The residential seminar of the Compass Training of Trainers in Human Rights Education (TOTHRE) brought together 40 human rights educators and human rights activists from around the world. They gathered to learn about, through and for human rights based on the Compass manual. Consisting of three phases, Building Foundations, Empowering Change and Enacting Impact, the 2023 edition of TOTHRE began and May and will be concluded in December.

TOTHRE is organised by the Council of Europe Youth Department in cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. This edition builds on the experiences gained in the previous ones and incorporates the conclusions and recommendations of the 3rd review of the Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education and of the Forum Citizenship and Human Rights Education with Young People. The course aims to develop the competences of participants to act as trainers or multipliers for human rights education and to support the implementation of the Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education.

TOTHRE is part of the Human Rights Education Youth Programme of the Youth Department of the Council of Europe.

The Management Committee for the implementation of the Framework Programme for cooperation in the field of youth policy between the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Council of Europe met on 29 August 2023 at the European Youth Centre Budapest.

The Ukrainian partners were represented by the Deputy Minister for Youth and Sports for European Integration Andriy Chesnokov and Deputy Minister for Youth and Sports of Ukraine Vladyslav Yatsuk. Representatives of youth policy and youth work actors and the Ukrainian Youth Foundation also attended the meeting. Jorge Orlando Queirós, chair of the European Steering Committee for Youth, and Alice Bergholtz, vice-chair of the Advisory Council on Youth, represented the co-management system of the Council of Europe youth sector.

The meeting reviewed the state of implementation of co-operation activities which were adjusted after the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, as well as other initiatives of the Youth Department of the Council of Europe for Ukraine such as the European Youth Foundation special call to support young people from Ukraine and the Youth for Democracy in Ukraine project. Among the new priorities 2023 and 2024, the participants highlighted the situation of Ukrainian youth workers living outside Ukraine and the widespread issues of mental health affecting young people in Ukraine.

On 25-26 September, a study visit took place at the European Youth Centre Strasbourg with the participation of government representatives, local authorities, managers and youth workers from youth centres in Pernik, Burgas, Montana and Vratsa (Bulgaria), 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 Youth Centres.

The Bulgarian delegation had an introduction on the operational aspect of the work of the European Youth Centre Strasbourg. They were also given a deeper insight into the mission and educational philosophy of the European Youth Centres as well as the priories of the youth sector. Participants were also presented the campaign on Youth revitalizing democracy and the Council of Europe Quality Label for Youth Centres programme.  They discussed the added value for youth centres in Bulgaria of the quality label criteria of the two European Youth Centres of the Council of Europe.

Representatives from Bulgaria reiterated their commitment to support young people by providing them with adequate space and a safe environment as well as to integrate existing standards of the Council of Europe on quality youth work into their work at local and regional levels.

The Committee of the Ministers, the Council of Europe’s decision-making body, has agreed on the composition of the next Advisory Council on Youth (CCJ) for the period of 2024-25.

Ten representatives proposed by the Council of Europe Secretary General following an open call for candidates, along with twenty young people elected by the European Youth Forum were officially designated on 27 September 2023 to represent the voice of young people within the Council of Europe’s youth sector.

The Advisory Council is part of the Council of Europe’s co-management system, where young people and government representatives decide jointly on the youth sector’s priorities, objectives and budgets.

In September, the European Youth Foundation organised several meetings for international youth organisations to take stock of the cooperation with youth civil society and to support them to submit quality applications for international activities and annual work plans in 2024 as well as for structural grants 2024-2025.

On 7-8 September, the EYF organised two online sessions about the above-mentioned grant categories, for over 60 participants. On 11-12 September, the EYF organised meetings for international youth organisations in Brussels, in cooperation with the European Youth Forum; over 20 organisations took part in the meeting. During the sessions, the youth organisations shared updates on their projects and provided feedback on their co-operation with the EYF.

The organisations reacted in particular very positively to the recent simplifications of the EYF application process and to the increase of grant amounts for international projects. During September, the EYF secretariat had over 20 bilateral meetings with international youth organisations in preparation of their grant proposals.

From 11 to 15 September 2023 twenty-seven youth workers, youth policy makers and young activists took part in a five-day training seminar on social cohesion and on how to remove barriers to ensure young people’s contribution to, and participation in social cohesion. The course is based on the manual on social cohesion in the youth field, published by the project, and is the last one out of three training seminars on social cohesion in 2023.

And from 25 to 29 September 2023 twenty-four youth activists, who represent youth councils, youth organisation and youth centres participated in a five-day training seminar on social cohesion and inclusion, civic participation and democratic citizenship, non-discrimination and equality. The purpose of the training-seminar was to strengthen the ability of young activists to participate in democratic processes, taking into account the approaches of participation in the decision-making process, equality and non-discrimination to ensure social cohesion.

The training course was organised by the Association of citizens “Oštra Nula” Banja Luka in cooperation with the Youth Department of the Council of Europe within the Youth for Democracy programme; it took place in Banja Luka, Bosnia on 14-17 September 2023.

The course aimed to raise awareness and improve the competences of Bosnian young leaders, activists, and socially responsible citizens about citizenship and human rights education based on the Compass. Its main objectives were to develop young people’s abilities in understanding and applying citizenship and human rights education in their activities; make them more familiar with the Compass manuals, increase their sensitivity towards human rights, and support the creation of an informal network of young people to advocate for human rights education in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Youth research explores young people’s needs, aspirations and challenges, to produce knowledge that can be used by policy makers and youth work practitioners. These insights can influence the development of policies and programmes aimed at improving young people’s lives. But who does youth research and where can we find them? How do they support the youth sector in Europe? And what type of research is needed for our dynamic and changing world?

Join the Youth Partnership’s Massive Open Online Course on Youth Research Essentials to find answers to these and other questions! In this course, you will learn about how youth research has developed, how it works in practice, and what traditional and contemporary topics it explores. You will get to know knowledge networks and other key players in the youth research field in Europe. You will discover how to cooperate with them and learn how to communicate research results in order to have an impact on both policy and practice.

The course opens on 23 October, join to the learners from all over the world and explore youth research with us!