information and resources! ›
End of term evaluation visit of the Quality Label Expert Team to Lisbon Youth Centre, Portugal
End of term evaluation visit of the Quality Label Expert Team to Lisbon Youth Centre, Portugal

On 20-21 October 2022, an end-of-term visit of the Council of Europe Quality Label for Youth Centres was organised in Lisbon Youth Centre, Portugal with the aim to evaluate the fulfilment of the 15 quality criteria of the Quality Label which Lisbon Youth Centre has been holding since 2015.

The Quality Label Expert Team was presented with recent initiatives and developments introduced in Lisbon Youth Centre based on the recommendations of the previous monitoring visit in 2017. Major improvements were made to modernise the youth centre in the last five years as well as to enlarge its programme of activities for youth organisation in the fields of human rights and democratic citizenship education. The end-term visit was held in the presence of representatives of the Portuguese Sport and Youth Institute (IPDJ) as well as local partners and stakeholders of the youth centre.

As a result of the visit, the Quality Label Expert Team will make its recommendation to the European Steering Committee for Youth (CDEJ) to prolong the Quality Label for Lisbon Youth Centre. The final decision will be taken at the next CDEJ meeting on 13 March 2023.

Read more ›
Quality Label exploratory visit to Braga Youth Centre in Portugal
Quality Label exploratory visit to Braga Youth Centre in Portugal

On 24 October 2022, a Quality Label exploratory visit took place in Braga Youth Centre, Portugal with the aim to introduce the work of the youth centre to Council of Europe representatives from an operational perspective, and to provide a deeper insight into its mission and educational philosophy as well as the strategic priorities of the centre.

The visit, that was organised in the presence of the Mayor of Braga, Ricardo Rio and the representatives of Braga Youth Centre, held an exchange on the youth centre’s potential of becoming a quality labelled youth centre which has been defined as one of the main objectives for Braga Youth Centre. The main mission of Braga Youth Centre is to support young people by promoting non-formal educational approaches and offering pedagogical youth programmes and quality youth work. In addition to organising residential youth activities, the Braga Youth Centre also hosts the regional services of the Portuguese Institute for Sport and Youth.

Braga Youth Centre submitted a formal application for the Council of Europe Quality Label for Youth Centres in October 2022 as the second Portuguese youth centre aspiring to be officially awarded the Quality Label. As a next step, the Quality Label expert team will make an assessment to the youth centre’s application to evaluate its fulfilment of the 15 quality criteria. In case of a positive assessment, an exploratory visit of the expert team will be planned for spring 2023.

Supporting youth work in war time in Ukraine
Supporting youth work in war time in Ukraine

The Council of Europe project Youth for Democracy in Ukraine – Phase II  has been going on since March 2022, in close co-operation with the Ministry of Youth and Sport of Ukraine.

Youth work: focus on recovery - The programme Trauma Informed Youth Work is implemented in co-operation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Council of Europe project on Internally Displaced Persons. In October and November Ukrainian youth centres organised educational activities for youth workers and young people based on the developed manual of the Trauma Informed Youth Work training programme.

On 16 November 2022 representatives of youth organisations took part in the information session on the European Youth Foundation special call for pilot activities in support of young people from Ukraine.

Evaluation matters! On 17 and 18 November 2022 experts participated in a workshop on evaluation of educational activities, which included modules for self-study on the e-learning platform of the Youth Department of the Council of Europe.

Strengthening capacities of Ukrainian youth NGOs for youth participation - In November a series of capacity-building workshops were organised in partnership with the NGO Youth centre “Territory of initiatives” and the NGO “Ukrainian Youth Councils Association”. These activities are to be continued in December.

Read more ›
GREEN CITIES FOR SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
GREEN CITIES FOR SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
EUROPEAN YOUTH CENTRE BUDAPEST - 7-12 November 2022


The study session “Green cities for sustainable future” was organised in collaboration with the Cooperation and Development Network Eastern Europe (CDN). Through non-formal learning activities, thirty-four participants worked on and shared experience on climate change and related concepts, such as environmental issues, urbanism, globalisation, community, economy, human rights etc.

This study session empowered the participants in tackling climate change, through exploring the connexions between globalisation, capitalism, and environmental issues. The session resulted in better understanding towards climate change with emphasis on communities, economy, human rights, and urbanism and how young people can change the tendencies. In result participants built up critical thinking of how governments, business and citizens can enable the urban and economic shift to greener transition.

Managing mental health as a refugee, asylum seeker and migrant
Managing mental health as a refugee, asylum seeker and migrant

The study session “Managing mental health as a refugee, asylum seeker and migrant” was organised by Voices of Young Refugees in Europe (VYRE) and Euro Youth Mental Health (EYMH) at the European Youth Centre Strasbourg from 21 to 25 November 2022. VYRE and EYMH have identified the need to increase mental health literacy of refugee and migrant youth. During the session 33 young refugees, migrants and youth workers who work in the field of migration and refugees, alongside mental health learned about:

  • (mental) health and its legal framework;
  • challenges on access to mental health support;
  • cultural sensitivity and inclusion in the context of refugees and mental health;
  • lessons learned and good practices regarding their right to mental health.
 

The participants had a meaningful exchange with the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees – Leyla Kayacik, when they could learn about the Council of Europe work in the field of migration and refugees including its Action Plan on Protecting Vulnerable Persons in the Context of Migration and Asylum in Europe, as well as raise their concerns and questions relevant to the topic at hand.

Safe learning spaces in non-formal education
EUROPEAN YOUTH CENTRE BUDAPEST - 1-5 November 2022
Safe learning spaces in non-formal education

The study session “Advancing at constructing Safe Learning Space in Non-Formal Education” was held in cooperation with the Human Rights Education Network (HREYN) and the World Organisation of Scouts Movement (WOSM). The five-day study session gathered 26 participants who worked on and shared experiences on safe spaces and related concepts (such as comfort, brave space, self-care, security).

The participants were educators or youth workers with an interest to gain more competences in creating safe spaces in learning environments. Through individual and group activities participants focused on various tools for creating a safe space, and reflected on this concept especially in relation to human rights education and in dealing with controversial or conflictual issues.

Read more on the Study session ›
The European Youth Foundation publishes an inclusion toolbox for youth organisations


To support youth organisations, the EYF produced a Toolbox on inclusive practices in youth work. It focuses on 6 areas of project management: finance, participants, logistics, online activities, team and atmosphere, programme and content.

The European Youth Foundation publishes an inclusion toolbox for youth organisations

Under each area, the resource presents “top-tips”, a list of potential barriers to inclusion, inclusive approaches and actions, and an “inclusion check-list”. In addition, the Toolbox includes ideas about establishing safer spaces for young people, directions of monitoring and evaluation and additional relevant resources produced by the Council of Europe. It provides youth organisations with practical ideas and encourages them to examine their practices through the lens of inclusion and diversity and take action.

The Toolbox is the result of a collaborative process involving representatives of youth organisations.

Download the Inclusion Toolbox ›
Training trainers in non-formal education in Azerbaijan
Training trainers in non-formal education in Azerbaijan

The training course for trainers for youth in Azerbaijan (TRAYAZE) took place in Baku from 23 to 28 November. The course was organised to develop participants competences to implement quality non-formal education activities, and support youth work and youth policy development in Azerbaijan according to Council of Europe values and standards. Key concepts and practical applications of human rights education, citizenship and civic education, non-formal learning, youth work and youth policy were thus explored by the thirty-three participants.

TRAYAZE is a long-term training course, a complex capacity-building activity comprising various forms, working methods for personal development and practical experience of the participants. In addition to this seminar, the course includes e-learning, mentoring and personal development as well as a practice phase based on training projects. The course will be completed with an evaluation and consolidation seminar in Strasbourg at the end of 2023.

The activity is organised by the Council of Europe Youth Department and the Ministry of Youth and Sport of the Republic of Azerbaijan in partnership with Azerbaijan Youth Foundation and National Assembly of Youth Organisations of the Republic of Azerbaijan (NAYORA) within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Azerbaijan.

Georgia Regional Youth Centre of Ajara organises a Conference to support youth participation in democratic life
Georgia Regional Youth Centre of Ajara organises a Conference to support youth participation in democratic life

The Youth Regional Centre of Ajara (Georgia), in partnership with the National Congress of Youth Organisations of Georgia organised an international conference, entitled “Youth dialogue – supporting youth participation in democratic life”, in Batumi from 25 to 27 November 2022. The conference was organised in the framework of the project Youth revitalising democracy – Democracy Here | Democracy Now.

The activity brought together some 50 young people who shared practices of youth participation, discussed the challenges to youth participation and democracy and planned common initiatives. On 27 November 2022, an open section of the conference gathered key stakeholders in youth policy in Georgia, including Tornike Rizhvadze, Chairman of the Government of Adjara and Irakli Giviashvili, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sport and Youth of Georgia and Head of Youth Agency of Georgia.
Democracy done right: young people as key actors in pluralistic democracies & the role of the European Youth Card
Democracy done right: young people as key actors in pluralistic democracies & the role of the European Youth Card

The seminar was organised within the 2022 programme of activities of the Partial Agreement on Youth Mobility through the Youth Card and aimed at supporting the recognition of various forms of participation in community and democratic societies and to explore the different ways in which the European Youth Card can be a tool for engagement of all young people.

The seminar aimed at:

  • offering a space for debate and reflection on how pluralistic democracies can be revitalised and what is the role of youth organisations;
  • identifying how tools such as the European Youth Card (EYC) can be used to educate and engage young citizens in civic debates and empower them as key actors in their communities;
  • making policy recommendations to strengthen youth participation in emerging areas such as internet governance, while implementing the principles of the Council of Europe policy frameworks.
 
Read more on the seminar ›
A Council of Europe-ERYICA Webinar on mental health
What is mental health? Why is mental health important for overall health? Can mental health change over time? What causes mental illness?
A Council of Europe-ERYICA Webinar on mental health

What is the role, and what are the boundaries of youth information services? Who are our main stakeholders, and how can youth information cooperate with them?

ERYICA, in partnership with the Council of Europe, organised this webinar to provide first-hand insights on mental health and share good practices regarding how youth information providers can contribute to young people’s mental health.
Read the concept note and key-note speakers' presentations ›
The Perspectives on Youth seminar on young people’s autonomy took place on 7-9 November 2022, at the European Youth Centre Budapest, in Hungary. The event brought together 34 participants to discuss and reflect on the topic of young people’s autonomy and independence, in the context of economic, political and social uncertainty, financial crisis and precarity. More in the article: Young people’s financial capability: Taking care of your finances is taking care of yourself, by Mette Ranta.
What is recognition of youth work?

Youth work has multiple values for society and it deserves recognition. But what kinds of recognitions are out there? Watch the new video of the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership to find out! Visit the Visible Value online library on recognition of youth work for more resources.

What is recognition of youth work?
New podcast: media and information literacy
New podcast: media and information literacy

Research shows how diverse youth work has evolved in different countries and regions. This is reflected in the definitions, the regulatory environment, changes in accessing formal and non-formal education and qualifications, mentoring and career support programmes and quality development of the whole ecosystem.


Read the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership’s new Insights into developing the youth work environment, which supports change makers at national and local levels as they carry out an assessment of where youth work stands and how to plan the way forward. Listen to the Under30’ podcast episode with the authors, Ajša Hadžibegović and Bastian Küntzel, to learn more about how this publication came to life.
Upcoming Activities and Deadlines
  • 22 December (afternoon)-2 January 2023 The Council of Europe Offices will be closed for holidays
  • 2 January 2023, 23:59 CET Deadline for applications for the Training Course on Essentials of Non-Formal Education 2023
  • 15 January 2023, 23:59 CET Deadline for applications for the Training of Trainers for Youth in the Council of Europe (TRAYCE) 2023-2024
  • 16-17 January 2023, European Youth Centre Strasbourg, Separate and joint meetings of the Bureaux of the statutory bodies CDEJ, CCJ, CMJ
  • 24-27 January 2023, European Youth Centre Strasbourg, Expert Meeting Reviewing the essentials of peace education & dialogue
  • 31 January 2023, 23:59 (CET) Deadline to apply for the COMPASS TRAINING OF TRAINERS in human rights education 2023
  • 1st February 2023 European Youth Foundation Pilot Activities 1st Deadline for projects ran in 2023
  • 26 February-1st March 2023 Munich, Germany. Save the date: the European Platform on Learning Mobility (EPLM) Conference on sustainability and learning mobility, in collaboration with Jugend für Europa, the German National Agency for the EU programmes Erasmus+ Youth and European Solidarity Corps
 
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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