The Committee of Ministers has adopted a groundbreaking recommendation aimed at addressing the challenges arising from the climate crisis that young people face. This first international instrument to address this issue highlights the need to protect young people's rights, involve them in climate decision-making processes, and fight all forms of discrimination, with a special focus on climate justice. 

The recommendation calls on governments to protect the civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights of all young people, particularly environmental defenders, whose efforts to advocate for a sustainable environment can face significant barriers. It also emphasises the need to ensure meaningful youth participation in climate-related decision-making processes by establishing accessible consultation platforms and removing structural obstacles that limit young voices in shaping climate policies.

The leading co-managed youth policy making body at European level, the Joint Council on Youth (CMJ), held its 51st meeting in the European Youth Centre Strasbourg on 21-23 October 2024.  The CMJ brings together representatives from the European Steering Committee for Youth (CDEJ) and the Advisory Council on Youth (CCJ) and establishes the youth sector's priorities, objectives and budgets.

The meeting reviewed as one of its priority issues a draft Council of Europe Reference Framework for a Youth Perspective as a follow-up to the Declaration of the 4th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe, which puts special emphasis on the continued work on integrating a youth perspective in the Organisation’s intergovernmental and other deliberations, including the Parliamentary Assembly.

On 17 October 2024, the Braga European Youth Conference 2025: ’Young people in local and regional life: Democracy in Action!’ was launched by the Council of Europe youth department together with the Portuguese Permanent Representation.

High-level speakers underlined their commitment to youth participation, in line with the Reykjavik Declaration. Ambassador Gilberto Jerónimo, Permanent Representative of Portugal, recalled his country’s longstanding commitment in this respect. Léonard Ly Tri, member of the Advisory Council on Youth emphasized the urgency of the issue. Gertrud Maltz-Schwarzfischer, Lord Mayor of Regensburg, Germany, member of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, reiterated the Congress’ support to active youth participation in civic life. Ambassador Patrick Engelberg, Permanent Representative of Luxembourg, highlighted the priorities for the Luxembourg Presidency of the Committee of Ministers from November 2024 to May 2025, including the integration of a youth perspective. Finally, Tobias Flessenkemper, Head of the Council of Europe Youth Department, recalled how European unity can be built at local level by young people.

The Council of Europe Youth Department organised, from 10 to 15 October 2024, two seminars for 30 young activists in Lviv, Ukraine and Lublin, Poland, to discuss on how to best support Ukrainian youth in times of conflict. The study visit to Lviv (European Youth Capital 2025) gathered ten representatives of youth organisations from eight countries, who met with youth stakeholders, explored how to strengthen co-operation, international youth engagement, support, and solidarity with Ukraine. On 13 October, the group joined 20 other activists in Lublin (European Youth Capital 2023) and engaged in a 3 day training course on international youth co-operation in times of war.

These activities completement the European Youth Foundation’s special call in support of young people from Ukraine,  which in the past 2 years supported over 40 projects, engaged more than 3 700 young people and allocated  over 600 000 euros. As a follow-up, the Joint Council on Youth decided on 23 October to remove the obligation for co-funding for organisations applying for EYF international activity grants within this special call. Find our more here.

• initiatives that support the Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education and the role of youth NGOs in its implementation
• initiatives that support young people’s democratic engagement in the revitalisation of democracy (cfr. Reykjavík Declaration)
• initiatives that support climate action and awareness on the right to a healthy environment, following the CM Recommendation (2024)6 on young people and climate action adopted on 23 October 2024 

• initiatives that associate young people and their organisations with peacebuilding and intercultural dialogue
• initiatives that emerge from flagship activities of the Council of Europe’s youth sector, such as the Youth Peace Camp
• initiatives strengthening young people’s agency and capacities to prevent violence, transform conflict and to build a culture of peace and human rights.

Deadlines to apply: 1st December 2024, 1st February 2025, 15 May 2025, and 1st September 2025. Initiatives must start at least 3 months after the deadline

Thirty-three young people from Youth Express Network (Y-E-N), Youth of European Nationalities (YEN) and ternYpe – International Roma youth network met for a 5-day study session “Remembering, resisting and rebuilding: Combating together antigypsyism for inclusive societies” that aimed to empower young Roma and non-Roma participants with knowledge, awareness and motivation to combat antigypsyism, promote inclusivity and take action as active citizens in their communities, with a particular focus on the 80th anniversary of Roma Genocide.

In addition to an intensive programme focused on stereotypes, prejudices and biases about and around Roma people, culture, history and heritage, participants discovered remembrance techniques and used CM/Rec(2023)4 on Roma youth participation, and the manuals Mirrors and Right to Remember to create action plans for local remembrance events. Moreover, they exchanged with Christian PFEIL, Roma Holocaust survivor which additionally empowered them to stand up against antigypsyism and discrimination through human rights education and intercultural learning.

The 8th Arab-European Youth Forum, co-organised by the Council of Europe and the League of Arab States, was held between 14 and 19 October 2024 at the International Youth City in Luxor, Egypt.

The forum – focussed on ‘Intercultural Dialogue in the Age of Artificial Intelligence’ – brought together youth leaders, activists, and stakeholders from Arab and European countries to engage in dialogue and to debate some of the most pressing issues affecting young people across the regions, including the climate crisis, the impact of stereotypes and prejudice on intercultural dialogue, and the importance of youth participation in decision-making processes.

Participants explored some of the key risks and opportunities associated with AI, considering its impact in the fields of education and employment, as well as the risks associated with misinformation, and the importance of media literacy.

The Luxor Declaration – a co-produced, youth-led call to action, captures the issues, concerns and aspirations expressed throughout the week.

Thirty young people explored the topic “Strengthening resilience of youth spaces in Europe” during the study session organised with the World Organisation of the Scout Movement (WOSM).

The session increased participants’ capacities to engage in decision-making processes in an ever-changing working context for youth organisations around Europe. The group exchanged with Tobias FLESSENKEMPER, Head of the Youth Department, about Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)6 on protecting youth civil society, on policy standards that can be used to advocate for a more resilient and supportive environment for civil society organisations in Council of Europe member states.

Moreover, with Wouter ZILVERBERG, Member of the European Scout Committee and Board Member of the European Scout Foundation, they learned how to use new frameworks and tools to strengthen the organisational resilience of youth organisations including harnessing human and financial resources to construct resilience.

A group of 40 young people from Asia and Europe gathered for the Training Seminar: “Youth, Digitalisation, and Intercultural Dialogue”, organised by the Asia -Europe Foundation (ASEF) and the Youth Department of the Council of Europe; it is part of the ASEF Young Leaders Summit (ASEFYLS), ran by ASEF.

Participants from different parts of Asia and Europe explored key concepts of Society 5.0, including technological advancements like artificial intelligence, while examining their societal and ethical implications. The training aimed to develop essential competencies for meaningful participation in this evolving landscape, with a focus on leadership and intercultural skills.

Participants discussed how to apply their learnings within their youth communities, featuring, among others, contributions from Enikő Varga-Végvári (Youth Department, Ministry of Culture and Innovation of Hungary), Péter Simon (National Youth Council of Hungary), and Bendegúz Dibusz (National Union of Students in Hungary).

Forty youth and social workers gathered for the study session “Transforming Social Work with the Power of Youth Work”, organised by the FEANTSA youth network together with the Youth Department of the Council of Europe.

The study session helped participants to adopt a youth work-informed approach in their work supporting homeless young people. Participants looked at key youth work principles, human and social rights, and explored solutions to the challenges faced by homeless youth. The group mapped out existing practices of social work with youth, assessed their effectiveness, and discussed adjustments needed to make their organisations more youth work-informed.

Participants experienced a youth work programme with outdoor activities, facilitated by Élményakadémia Közhasznú Egyesület, a Budapest-based organisation specialising in experiential education with marginalised young people.

From July to October 2024 the Ukrainian Youth Foundation is enhancing its procedures in line with the Council of Europe standards and principles in order to ensure youth participation both in the decision-making process and implementation of activities within a Council of Europe grant.

As part of this effort, Ukrainian Youth Foundation organised a series of discussions with active young people, as well as representatives of civil society organisations, educational establishments, youth councils, youth centres in Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, and Kyiv. Participants evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of existing supporting mechanisms of the UYF, proposed and explored ways to improve procedures and approaches to ensure meaningful youth participation, and to increase the transparency, efficiency, and accessibility of youth support programmes of the UYF.