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DG Democracy
Directorate of Democratic Participation
Youth Department
THINK YOUTH| No 102 - April 2022
Citizenship and Human Rights Education - The Art of Learning Equality, Dignity, Democracy
Citizenship and Human Rights Education - The Art of Learning Equality, Dignity, Democracy

Over 300 practitioners of citizenship and human rights education representing civil society, youth organisations, networks and public institutions took part in the Forum on the present and future of citizenship and human rights education in Europe with young people, organised in Turin, Italy from 11 to 13 April as part of the programme of the Italian Presidency of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers.

The forum reviewed the state of implementation of the Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education (EDC/HRE) and reaffirmed its importance for advocating for better provision and quality of EDC/HRE in both formal and non-formal education settings. The review noted progress made on implementation but also various shortcomings and challenges. A Final Declaration of the forum is available, summing up the mains issues discussed.

The forum was co-organised by the Council of Europe (Education and Youth sectors) and the Department for Youth Policy and the Universal Civic Service of the Italian government, in cooperation with Amnesty International, the City of Turin, the National Youth Council of Italy and the European Youth Forum. In addition to the programme in Turin, a parallel forum was held online for participants who could not travel to Turin.

More information on the Forum website ›
European University on youth policies
European University on youth policies

The European University on youth policies took place in Malta, St Venera, on 27-29 April 2022. The University is part of the Council of Europe’s package of youth policy development measures and aims to familiarise participants with the values, objectives, programmes and structures of the Council of Europe and its Youth Department. This year’s edition was hosted by the national youth agency of Malta, Aġenzija Żgħażagħ, led by Miriam Teuma, chairperson of the European Steering Committee for Youth and the Joint Council on Youth.

The 34 participants from 19 countries, amongst which were representatives of the European Steering Committee for Youth and new members of the Advisory Council on Youth, were welcomed by Hon Keith Azzopardi Tanti, Parliamentary Secretary for Youth Research and Innovation, and had also an exchange with Mr Evarist Bartolo, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and former Minister of Education, focusing on the current challenges in the European political landscape, in particular for young people.

The programme provided a comprehensive overview of the strategic priorities of the Youth Sector, its standards and instruments, their relevance to participants’ day-to-day work, as well as assistance measures to member States. Recent developments in the framework of the campaign “Democracy Here Democracy Now” were also discussed.

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50-50 Training seminar
50-50 Training seminar

The 50/50 training seminar “Synergies to implement the Youth Work Recommendation CM/Rec (2017)4: Can the European Youth Card be used as the policy tool?” took place at the invitation of the Maltese authorities in St Venera, Malta, on 25-26 April 2022 and was co-organised with the Youth Agency of Malta (Aġenzija Żgħażagħ).


The seminar focused on supporting policy makers in close co-operation with the European Youth Card organisations – over 35 participants taking part in the activity - to implement youth work policies and services through the European Youth Card, meeting the standards of the Council of Europe in this field and using as a starting point the Council of Europe Recommendation CM/REC (2017)4 on Youth Work addressed to its member governments.
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Advisory Council on Youth: 2022-23 mandate
On 20 April 2022, the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers desginated the members of the Advisory Council on Youth (CCJ) for the 2022-23 term of office.

The members will be introduced on the Youth portal shortly.
More on the Advisory Council on Youth ›
Advisory Council on Youth: 2022-23 mandate
Roma Youth celebrate International Roma Day
Roma Youth celebrate International Roma Day

The seminar Roma Youth Together 2022 brought together some 30 youth leaders and youth workers in Roma communities from across Europe in the European Youth Centre Strasbourg from 6 to 8 April 2022. It was organised by the Youth Department in cooperation  with Roma and Travellers Team of the Council of Europe, Phiren Amenca International, the ERGO Network and the European Roma Institute of Arts and Culture. The seminar re-connected the participants and partners with European youth policy processes and exchanges on strategies and priorities for youth empowerment and participation. The participants also provided input to the content of the future Recommendation on Roma Youth Participation currently being drafted.

The participants celebrated the International Roma Day in a flower-casting ceremony over the river Ill in the company of Bjorn Berge, Deputy Secretary of the Council of Europe who stressed the contribution of Roma communities to cultural life in Europe. Georgina Laboda, representative of Phiren Amenca in the Advisory Council on Youth recalled the centuries of slavery of Roma in Europe and expressed her confidence in a better future for Roma women and young people. Other speakers reminded the attendants of the plight of many Roma impacted be the war in Ukraine and often facing discrimination when seeking safety.

More about the seminar ›
Training Course on AI Literacy with young people
Training Course on AI Literacy with young people

The Training Course on AI Literacy (European Youth Centre Budapest, 28 March-1 April 2022) brought together young multipliers to explore AI Literacy, and to discuss what youth organisations need in order to contribute to increased AI Literacy of young Europeans. The course built on conclusions reached by two previous seminars organised by the Youth Department on Artificial Intelligence in 2019 and 2020, and focused on exploring AI from a human rights angle, by looking specifically at AI ethics and by understanding the Council of Europe approach to, and involvement with the topic.

The participants in the course also had a chance to engage with the new youth campaign Democracy Here | Democracy Now. The connections between democracy and technological developments were explored both in the ways technology can impact democratic practices, and how the usage of technology can be made more inclusive and transparent.

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EYF news: being a partner of youth organisations
The EYF visits an international youth activity in Braga, Portugal
EYF news: being a partner of youth organisations

In March and April 2022, the European Youth Foundation has continued to seek close contact with youth organisations, both those it already funds and those that are interested in receiving funding in the future.

The EYF staff carried out visits to two projects it supports, to reinforce the relationship with the organising youth organisations, to monitor the execution of these projects and to engage in dialogue with young people. These visits concerned the international activities of the DYPALL Network – Developing Youth Participation at Local Level, “Youth takes the floor - a training course on how to increase youth participation in decision making”, and FYEG – Federation of Young European Greens, “The politics of mental health”.

Further, the EYF also met the four international youth organisations whose projects were recently approved in the framework of the campaign “Democracy here. Democracy now”, to establish closer co-operation and also define together ways to promote the campaign.

Finally, the EYF reached out to more than 100 youth organisations through  information sessions, on 19 and 21 April, during which the main grant programmes of the EYF were introduced, the criteria for EYF registration were discussed and the EYF special call under the Campaign “Democracy here. Democracy now” was presented.

The Campaign Democracy Here Democracy Now in Azerbaijan

An information session about the youth campaign Democracy Here | Democracy Now was held in Baku on 26 April 2022 and

The Campaign Democracy Here Democracy Now in Azerbaijan
Information session on the campaign
brought together partners and actors from the youth and human rights sectors in Azerbaijan. The participants were greeted by representatives from the Council of Europe, the Ministry of Youth and Sport and National Assembly of Youth Organisations of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The session was organised to inform youth organisations about the newly launched youth campaign and explored young people’s role in the process of revitalising democracy and strengthening mutual trust between young people and democratic institutions in Azerbaijan. The participants in the meeting drafted a national action plan emphasising  youth participation and facilitating the involvement of youth organisations, civil society institutions and state authorities to the process of implementation of the campaign in Azerbaijan.
What place for young journalists and the new media?
What place for young journalists and the new media?

In the context of the European Year of Youth and the World Press Freedom Day (3rd of May), the EU Delegation and the Youth Department of the Council of Europe in cooperation with

EUNIC Strasbourg organised a local thematic conference bringing together young journalists and policy-makers in a dynamic dialogue over the place of the media, and notably of young journalists and emerging forms of journalism and media, in Europe’s democracies today.

The conference raised awareness of the common priority of the EU and the Council of Europe to promote and protect press freedom, free access to information and the key role of the media in shoring up democracy. It also gave the opportunity to young journalists to express their views on how to further enhance youth presence and participation in democratic processes and public debate.

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Youth work responses to challenges arising from the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine
Youth work responses to challenges arising from the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine
Since March the project of the Council of Europe “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase II” follows the current situation in the field of youth policy and youth work in war time in Ukraine. A survey carried out in co-operation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine and the UNDP office revealed that 60% of youth workers (out of a total of 188 who took part) were internally displaced. Yet, 4 out of 10 youth workers continued to provide youth work, and 5 out of 10 remained partly active in youth work. Four online meetings were then organised in April to follow-up on the needs and inform youth workers on the help that can be get in wartime, to discuss youth work experience across Ukraine and in other countries in war and post-war contexts.
Read more ›
Climbing the Ladder of Youth Participation
Climbing the Ladder of Youth Participation

The European Youth Centre Strasbourg hosted from 25 to 29 April 2022 a study session co-organised with the network Developing Youth Participation at Local Level (DYPALL) in cooperation with the Assembly of European Regions (AER).


“Climbing the ladder - Capacitating youth leaders to facilitate youth participation in decision-making processes at the local level”
focused on two of the five strategic priorities of the Council of Europe youth sector : Revitalising pluralistic democracy and Youth work.

Specifically, it aimed to revitalise pluralistic democracy and promote quality development and recognition of youth work through sustainable actions plans, valorising the role that young people can play in these processes.

The session  resulted on advocacy plans and projects to connect with the youth campaign Democracy Here | Democracy Now.

More about the study session ›
Feed it Forward
Feed it forward - Food as a Human Right was the subject of the study session organised in cooperation with Rural Youth Europe and the European Council of Young Farmers and held from  25 to 29 April at the European Youth Centre Budapest.
Feed it Forward

Thirty young farmers and rural young people reflected on environmental sustainability of the existing food systems in terms of production and consumption and came up with alternative solutions for greener and shorter supply chains. Throughout the week, participants analysed the existing agriculture policies and came up with advocacy projects to create a change. They also developed a sustainable cookbook for the youth organisations and training institutions.
FITT for Ukraine!
FITT for Ukraine!

Timisoara Youth House (FITT) in Romania is part of the network of quality labelled youth centres, it has been holding the Council of Europe Quality Label for Youth Centres since 2016.

Ukrainians fleeing war transit through Timisoara; FITT set up a transit refugee centre and organised support to help them, bringing together international and local volunteers, young people active in youth organisations, and the community who offered donations. FITT also developed a Guide on managing transit refugees’ centres, as a support document for anyone intending to initiate a similar action, in collaboration with the National Youth Foundation and Europe Direct Timisoara.

The National Youth Foundation received support from ActionAid to implement a project of friendly spaces for young people fleeing the war. FITT will act as a resource centre for youth centres activities with Ukrainians. Starting in May, a wide range of services will be provided by FITT, not only in Timisoara but in the whole country, thanks to a mobile youth centre.

Read more ›
Solidarity with Ukraine
Solidarity with Ukraine

How is the youth sector in Ukraine impacted by the war? How are they dealing with the ongoing conflict? How are young people organising and delivering support to the refugees from Ukraine in Moldova?

Listen to the Under 30’ special episode with guests Mariana Țurcan and Vasyl Shatruk of the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership and read more about the situation of young people in Ukraine before and after 24 February.

Improving youth participation in Europe
Improving youth participation in Europe

Participatory democracy does not rely only on elections, but also on a range of other tools and mechanisms which facilitate citizens' participation in decision-making. These tools can help young people to organise, engage with policy-makers at all governance levels and demand policy changes.

Explore contemporary youth participation trends, tools and methods with Cornelia Perle, Council of Europe and Christiana Xenofontos, European Youth Forum in the new podcast episode of the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership.

Improving youth participation in Europe
Meet the EU Youth Co-ordinator

What is the role of EU Youth Coordinator? How does she work on connecting and coordinating different youth initiatives, aimed at achieving the EU Youth Goals? What are her daily tasks and challenges?

Listen to the new episode of the Under 30’ podcast series of the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership with Biliana Sirakova, the newly appointed EU Youth Coordinator and learn more about how she supports the co-creation of the European Year Of Youth and the inclusion of young people's voices in policy-making.

New video: meaningful youth political participation

How can we identify meaningful youth political participation? What are the conventional and unconventional ways of engaging in politics?

Watch the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership’s new video with Ondřej Bárta, Georg Boldt and Anna Lavizzari, authors of the study: Meaningful youth political participation in Europe: concepts, patterns and policy implications which explores different forms of youth engagement in democratic societies.

New video: meaningful youth political participation
Symposium on youth transitions
Symposium on youth transitions

The EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership is organising the symposium: Navigating Transitions: adapting policy to young people’s changing realities which will take place in Tirana, the European Youth Capital 2022 on 21-23 June. The second preparatory meeting of the event took place in April in Albania.


The symposium will bring together European youth field stakeholders to encourage dialogue and reflection on how youth research, youth policy and youth work can support young people’s aspirations in the changing realities.
Read more on the symposium ›
Steering Group on the European Youth Work Agenda

The 1st meeting of the Steering Group took place on 29-30 March. As part of the efforts of the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership in supporting the 

Steering Group on the European Youth Work Agenda
implementation of the European Youth Work Agenda (EYWA), the online meeting set out to agree on the scope and the role of the Steering Group. A mapping process of cooperation initiatives on the EYWA implementation was also kicked-off, and the meeting also provided guidance to the Partnership on its activities and research planned for 2022-2023. The meeting is to be followed by two other in-person meetings in 2022 that are expected to provide invaluable input into mapping, monitoring and steering developments within the implementation of the EYWA.
Read more ›
Upcoming Activities
  • 2-6 May 2022, European Youth Centre Budapest, Study session - Active peace - students strengthening peace through Human Rights’ Education”  - in cooperation with the European Coordination JECI-MIEC (International Young Catholic Students – International Movement of Catholic Students)
  • 9-13 May 2022, European Youth Centre Budapest, 50/50 training on strengthening co-operation and partnership for promoting youth participation in decision-making processes and in the implementation of youth policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • 9-14 May 2022, European Youth Centre Strasbourg, Training course on non-formal education for trainers and organisers of study sessions and of projects supported by the European Youth Foundation
  • April-November 2022, Europewide: Compass International Training Course - Education for Democracy and Human Rights - in cooperation with the YPO Peace Action Networ
  • 9-14 May 2022, European Youth Centre Strasbourg, Training course on non-formal education for trainers and organisers of study sessions and of projects supported by the European Youth Foundation
  • 16-20 May 2022, European Youth Centre Budapest, Study session - nAIce to meet you - How You(th) Can Protect Digital Human Rights - in cooperation with the International Federation of Liberal Youth (IFLRY)
  • 16-20 May 2022, European Youth Centre Strasbourg, Study session - Pluriverse - Peaceful societies with an oppression-free education - in cooperation with OBESSU – Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions and Global Students Forum
  • 17 May 2022, Brussels, Belgium, Meeting of the European Platform on Learning Mobility
  • 18 May 2022, European Platform on Learning Mobility preparatory team for the conference on sustainability and learning mobility (to take place in Feb/March 2023)
  • 23-27 May 2022, European Youth Centre Strasbourg, Together Have Your Say! - a 50/50 training course for local authorities and youth organisations in Azerbaijan
  • 23-26 May 2022, European Youth Centre Budapest, Study session - Multi-Sectoral Cooperation for Inclusion of Roma Youth and Marginalized Groups - in cooperation with the National Youth Council of Macedonia
  • 25-28 May 2022, 6-9 June 2022, 27-30 June 2022, Ganjabasar Region, Azerbaijan, Compass National Training Course - You are The Voice! - in cooperation with the Ganja European Youth Capital 2016” Public Union (NGO)
  • 30 May 2022, Meeting of the upcoming Trio of Presidencies (Belgium, Hungary and Spain) for the planning of the 10th cycle of EU Youth Dialogue and evaluation of the consultation process
  • 30 May-3 June 2022, European Youth Centre Budapest, Study session - Rights for Inclusion - in cooperation with the World Armenian Youth Network - WostAY
  • 30 May-4 June 2022, European Youth Centre Strasbourg, Study session - Human Rights Activism in post-Pandemic reality - in cooperation with the No Hate Speech Network
  • 2-3 June 2022, European Youth Centre Strasbourg, meetings of the CDEJ Bureau, CCJ Bureau and Joint meeting
  • 6-9 June 2022, Thessaloniki, Greece, Compass National Training Course - Human Rights Promotion in Greece and Albania, 1st phase - in cooperation with the ARSIS Association for the Social Support of Youth
  • 6-10 June 2022, European Youth Centre Budapest, Study session - Youth Work Lab - in cooperation with the Erasmus Student Network AISBL (ESN)
  • 13-18 June 2022, European Youth Centre Budapest, Study session - Sustainable Development Goals and Youth with Disabilities: What We Can Do? - in cooperation with the European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) / ENIL Youth network
 
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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