Directorate General of Democracy and Human Dignity
Directorate for Democracy
Youth Department

THINK YOUTH| No 133 - April 2025

Writing for Peace Education in Youth Work

The Joint Council on Youth has entrusted a group of experts with drafting a Committee of Ministers recommendation for member state governments, focusing on peace education in non-formal education and youth work.

On 11 and 12 March 2025, the group met at the European Youth Centre Strasbourg to define the scope of the drafting process, establish timelines, determine the objectives for various stakeholders, and outline the key elements of the recommendation.

The working group is scheduled to reconvene in June 2025 to finalise the text. The goal is for the Council of Europe Youth Sector's statutory bodies to approve the plan, enabling the Committee of Ministers to adopt the recommendation during its meetings in November 2025.

Lviv - European Youth Capital 2025

The Opening ceremony of Lviv - European Youth Capital 2025 will be held from 3 to 5 April 2025.

The European Youth Capital is a title awarded by the European Youth Forum, a long-standing partner of the Council of Europe, designed to empower young people, boost youth participation and strengthen European identity of the continent’s cities. In November 2022, Lviv was chosen as European Youth Capital 2025.

Keep an eye on this page!

The Youth department will shortly publish the Call for youth representatives to sit on the Council of Europe Advisory Council on Youth-CCJ 2026-2028.

IF... you wish to contribute to the voice of European youth to policymaking in the Council of Europe youth sector, you want to work with governmental representatives, in a spirit of mutual respect and understanding, to find consensus on the youth sector's priorities and objectives, you are you aged between 18 and 30 and you represent a non-governmental youth organisation or network in one of the 46 member States of the Council of Europe, the Holy See or Kazakhstan... Then this call may well interest you!

Malta to host the 4th European Youth Work Convention: Accelerating the future of youth work in Europe

The 4th European Youth Work Convention (EYWC), a landmark event shaping the future of youth work across Europe, will be held in Malta from 27 to 30 May 2025. Held every five years since 2010, this convention serves as a key platform for youth workers, policymakers, and researchers to advance the European Youth Work Agenda and ensure that youth work is recognised as a vital sector in policy and practice.

Find out more about the 4th European Youth Work Convention and watch its promotional video!

Webpage of the 4th EYWC ›


New Podcast Episode: 4th European Youth Work Convention

In this episode is discussed content, expected outcomes and expectations from the Convention. With guests: Miriam Teuma, CEO of Aġenzija Żgħażagħ; Raphael Scerri - National Coordinator – CEO in the European Union Programme Agency, and László Milutinovics, EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership.

Youth Perspectives in action: Council of Europe’s Partial Agreements after the Reykjavik Summit

The Reykjavik Declaration has prescribed the integration of a “youth perspective” into the intergovernmental work of the Council of Europe, including its Partial Agreements. With the aim to explore new avenues of co-operation between the Partial Agreement on Youth Mobility through the Youth Card and other Council of Europe Partial Agreements, a workshop on co-operation was organised on 11-12 March 2025 in the European Youth Centre Strasbourg.

35 participants took part in this brainstorming activity, among them the Partial Agreement on Youth Mobility’s member States, European Youth Card-EYCA member organisations, partners such as ERYICA (European Youth Information and Counselling Agency) and the YFJ (European Youth Forum) and colleagues from the EDQM (European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare), EPAS (Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport) and the Pompidou Group.

Coming soon! Roma Youth Together 2025

A seminar on confidence and pride for Roma youth participation to celebrate the International Roma Day will take place on 5-8 April at the EYC in Strasbourg.

Find out more on the seminar! ›

Youth in leadership today

Young people and trainers participated in a study session “Youth in Leadership Today: The Pathway Forward” from 3 to 7 March at the European Youth Centre in Budapest. The study session empowered 26 young individuals within Student

Christian Movements on fostering inclusive, fair, and socially just leadership, while deepening their appreciation for ecumenism.

This activity enhanced collaboration between national organisations and World Student Christian Federation – Europe (WSCF-E) as an umbrella organisation. It improved participants' self-awareness, intercultural competence, and intersectional knowledge.

Building skills and empowering change-makers across rural Europe

The study session "Rural advocacy: building skills and empowering change-makers across rural Europe" organised in cooperation with Rural Youth Europe (RYEurope) from 17 to 21 March at the European Youth Centre in Budapest. Young people from rural areas across Europe had a space to connect, learn, and collaborate in shaping advocacy competences to drive societal change at local, national, and European levels.

Pieces of Peace: Building capactiy with youth Youth navigating conflict

The study session “Pieces of peace: Building capacity with youth navigating conflict” organised with the World Organisation of Scout Movement - European Support Centre (WOSM) took place from 3 to 7 March at the European Youth Centre in Budapest. It empowered young people from both scout and non-scout backgrounds to navigate conflict and promote peacebuilding by exploring the role of peace education.

Read more about the Training ›

A series of resources for resilience and recovery in Ukrainian

In 2024, to meet the needs of national and local partners in Ukraine, the Council of Europe launched the one-year programme "Trauma-informed approach in the context of access to human rights and basic services for internally displaced persons and returnees to Ukraine". A series of 7 posters was prepared in co-operation with the team of the twice displaced Donetsk Regional Youth Centre (Vinnytsia) and the illustrator Iryna Vale.

The programme strengthens competencies for the implementation of educational activities on the application of a trauma-informed approach, in working with internally displaced persons and host communities.

More about the resources ›

"Solutions exist!": a new board game on youth participation

Young people in Ukraine now have a new educational resource on the participation of young people in decision-making processes. The Council of Europe Project "Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase III" developed a new board game with young people.

The game can be used by youth workers, educators, trainers in civil society organisations, youth centres, youth spaces, youth councils, civic education lessons; it can be continued with exercises from the Council of Europe manuals "Have your say!", "Compass" or with the Training Programme for Civil Servants and Local Government Officials in Ukraine "Participatory Youth Policy".

Discover the board game! ›

photos: Lviv-the European Youth Capital 2024 and Lublin is YOUth; cover photo: Benedetta Veneruso

European Youth Foundation: support for young people from Ukraine

The European Youth Foundation (EYF) continues to support youth organisations working with Ukrainian young people both within Ukraine and in other Council of Europe member states. On 11 March 2025, the Programming Committee on Youth approved funding for 3 new projects under the EYF’s special call for Ukraine. The awarded grants include Opera Circus Limited (UK), WE ARE THE FUTURE NGO (Ukraine) and 3.5 percent NGO (Ukraine).

To date, the EYF has funded 50 projects, involving 3,718 participants and allocating €747,842.94. A capacity-building seminar is scheduled on 31 March 2025, offering insights into EYF's functioning and exploring collaboration opportunities with the Ukrainian Youth Foundation. Applications for support remain open.

EYF-supported project in the spotlight: ”EMO-distress”, by the youth organisation Yes We Can (Cyprus)

EMO-distress was a pilot activity organised by the NGO YES WE CAN in Nicosia, Cyprus with the aim to improve social connection between Cypriot students and migrant/refugee students in high-schools. The project equipped teenage participants with tools on how to deal with emotions, anger management and to improve their self-esteem - ultimately contributing to creating an empathic, respectful environment in the school and among the different groups of young people in the community. The participants created a digital game (available in English and Greek) that can be used by educators, youth workers, teachers or youth working with teenagers to identify emotions and to raise their awareness regarding empathy, respect for others and community building.

European Youth Foundation: visits to support youth organisations in the implementation of their initiatives

The European Youth Foundation regularly visits projects it funds, to monitor their implementation, renew and strengthen its partnership with youth organisations and provide quality advice; 3 such visits took place in March 2025:

- 12-13 March: Slovak Hungarian Youth Association (SZMISZ) for a youth training session in Slovakia on the topic of active youth participation;
- 19-20 March: the Young European Federalists-JEF Europe in Derry, Northern Ireland, for an international youth activity focusing on the contribution of women*’s roles and contribution to peacebuilding, intercultural dialogue, and conflict resolution;
- 25-26 March: International Cultural Youth Exchang-ICYE, organising an international youth meeting in Lystrup, Denmark, on youth participation and democratic processes.

Occasions to present Council of Europe's youth sectors’ tools, resources and opportunities for collaboration, and EYF funding opportunities.

Let's Act Now!

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: 6 April 2025

Are you an international expert, policy maker, educator or practitioner in the field of digital citizenship education?

Do you have initiatives or good practices to share?

Submit your application to join the Digital Citizenship Education Forum on 27-28 May in Strasbourg, organised within the framework of the European Year of Digital Citizenship Education. You can attend as a participant or as a speaker/presenter.

Find out more about the European Year of Digital Citizenship Education! ›

Democracy at risk: how can we revive it?

The World Forum for Democracy 2025 launches a Call for initiatives; it will take place in Strasbourg on 5-7 November 2025.

More info on the WFD website ›

Young people on the agenda of PACE Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media

At its plenary session in Paris on 12 March 2025, the Committee on Culture, Science, Education, and the Media of the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) held an exchange of views with representatives of the Youth Sector of the Council of Europe, to prepare two important reports with focus on the role of young people in revitalising democracy and preserving rural culture and heritage:

- “The Role of Youth in Revitalising Democracy” addresses issues related to young people’s civil and political rights, social and economic equality, and cultural rights.
- “Preserving European Rural Culture and Heritage” explores, i.a., challenges such as climate change, resource management, youth migration from rural regions…

The Permanent Representative of Italy visits the European Youth Centre Strasbourg

On 11 March 2025, the Permanent Representative of Italy to the Council of Europe, Ambassador Roberto Martini, and the Deputy Permanent Representative Guglielmo Pirrone, visited the European Youth Centre Strasbourg (EYCS).