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DG Democracy and Human Dignity
Directorate of Democratic Participation
Youth Department
THINK YOUTH| No 110 - February 2023
Youth workers in Ukraine provide continued support to young people in the war-torn country
Photo courtesy of the Chernihiv Regional Youth Centre, the Youth centre before and after the aggression
Youth workers in Ukraine provide continued support to young people in the war-torn country

24th February marks the first anniversary of the brutal and unprovoked aggression by Russia against Ukraine, a then-fellow Council of Europe member state. The devastation and destruction of lives and property across Ukraine sadly continues to this day and young people have also suffered greatly as a result.

Due to the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, 44 youth infrastructure facilities were destroyed or damaged, with losses exceeding 2,5 million EUR.  An additional 57 youth facilities are currently under Russian occupation with no reliable information concerning their status.

The Chernihiv Regional Youth Centre’s fate illustrates the overall situation in Ukraine: it was destroyed after a Russian rocket attack in February 2022. The youth centre was in an architectural monument from 1939 - originally a cinema - and it regularly hosted a wide array of youth activities. Before its destruction, the centre provided services to over 240,000 young people (25% of the region’s population).

Despite the immense difficulties created by the ongoing war, youth workers in Ukraine continued their work with and in support of young people. They got involved in humanitarian aid, provided help to traumatized young people and kept developing youth civil society to become more resilient in the face of the war’s impacts on young people’s lives.

Read more ›
EYF funded youth project in the spotlight: projects in support of young people from Ukraine
EYF funded youth project in the spotlight: projects in support of young people from Ukraine

Following the decision of the Council of Europe’s Joint Council of Youth on 12 October 2022, the European Youth Foundation (EYF) has launched a special call for projects to support young people from Ukraine

The call has been very successful and timely, and by 1 March 2023, eight projects have been supported, for a total amount of €107.374. Out of the supported projects, four are carried out by youth organisations based in Ukraine, and four by youth organisations based in Armenia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Slovakia. All projects involve directly young people from Ukraine and the themes of the projects range from youth peace activism trainings, supporting young people’s access to employment, working with young people on mental health issues, research on young people’s situations, youth integration in host societies, and promoting social cohesion through youth work and sports activities.

The complete list of projects supported can be found on the dedicated EYF website. The call is still open and applications are being received on a rolling basis.

Read more on the special call Ukraine ›
The Advisory Council on Youth addresses the Committee of Ministers’ 4th summit working group
The Advisory Council on Youth addresses the Committee of Ministers’ 4th summit working group
Youthless Policy is Useless Policy

On 24 February, Alice Bergholtz, vice-chair of the Advisory Council on Youth (CCJ) addressed the Committee of Ministers’ ad hoc working group set up to organise the 4th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe (16-17 May 2023, Reykjavik, Iceland).

At the invitation of the Presidency of Iceland of the Committee of Ministers, the Advisory Council provided answer on what needs to be done to ensure the Council of Europe meets current and future challenges and the expectations of future generations. The Presidency of Iceland of the CM has placed young people at the heart of its priorities, and is determined to ensure that the voice of young people is heard in the leadup to and during the 4th Summit of the Council of Europe.

Under the heading “Youthless policy is useless policy”, Alice Bergholtz urged the member states to invest more in the Council of Europe to ensure it has sufficient means to fully promote its values, to safeguard rights, responsibilities, and freedoms in Europe. Alice Bergholtz also urged the Organisation to claim the leading role in peacebuilding in Europe.

Finally, Alice Bergholtz encouraged the Council of Europe to adopt more modern communication methods to increase its visibility; how will the citizens of Europe know about their rights if they do not know the Organisation exists?

Read the Advisory Council on Youth’s contribution to the open call issued by Iceland on the Council of Europe in the future

Read more on the meeting ›
Climate crisis and young people: sharing of expertise, experiences and expectations
Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörd Gylfadóttir, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iceland and president of the Committee of Ministers and Marija Pejčinović Burić Secretary General of the Council of Europe joining the participants
Climate crisis and young people: sharing of expertise, experiences and expectations

On 22 and 23 February, 16 young climate experts and activists met in the European Youth Centre in Strasbourg to exchange views on the effects of the climate crisis on young people, as well as to share experiences, practices and recommendations on youth participation in climate-related activities.

This will inform the work being done by a drafting group, composed of two members each of the European Steering Committee for Youth (CDEJ) and of the Advisory Council on Youth (CCJ) and a representative of the European Youth Forum (YFJ), which will prepare a draft Committee of Ministers recommendation on climate crisis and young people (working title). The drafting group members also took part in the meeting.

Support was given to the consultative meeting by Iceland, which is concerned about the increasing negative effects of environmental degradation and climate crisis on the enjoyment of human rights across the globe.  Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörd GylfadóttirMinister of Foreign Affairs of Iceland and president of the Committee of Ministers, joined the participants to hear their conclusions at the end of the two-day meeting, stressing two of four priorities of the Icelandic presidency, the environment and children and youth.  The Minister was joined by the Secretary General of the Council of EuropeMarija Pejčinović Burić, who underlined the strong intergenerational dimension of the right to a safe and healthy environment.

Read more on the meeting ›
DEMOCRACY HERE | DEMOCRACY NOW A new impetus for youth revitalising democracy
DEMOCRACY HERE | DEMOCRACY NOW A new impetus for youth revitalising democracy
European Youth Centre in Strasbourg, 31 January - 2 February 2023


Over 80 young activists, representatives of the youth civil society and of national authorities came together at the end of January for the Evaluation and follow-up conference of the youth campaign for revitalising democracy DEMOCRACY HERE | DEMOCRACY NOW.

The conference reconfirmed the importance of the Call for Action of the Youth Action Week and prioritised actions that should be a key focus in the follow-up project of the campaign. A plan of activities for 2023 was agreed with by participants, including activities and initiatives at national and regional levels. Several areas of advocacy were identified by participants for 2023 such as:

  • Lowering the voting age to 16.
  • Securing the relevant support and provisions for young people to stand in elections.
  • Advocating for structures in decision making for youth participation at national and local level, such as local youth councils and national youth councils.
  • Creating an enabling environment for youth civil society.
 
More about the follow-up project and the planned activities ›
Compass training with young Ukrainian refugees and host communities in Romania
Compass training with young Ukrainian refugees and host communities in Romania

Two training courses for youth workers on human rights education with young Ukrainian refugees and host communities in Romania were held from 27 February to 4 March 2023 in Bucharest.

The courses were organised by the National Youth Foundation, the Timis County Youth Foundation and the Council of Europe, in the framework of the Democracy Here | Democracy Now youth project and were co-funded by the European Union.

The training courses aimed to develop the competences of youth workers to prepare, implement and evaluate human rights education activities and programmes based on the approaches of Compass – The Manual for Human Rights Education with Young People.

The courses brought together 42 participants, youth workers active in the 11 youth centres in Romania, as well as youth workers from youth civil society in Ukraine. 

Read more about the Training Courses ›
Youth for Democracy in Ukraine – Phase III
Youth for Democracy in Ukraine – Phase III

The Council of Europe project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase III” was launched on 8 February at the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, within the new Action Plan of the Council of Europe for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” 2023-2026. 

Participatory youth policy: a new long-term training programme

On 22 February 2023 representatives of the Project, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine and the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service met in an online format to develop a plan to implement a long-term training programme for civil servants at local, regional and national levels to equip them with standards, tools and resources on strengthening youth policy and youth work at local and regional levels in removing barriers to youth participation. This long-term programme will include research of needs of civil servants, training of trainers, development of a training programme on participatory youth policy to be implemented in 2024 in different regions of Ukraine.

More on the project Youth for democracy in Ukraine ›
A new management team brings renewed energy and commitment to the Council of Europe Youth Department
Left to right, Rui Gomes, Head of the Education and Training Division, Marie Farigoules, Executive Director, European Youth Centre Strasbourg, Clementina Barbaro, Head of the Youth Policy Division, Gordana Berjan, Head of division of the European Youth Foundation, Antje Rothemund, Head of the Youth Department, and Balint Molnar, Executive Director, European Youth Centre Budapest
A new management team brings renewed energy and commitment to the Council of Europe Youth Department

Following two years of change, the Youth Department’s management team came together for an intensive day of brainstorming and reflection to shape a shared vision of the youth sector.

Faced with new impetus to its work, sparked by the recognition, by the Secretary General and the High-level Reflection Group, of young people’s contribution to building sustainable democracies, and by Iceland’s presidency of the Committee of Ministers of young people as active democratic citizens to be included in all decision-making processes, the Youth Department is at an exciting junction in its long history.

Using the Youth sector strategy 2030 as the framework for their discussions, the five heads of division and the head of the Youth Department exchanged views on how to turn challenges into opportunities and opportunities into successes for young people, youth policy and youth work in Europe.
Visit and discover the new website Youth, Peace and Inclusion

This new website provides an overview of some of the main initiatives of the Youth Sector to support youth initiatives for an inclusive and peaceful society.

Visit and discover the new website Youth, Peace and Inclusion

The youth sector is guided by the White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue, notably in relation to Euro-Arab cooperation and dialogue and bases itself on the agency of youth leaders and youth organisations involved in local and Europe-wide Youth Peace Camps. The Youth sector is also working on social inclusion of migrants, young refugees, minority and vulnerable groups, including Roma young people.
New website Youth, Peace and Inclusion ›
Bulgaria joins the Partial Agreement on Youth Mobility through the Youth Card


On 9 February 2023,
the Partial Agreement on Youth Mobility through the Youth Card welcomed Bulgaria as its 24th member.

Bulgaria joins the Partial Agreement on Youth Mobility through the Youth Card


The overall objective of the Partial Agreement is for member governments and member organisations of the European Youth Card Association (EYCA) to work together to create better mobility solutions for young people. This general objective implies two main aims: the development of the Youth Card scheme, and the development of better youth policies with and for member governments.

The Partial Agreement’s work programme is implemented in co-operation with the European Youth Card Association, EYCA, a non-profit association founded in 1987. It represents over 40 national youth card organisations across Europe with over 7 million cards in use

Online meeting in the Quality Label network to discuss cooperation measures with Ukrainian youth centres
Online meeting in the Quality Label network to discuss cooperation measures with Ukrainian youth centres

On 27 January 2023, representatives of youth centres in the Council of Europe Quality Label for Youth Centres network came together in an online meeting to follow up on the main outcomes of the study visit and seminar for youth workers and representatives of youth centres providing youth work during war time in Ukraine.

The meeting was organised by the Council of Europe and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine at the European Youth Centre in Strasbourg between 5-10 December 2022 with the participation of youth workers coming from Quality Labelled Youth Centres, namely De Hoge Rielen Youth Centre (Belgium), Killarney Youth Centre (Ireland), Timisoara Youth House (FITT) (Romania), Centre Cinqfontaines of the Service national de la jeunesse (Luxembourg).

It was agreed that the next European Platform for Youth Centres meeting held on 9-10 May in Strasbourg, will be another important moment to follow up on the various initiatives for cooperation between Quality Labelled Youth Centres and Ukrainian youth centres and youth workers.

Read more on the outcomes of the meeting ›
The Essence of Non-formal Education with young people
The Essence of Non-formal Education with young people
European Youth Centre Strasbourg, 6-11 February 2023

In order to support youth organisations to implementing their intercultural activities and support the Council of Europe values and standards, the Youth Department organised a Training Course on Essentials of Non-formal Education.

The course brought together thirty-five facilitators and youth leaders, team members of study sessions at the European Youth Centres or international activities funded by the European Youth Foundation.

Throughout the course the participants  strengthened their knowledge of and competences in non-formal education practice, and became familiar with the educational resources and standards of the Council of Europe to youth organisations.

Read more on the training course on Essentials of non-formal education ›
Exceptional EYF support for youth organisations in difficult times
Exceptional EYF support for youth organisations in difficult times


Given the particularly difficult times young people and youth organisations go through caused by the post-pandemic situation, the war in Ukraine, the subsequent energy crisis, increased cost of living and rocketing inflation - the Programming Committee of Youth decided at its 48th meeting in December 2022 to exceptionally reinforce the support of the EYF for international youth organisations and networks, by increasing the amounts of structural grants for 2023.

The increase has been highly appreciated by youth organisations, as a support to face increased costs and to be more sustainable in developing quality youth work and international youth co-operation.

Thematic page on Structural grants ›
Debugging Artificial Intelligence
Debugging Artificial Intelligence
27 February-3 March 2023, European Youth Centre Budapest.


The study session on AI was organised by the Forum of European Muslim Youth and Students Organisations (FEMYSO) in cooperation with the Youth Department of the Council of Europe. The course gathered 30 participants to help youth activists to understand the impact of AI on young people’s lives, particularly the  vulnerable ones, by recognising the unwanted consequences of AI.

Participants discussed the increasing digital divide and the insufficient research on the societal impact of AI; they flagged concerns regarding young citizens’ well-being, their access to fundamental human rights, and their democratic participation through the penetration of technology in our lives. Participants explored the European Convention on Human Rights and how AI threatens our human rights. They also identified shortcomings of the Convention, such as the lack of the protection of personal data.

As an outcome of the course, the group will co-create a public toolkit to support youth organisations in their advocacy work for effective regulation of AI in their countries. The group will also work on a workshop design to empower local communities and thirdly, on a policy proposal to submit to the Council of Europe’s Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAI) to support efforts to create a more cohesive Europe.

Brochure Youth for Democracy now available in 35 languages
The Council of Europe Youth Sector is shaping generations of democracy and human rights spirited young Europeans. Discover our mission, our objective, our priorities and our instruments. Intergovernmental co-operation, the European Youth Centres Strasbourg and Budapest, the European Youth Foundation, the Partnership with the European Commission, and our co-management unique system which combines the voice of young Europeans and that of public authorities responsible for youth affairs.
Brochure Youth for Democracy now available in 35 languages
Read the brochure in your own language ›
Resources in Ukrainian
Resources in Ukrainian

24 February marks one year of Russia’s war against Ukraine. EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership has developed a webpage dedicated to the impact and solidarity with young people and the youth sector in Ukraine, with papers, resources and special podcast episodes. 


Some publications on youth work and young refugees were translated into Ukrainian, a need expressed by the Council of Europe’s Office in Kyiv:
 
Visit the dedicated webpage on Ukraine ›
Sustainable Mobility projects

The EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership, together with Jugend für Europa, the German National Agency for the EU programmes Erasmus+ Youth and European Solidarity Corps organised the European Platform on Learning Mobility (EPLM) Conference Sustain-Mobility on 26 February – 1 March at Schloss Hohenkammer, Germany.

Sustainable Mobility projects


The conference gathered around 130 practitioners, researchers, policymakers, young people and other stakeholders to explore the topic of sustainability and learning mobility. Have a look at the background paper and stay tuned for the results of the conference!

Read more ›
Covid-19 impact
Covid-19 impact

Read the latest Briefing “Covid-19 recovery policy measures: the role of governments, youth organisations and young people in Europe”, by James O’Donovan and Sladjana Petkovic 

which looks at recommendations for policymakers and youth organisations in drawing learning and addressing challenges that emerged during the Covid-19 restriction measures. This is the last briefing in the monitoring series, and it focuses on future plans.
Upcoming Activities and Deadlines
  • 6-10 March 2023 European Youth Centre Strasbourg, Study session - Local activism for -international dialogue and global impact – The Solidarity Action Day as means for youth to stand up for international solidarity - in cooperation with the Solidarity Action Day Movement in Europe ivzw (SAME)
  • 8 March 2023, DEADLINE to apply for the Seminar on Roma youth participation and intersectional discrimination ROMA YOUTH TOGETHER 2023
  • 9 March 2023, DEADLINE for submission to an international public call for purchase of local consultancy services in the area of youth policy, youth work, social cohesion and inclusion in the field of youth, in the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine 2023-2026
  • 11 March 2023, DEADLINE to apply for the workshop and launching event Turning 18 with Confidence: Supporting Migrant and Refugee Children Transitioning to Adulthood
  • 13 March 2023, European Youth Centre Strasbourg, 70th meeting of the European Steering Committee for youth (CDEJ)
  • 13 March 2023, European Youth Centre Strasbourg, 48th meeting of the Board of Co-ordination of the Partial Agreement on Youth Mobility through the Youth Card
  • 13-15 March 2023, European Youth Centre Strasbourg, 49th meeting of the Advisory Council on Youth (CCJ)
  • 14-15 March 2023, European Youth Centre Strasbourg, 48th meeting of the Joint Council on Youth (CMJ)
  • 14 March 2023, DEADLINE to apply for the Symposium “Growing Youth Work in Europe”, (European Youth Centre Budapest, 31 May-1 June 2023)
  • 20-24 March 2023, European Youth Centre Budapest, I have a say! - Ensuring democratic participation of youth by Voting@16 - study session in cooperation with the Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions – OBESSU
  • 24 March 2023, European Youth Centre Strasbourg, Guide on the rights of refugees in transition to adulthood, together with the team of the SRSG on Refugees and Migration
  • 27-31 March 2023, European Youth Centre Budapest, Seminar on youth participation with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe 
  • 29-30 March 2023, Chisinau, Moldova: Shaping youth policy in practice seminar organised by the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership.
  • 4-8 April 2023, European Youth Centre Strasbourg, Roma Youth Together Conference
  • 15 April 2023, DEADLINE to apply for activities in co-operation with the European Youth Centres in 2024 (1st semester)
 
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 Partnership

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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