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DG Democracy
Directorate of Democratic Participation
Youth Department
THINK YOUTH No 89 - February 2021
The climate crisis, young people and democracy
Mainstreaming climate crisis issues in youth policies and programmes

A consultative meeting online on 16-18 February connected a variety of stakeholders and experts on youth and the climate crisis: members of the Joint Council on Youth, individual activists and members of youth movements advocating for action on climate crisis and environmental protection, youth leaders and youth workers active in environment and climate crisis matters, national experts on youth and environment issues and researchers on climate change and democracy.

Together they reflected about how youth policy and youth participation processes should take into account needs arising from the climate crisis and the concerns of young people.

The proposals call for consistent and more visible action of the Council of Europe to recognise and support youth participation, education and awareness raising.
Greening the Council of Europe Youth Sector!

A task force of the Joint Council on Youth met for the first time on 19 February 2021 to examine ways of greening the youth sector and including young people's rights to a healthy environment in its work. 

At a time when the Council of Europe is underlining the intrinsic link between a healthy environment and the very enjoyment of every human being in their rights and liberties under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights, the Joint Council on Youth organised a debate on "Climate crisis and global governance" in June 2020. 

This new task force is one of the tangible outcomes of that debate and will, among others, study the progress made by the Council of Europe and identify gaps and/or opportunities for raising awareness of the principle of "greening" the work and introducing sustainable decision-making processes.
Council of Europe Grant Agreement with the European Youth Card Association signed

The purpose of the agreement is the implementation of a number of joint activities of the Partial Agreement on Youth Mobility through the Youth Card and EYCA during the year 2021, such as:
  • training 50/50 for civil servants and youth card organisations on "Building partnerships and promoting youth mobility in the post covid-19 context"
 
  • seminar/webinar "Mental health and Youth Work: the role of the European Youth Card in supporting a resilient generation"
 
  • seminar "Education on-line and in person: what did we learn and how the European Youth Card can help with re-building learning communities?"
 
30th Anniversary of the Partial Agreement on Youth Mobility through the Youth Card
The Partial Agreement on Youth Mobility through the Youth Card, together with the European Youth Card Association (EYCA), celebrates its 30th anniversary!

The Partial Agreement was set up in 1991 on the initiative of the then Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Catherine Lalumière, following the Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for youth held in Lisbon (Portugal). 

The Committee of Ministers' Resolution ResAP(1991) revised in 2003 institutes a Partial Agreement (PA) on the Youth Card for the purpose of promoting and facilitating youth mobility in Europe; the PA is part of the Youth Department and thus follows the priorities and objectives of both the youth sector and the Council of Europe as a whole.
Youth work: the role and local and regional authorities
The Council of Europe Congress of Local and Regional Authorities has just adopted two texts on youth work at local and regional levels.

Resolution 463(2021) recognises the important role of these authorities in supporting young people to achieve their full potential as autonomous members of our society and exercise their democratic citizenship. It also states that these authorities are primarily responsible for successfully implemented youth work.

In its Recommendation 450(2021) calls on member states to support local authorities to apply for the Council of Europe Quality Label for Youth Centres as a means of providing youth work at that level.

These texts are the result of fruitful co-operation with the Advisory Council on Youth (CCJ) and Congress Spokesperson on Youth.
Watch the video on "Artificial Intelligence - How can youth take part?"
The seminar "How can youth take part?" (November 2020, online, activity in the programme of the German presidency) was positioned within a wider framework of different steps already taken by the Council of Europe for making the link between AI and democratic citizenship.

Its role was to further transform the conclusions of the 2019 seminar on AI and its impact on young people by exploring issues, challenges, and roles that potential stakeholders can have to secure the participation of young people in AI decision-making processes at all levels.

The seminar provided space for learning and knowledge sharing around two key questions:
  • What do young people need to know to feel part of the social, technological, and political processes around AI?
  • What should public and private actors in AI take into account to allow for participation spaces for and by young peopk, the digital natives?
 
And also: Youth department webpage on Artificial Intelligence
First meeting of the Steering Group of a future Council of Europe Youth campaign for democracy

The Steering Group, meeting on 2-3 March 2021, prepared the concept (focus and modalities) of a potential future youth sector campaign for "Revitalising democracy, building communities and strengthening the participation of young people, emphasising the impact of digitalisation", to be presented to the Joint Council on Youth (CMJ) for examination and guidance.
Fifteen projects selected for the Compass National Training Courses programme in 2021

Preparing young people to exercise and defend their democratic rights and responsibilities and advocate for better education about human rights and fundamental freedoms is a task of youth and human rights organisations.

Human rights activists, educators and youth leaders got together on 22 and 23 February to prepare the 2021 programme of Compass national training courses. The online preparatory seminar associated partners from the fourteen member states which have expressed interest in organising a national training course in human rights education based on Compass, the manual for human rights education with young people.

In 2021 the programme may involve up to 300 multipliers and advocates for human rights education.
Revitalising youth centres and youth work in Ukraine
The project "Youth for democracy in Ukraine" launched its second component

"Revitalising youth centres and youth work" will support youth centres in Ukraine  to review their approaches
and ensure that their strategies meet the needs of young people, in line with Council of Europe standards on youth participation and youth work.

Twenty-four youth centres from national, regional and local levels expressed their interest to take part in the project; as a support to this initiative, a series of publications of the Council of Europe Quality Label for Youth Centres was translated into Ukrainian, in co-ordination with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine:  
  • Good practices in youth centres
  • Quality management in youth centres
  • Role, value and impact of youth centres
 
The project "Youth for democracy in Ukraine" is implemented by the Youth Department of the Council of Europe and the Organisation's Office in Ukraine in the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine 2018-2022.
Consultative meeting on applying intersectionality in the youth field
The online consultative meeting "Applying intersectionality in the youth field" on 22-24 February aimed for a cooperative
approach among youthorganisations and other stakeholders in their work on non-discrimination. 

The meeting brought together experts from the youth field, the youth statutory bodies of the Council of Europe, youth and human rights organisations and youth researchers. The participants shared examples of educational activities, tools and approaches on the basis of intersectionality that are applicable and used in youth work and training activities.

They also had the opportunity of getting better acquainted with relevant Council of Europe bodies such as the ECRI (European Commission against Racism and Intolerance) the Anti-Discrimination Department (SOGI Unit, Roma and Travellers) and the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees.
More opportunities for EYF funds for pilot projects!
The Programming Committee on Youth has recently approved further modifications to the European Youth Foundation (EYF) pilot activity grant.

Youth NGOs preparing local projects for 2021 will have more opportunities to apply for support. The next cut-off date is 30 May 2021, and two other cut-off dates will be published until the end of 2021. It is important to remember that only youth NGOs that are registered with the EYF are able to apply, and that only registration requests received up to 2 weeks before the deadline will be processed in time.

Pilot activities should be educational projects addressing specific issues affecting young people from a community, and all eligible costs can be covered by the grant up to a maximum of 15 000 EUR per project.

In addition to the recent increase from 10 000 to 15 000 EUR per activity and considering the challenges faced by yough organisations during the covid-19 pandemic, the Programming Committee decided in January to update the list of eligible costs, which now include certain specified structural costs linked to the activity. More detailed information will be available shortly on the EYF website.
Young people's right to assemble peacefully - a mapping study


The EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership has just published a mapping study on "Young people's right to assemble peacefully", by author Maria-Carmen Pantea, PhD.

Why do young people's rights to gather peacefully and to freely form, join and be active in associations or trade unions matter?

Where are these rights threatened? Who is (more) affected? Who limits young people's right to assemble peacefully? Why? How? What works to remove these obstacles?

To find out more, read "Young people's right to assemble peacefully - a mapping study".
Review of the documents on young people's access to rights and non-discrimination
A desk research study

Today, the situation of young people and their potential for realising their aspirations and enjoying a fruitful and fulfilled life are challenged by economic, social, environmental and health problems, and by the covid-19 pandemic.

Young people are facing restrictions in access to education, high unemployment rates, the scarcity of leisure and sport activities and forced dependency on family.

Read the "Review of the documents on young people's access to rights and non-discrimination - A desk research study", by Dunja Potočnik PhD.
Upcoming activities
  • 8-12 March 2021, online: “To Know, to Know How to Do and to Know How to Be”. Education and Training Pathways of Youth Workers in Europe Today. A study session to promote the CM Recommendation on Youth Work, the European youth workers portfolio and the conclusions from the 3rd European Youth Work Convention - the European Youth Work Agenda.
  • 8-13 March 2021, online: “Advocating for our Rights Through Leadership”. Study session - in co-operation with the International Federation of Hard of Hearing Young People (IFHOHYP).
  • 9 March 2021, online: Review of the implementation of the Recommendation on Young people's access to rights.
  • 16 March 2021, online: Promotional Seminar of the Partial Agreement on Youth Mobility through the Youth Card: The Partial Agreement and its role in the implementation of youth policies in member states
  • 18 March 2021, online: meeting of the Board of Co-ordination of the Partial Agreement on Youth Mobility through the Youth Card.
  • 22-24 March 2021, online: Statutory bodies (CMJ/CDEJ/CCJ/CPJ) 44th meeting of the CMJ, 66th meeting of the CDEJ, 45th meeting of the CCJ.
 
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 Parthership
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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