The pursuit of peace based upon justice and international co-operation is vital for the preservation of human society and civilisation – these words from the statute of the Council of Europe have not lost any relevance 75 years on. 

In a context full of uncertainties, the values and instruments of the Council of Europe to safeguard human rights, democracy and the rule of law are essential to support young people’s confidence in their future and in the future of the Council of Europe.

Some 120 youth leaders from national youth councils and international youth organisations from all member states will meet in Strasbourg to further renew and strengthen the close relationship between the mission of the Council of Europe and the current and future generations of young people. Young people will share their aspirations and commitment to a democratic Europe and contribute to shaping the future of democracy and human rights based on the Reykjavík Declaration of the 4th Summit of the Council of Europe.

The event will culminate in a dialogue with Ministers of Foreign Affairs at the European Youth Centre Strasbourg, ahead of the ministerial meeting of the Committee of Ministers. The youth event Confidence in tomorrow is organised in the framework of the Presidency of Liechtenstein of the Committee of Ministers.

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The Joint Council on Youth (CMJ) held its 50th meeting in the European Youth Centre Budapest on 9-10 April 2024. It explored a wide array of issues concerning young people, marking important steps towards shaping policies and initiatives to address their needs better.

The CMJ adopted a draft Committee of Ministers' Recommendation on climate action and young people, in line with the Reykjavik Declaration.

The CMJ explored planned activities within the scope of upcoming presidencies of the Committee of Ministers. Representatives from current and future presidencies shared priorities and proposed youth sector activities. The Presidency of Malta's initiative to organise the 10th European Conference of Ministers for Youth in September 2025 and the 4th European Youth Work Convention in May 2025 received recognition for their commitment to advancing youth-focused initiatives.

The CMJ acknowledged the progress made in integrating a youth perspective into the work of the Council of Europe. Members examined a draft policy paper on the issue along with its accompanying work plan.

The CMJ also discussed upcoming youth events, notably the event marking the 75th anniversary of the Council of Europe: "Confidence in tomorrow: Sharing and Shaping Democracy and Human Rights Together with Young People".

The EYF supports international youth co-operation by providing financial support to European activities and projects that promote peace, understanding and co-operation between young people of Europe and the world, in a spirit of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. In 2023, the EYF started a process of reviewing its grant types and procedures.

In this context, the EYF calls for inputs for the future shaping of the European Youth Foundation. We encourage particularly young people, youth organisations from the local to the international level, youth agencies and ministries in charge of youth, youth researchers, trainers and multiples, to contribute with their ideas in this form. This is a unique opportunity to shape how the EYF can continue to support youth organisations. Responses can be submitted in English or French.

From 15 to 20 April the European Youth Centre Strasbourg was home to 35 young activists taking part in the study session “Activist Academy: Standing up for human rights and democracy” organised by the No Hate Speech Network in cooperation with Council of Europe.

The session empowered the participants to challenge hate speech online through human rights education; they started the session exploring human rights and democracy, moving onto identification of hate speech by analysing scenarios and using the Hate Speech Calculator. Over six intensive days, they learned about human rights education and methods to challenge hate speech, and went through numerous activities from Compass and Bookmarks.

From 15 to 19 April, 40 young multipliers met at the European Youth Centre in Strasbourg to take part in the study session “United in Diversity - Youth educating Young Catholic Students” co-organised with JECI-MIEC.

During the activity, participants explored diversity through human rights education and intercultural dialogue to better understand its multi-faceted nature, and the impact of multiculturalism. They experienced activities from the manuals Compass and the Education pack All Different All Equal to further identify how multiculturalism affects our societies and what the role of young people is in promoting and advocating for inclusion and rights for everyone.

Supporting Belarusian youth is an investment in the democratic future and the stability of the European continent. These were some of conclusions from the exchange with members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on revitalising democracy in Belarus with and for young people, which was organised as a side event to the PACE spring session on 17 April 2024.

The event was a part of the Council of Europe Youth Department's overall efforts to strengthen the capacity of Belarusian youth leaders and activists for democracy and bring the concerns and priorities of Belarusian youth closer to political decision-makers.

The Youth Department activities are implemented in the context of the work of the Council of Europe Contact Group on Co-operation with Representatives of Belarusian Democratic Forces and Civil Society and its action plan to support civil society and democratic representatives in their efforts to bring the human rights standards of the Council of Europe to Belarus.

The Council of Europe Youth Department conducted a youth policy advisory mission to Latvia from May 2nd to May 3rd, 2024 within the framework of the European Steering Group for Youth (CDEJ) bilateral assistance measures.

The mission aimed to enhance youth work, focusing on revising occupational standards, exploring continuous professional development opportunities, and advancing youth work in higher education. It comprised a diverse team of representatives from the Advisory Council on Youth, the European Steering Committee for Youth, researchers and the Council of Europe Youth Policy Division and was engaged in exchanges with key stakeholders including the Latvian Ministry of Education and Science, the Latvian National Agency for Erasmus+, municipality administrations, and field experts. The report of the expert team will feed into the reviewing of Latvia’s professional standards for youth workers and into the development of higher education and life-long training opportunities for youth workers.

The Council of Europe expresses gratitude to the Latvian authorities for entrusting and hosting this important mission and acknowledges the excellent cooperation received throughout. Furthermore, the Council of Europe extends its gratitude to Latvia for its continuous support of the Youth Department and its activities.

On 11 April 2024, Braga Youth Centre in North Portugal was awarded the Council of Europe  Quality Label for Youth Centres award for the period 2024-2026 and has therefore become the 15th youth centre to join the network.

In October 2023, the European Steering Committee for Youth (CDEJ) decided to award the Quality Label to Braga Youth Centre for its unique vision, innovation, dynamism and clear commitment to young people. Over the years, the youth centre has become an important agent on education for democratic citizenship in Portugal; it has a clear mandate and a very committed support from public authorities and civil society in Braga and the Portuguese National Youth Institute.

The official award ceremony took place in the framework of a celebratory day focusing on youth engagement in democracy. The label was then handed over in the presence of Ricardo Rio, Mayor of Braga and Tobias Flessenkemper, Head of Youth Department at the Council of Europe. 

On 7 May, the Youth Department, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry for Youth and Sport organises in Kyiv a round table Youth, Ukraine, Europe: Resilience, Reconstruction, Recovery.

It gathers members of the Verkhovna Rada ministries engaged with human rights and youth agenda, youth representatives and organisations, and Council of Europe member states. A platform to mainstream youth perspectives in the context of Ukraine’s recovery efforts, it also supports Ukrainian authorities in developing policies for young people in Ukraine today and after the end of the war.

The participants reiterate the importance of youth participation in democratic life and decision-making processes, as stated in the Reykjavik Summit Declaration. They emphasise this as particularly relevant in the context of Ukraine, where youth, men, and women alike are fighting in the military. The reconstruction of Ukraine should be a generational task, largely mastered by young people.

The event is organised under the project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: III Phase” implemented in the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery, Reconstruction “2023-2026.

In 2023, SCI – Service Civil International carried out the project “No war anywhere” with the support of the EYF with the main aim to empower young people and youth organisations to share, understand, practice, and advocate for alternatives to a militarised world and take an active stand for peace. 

The project included several actions, capacity building seminars, advocacy seminars and awareness raising campaigns. One of the results of the project is a toolkit titled “Peace on the streets”, that contains tips and activities for young people to take action for peace. The project combined utopian thinking with tangible action by creating spaces for discussion and exchange, alongside skills and resources to transform ideas into action by organising grassroots campaigns

An important result was that it also helped define an action plan for continuing and strengthening antimilitarist education in SCI and improve cooperation with antimilitarist networks.

This project was supported by the European Youth Foundation through its annual work plan grant scheme.

The Annual Meeting of correspondents to the European Knowledge Centre for Youth Policy (EKCYP) and Pool of European Youth Researchers (PEYR) will be held in Brussels on 28-29 May 2024. This will be the first meeting for the renewed PEYR and it will focus on the research projects in the current work plan. Representatives of partner institutions will share their priorities and expectations of the upcoming research.

Did you know AI is shaping more of your daily decisions than you realise? From your social media feed to job applications, it's everywhere! It is also present in youth work, and it has many implications for young people’s daily life and their rights. Let's talk about AI governance and the role of youth sector!

Watch the new animated video series of the Youth Partnership and find out more.