Make It Youthful

`Make it youthful´ campaign

Issue 3 - 2008

MEPs

1

Youth Info 2.0

3

Alliance of Civilizations

3

YWDWG

4

On the initiative of the European Youth Forum (YFJ), a written declaration calling on the EU to devote more attention to youth empowerment in EU policies was launched on 22 April in Strasbourg, sponsored by five Members of the European Parliament: Marie-Hélène DESCAMPS Christa PRETS Marie PANAYOTOPOULOS-CASSIOTOU Ramona Nicole MĂNESCU Bart STAES

University on Citizenship Participation

4

Worl Banck & NFE

5

Youth Employment

6

Youth Health

7

2nd Citizens’ Agora

8

EUACOM

9

COEACOM

9

Council of Europe cooperation 10 Agenda

11

The written declaration calls on the European Commission and the EU Member States to take into account the needs of young people when developing policies that affect them, in particular:

• • • • •

health employment, youth autonomy & social integration education & lifelong learning mobility fundamental rights & non-discrimination

The declaration calls on the European Commission to commit to developing a more horizontal youth policy; something endorsed by the Council of Ministers but has not yet been translated into concrete action. Furthermore, EU Member States need to focus on youth when implementing the Lisbon National Reform Programmes. ‘‘While we appreciate the recognition by the European institutions on the importance of taking youth more into account when developing EU legislation, we are still waiting for more concrete measures that truly reflect our needs to happen. This can only be achieved through a genuine dialogue with young people and their organisations. This process, of course, also needs to happen at national level,’’ underlines Bettina Schwarzmayr, President of the European Youth Forum.

The European Youth Forum is a platform of 95 youth organisations in Europe, working with the European Union, the Council of Europe and the United Nations to promote the interests of young people.

The declaration calls on the Commission to consider and incorporate the impact on youth and the results of the structured dialogue with youth organisations, through the European Youth Fourm, when preparing legislative proposals. At least half of all MEPs will need to sign the written declaration in the upcoming three months so that it becomes an official demand of the European Parliament. To make it reality, the YFJ relies on the energy and

Editor in-chief Diego Pinto · Editor: Marta Gomez

commitment of all its Member Organisations.

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Make it youthful ‘‘Aware of the role young people play in the construction of Europe, the EU has adopted several documents in recent years calling for a better consideration of Marie-Hélène DESCAMPS young people’s needs in the implementation of the Lisbon strategy. Nevertheless, (EPP/FR, CULT)

young people are still facing difficulties in life long learning, employment, social integration, health, autonomy and mobility but also as regards fundamental rights and non discrimination.’’

Christa PRETS

“It is essential to include young people in the political dialogue, because they are

(PES/AT, CULT & FEMM)

the ones who will shape the future. Furthermore, agreed policies have to be visibly implemented.”

“Practical solutions need to be given, through the implementation of the European Marie PANAYOTOPOULOS-

Youth Pact, to the difficulties young people face, focusing more particularly on

CASSIOTOU

the provision of qualifications adapted to the requirements of the employment

(EPP/GR, EMPL, PETI &

market, on the fight against unemployment, and on the enforcement of measures

FEMM)

which enable young people to realise their hopes in all the other areas of life: family, participation in social, cultural, artistic life, etc.”

“I was and I will always be confident of the power of young people to change the future of their communities. There are two aspects that we have to consider: on one hand we have to support them in order to be more proactive Ramona Nicole MĂNESCU

and to involve in the democratic life and on the other hand we have the

(ALDE/RO, CULT)

duty to involve them in the decision making process, especially when those decisions affect their lives, directly. It is crucial for all Member States to involve the young people in the political dialogue in order to easier identify, together, the practical solutions to their problems and needs.”

“Despite the EU-legislation on employment, we still find too many young people Bart STAES

jobless and living in precarious situations. I ask the Commission strongly not to

(Greens/EFA/BE, COBU)

take youngsters for granted and to think about them when making legislation. Young people are too important to be forgotten.”

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Youth news Youth information 2.0: new web solutions Internet growth of the past decade has created many

Referring to the European Commission’s White Paper ‘‘A new impetus

oppurtunities for it’s users. As young people are one of

for European youth’’ at the opening session, Pierre Mairesse, Director

the majors users of the web, it is important for youth

for Youth, Sports and Relations with the Citizen at the European

organisations to recognise this fact and take necessary

Commission, highlighted that participation goes hand in hand with

steps to provide a positive web environment for youth.

providing young people with information.

Social-networking sites, weblogs, wikis and other collaborative web

The potential offered by web 2.0, which fosters creativity and

tools, were some of the key words discussed and googled during

information sharing, is more and more taken up by youth. A good

the ‘‘Youth Information 2.0’’ conference, held on 21-24 February in

number of projects, run by young people, were presented at the

Berlin. This European event, organised by the three European youth

conference and reflected the need for many youth organisations

information networks, EuroDesk, ERYCA and EYCA, with the support

to strengthen their networks and improve their communication

of the German government and the European Commission, tackled

towards their members and young people. Adding multimedia

both the challenges and opportunities that web 2.0 provides to

tools, like online TV and radio, or getting into platforms that facilitate

online youth information and youth portals.

web-based networking, could be some of the answers for youth organisations wanting to improve the participation and impact of

The European Youth Forum and representatives of its Member

their websites without investing a large amount of financial and

Organisations had the chance to share knowledge and best practices

human resources.

with experts in the field and explore how new web technologies, such as podcasting or user-generated content like blogging, can

You can find all the projects presented at the conference at:

help their organisations develop participative information portals.

www.youth.info

AoC: alliance of civilizations The Alliance of Civilizations (AoC), started as an initiative of the Pri-

AoC runs a limited number of initiatives in-house, one example is the

me Ministers from Spain and Turkey under the auspices of the UN

Youth Solidarity Fund.

Secretary General, aims to improve understanding and cooperative relations among nations and peoples across cultural and religious

During the First Alliance of Civilizations Forum in Madrid from 15-

backgrounds. Also, in doing this, to help counter the forces that fuel

16 January, youth participants were nominated to the International

polarization and extremism.

Coordinating Meeting of Youth Organisations (ICMYO) through the participating networks of the Council of Europe, the Islamic Confer-

The youth have been identified as one of the key priorities for the

ence Youth Forum, the UNESCO and the Commonwealth Youth Pro-

work of the AoC and a strategy has been set up with the objective to

gramme.

actively involve youth directly in its work through collaboration with broad networks of youth organizations. The goal is to have a youth

The European Youth Forum is actively involved in the follow up of

perspective in the media debate, on cross-cultural and inter-religious

the youth strategy of the AoC. Among the forthcoming initiatives,

issues and in all AoC projects.

one particular calls for the establishment of a youth advisory committee of the Alliance with the involvement of the Regional Youth

The Alliance of Civilizations Youth Strategy involves integrating youth

Platforms, an online resource centre along with various trainings,

input in relevant projects and initiatives, organised or facilitated un-

seminars and events.

der the auspices of the Alliance or its partners. The Secretariat of the 3

Youth news youth work development working group On the 15 and 16 of March, the YWDWG, Youth Work Development

the national coordinator would be appointed after a specific call and

Working Group, held the third meeting in its work mandate. The WG

according to previously defined competences applying to all the

met to further the efforts on already started actions and documents.

coordinators.

The focus of the work was mobility of young people, cross pillar cooperation and the strategic approach to youth work development.

The system of national coordinators is introduced in order to increase the focus on mobility lobbying on the national/authority level. As

Following careful and thorough updates on discussions and ideas

some of the most important legislation on mobility in the EU is being

for different countries and regions covered in Europe, the WG began

passed and is soon to be discussed in the EU Council, lobbying at the

working on the proposal for a guideline paper to enhance cross pillar

national level is very important to ensure the regard for youth at all

cooperation. The WG has already helped to develop a proposal for

levels in the mobility and immigration systems.

the furthering of the YFJ work on mobility by implementing the resolution adopted in the last COMEM of YFJ.

The network of coordinators will also serve the purpose of collecting, processing and exchanging information on the mobility of young

The work of the WG is entering a stage that provides and ensures

people in their respective countries and sharing it with the YFJ and

tangible results and concrete proposals. This is seen in the work and

other member organisation. They will need to be in constant contact

opinions of the group but also through the concrete proposals and

with the authorities in charge of mobility, both directly and indirectly,

results they produce.

as well as actively lobbying in coordination with the YFJ for the increase of the mobility of young people in Europe.

MOBILITY... After adopting a resolution on the mobility of young people and an internal action plan for furthering the activities and expected results in the field of the mobility of young people, YFJ worked out a proposal for the network of national coordinators on mobility coming form different member organisations in every country. In countries with National Youth Councils (NYCs), the coordinator would be coming from the NYC itself, whilst, in countries not covered by an NYC,

The University on Citizenship Participation For the 5th time, Latin American Youth organisations gathered at the

between the EU, Latin America and the Caribbean Heads of States

University on Citizenship Participation (UPC), which is organised by

which will take place in Lima, Peru, on 16-17 May 2008.

the YMCA – Latin American and Carribean with the support of the Latin American Youth Forum (FLAJ), the Uruguayan Institute for Youth, the Ibero-American Youth Organisation (OIJ) and the partnership of the Spanish Youth Council. The European Youth Forum was represented in a seminar on the political impact of youth participation, which was jointly organised by the Latin American Youth Forum and the Spanish Youth Council. Among the processes discussed were the upcoming Summit 4

youth policy WORLD BANK & Non-formal education The recognition of Non-Formal Education (NFE) has been

pact study of NFE on young people in Europe. Along with the major

one of the main priorities of the European Youth Forum in

organizations, a specially hired youth researcher joined the team to

the past decade. Through studies, policy papers, advocacy

aide and maintain the focus of the study to the youth work environ-

work and organising a yearly Dialogue on the recognition

ment. The study will be run by a research team of the World Bank

of NFE, the issue of NFE has been put on the European

beginning in April 2008.

political agenda with no plans of leaving. The study will try to answer two questions: First, what is the impact of A remark often heard from people who have never been in youth

non-formal education on young people at a personal level (learning

organisations and who are not familiar with NFE is: can you prove

outcome, self-esteem, competences) and community level (related-

the effectiveness of NFE? Are you sure that you get the results that

ness, interaction, integration). Second, what is the socio-economic

you want?

impact in terms of employability and active participation in public

For most people in youth organisations it is quite clear that NFE works

life.

well, being witnessed in their daily practices. However, valid questions arise as very few organisations are able to support their claim

As it is impossible to measure this for all young people in Europe,

with data and numbers. Measuring the impact of NFE is not easy: at

the study focuses on five countries: Romania, United Kingdom, Spain,

the end of a youth exchange, does it make sense to ask participants

Moldova and Czech Republic. In these countries the research team

whether they are more peaceful? And if they answer yes, does this

will do a double research: a research on young people who have ta-

constitute hard-scientific evidence? Providing data to support claims

ken or not taken part in NFE. The second part of the research will

is an apparent and difficult problem for the youth field to legitimize

focus on the NFE and youth work environment. The teams will have

NFE.

interviews with youth organization coordinators, education officials, state and local government, parents/family members, community

One institution, the World Bank, is working to develop economies

representatives, employers, etc. All this data will be compiled and

and societies world-wide through the use of education. This institu-

analysed. The outcomes of the study are expected in May 2009 and

tion has the reputation of producing very solid studies on economic

distribution of the outcomes will be undertaken by the three organi-

effects and trends. Moreover, this institution, while working with

sers of the study.

youth organisations, is getting more and more interested in NFE. The World Bank shares similar concerns with Youth Organisations, mainly

With the study now underway, the European Youth Forum has

with the question; What are exactly all the effects of the NFE pro-

connected the World Bank to the various National Youth Councils of

grammes they fund?

the countries concerned to ensure the World Bank access to all the relevant info. Also, this is a good opportunity for youth organisations

The complexity of this issue is strikingly apparent as youth organisa-

to work with one of the largest institutions in the world.

tions across the globe team with the World Bank to reach a conclusion on the impact of NFE. The European Youth Forum and some

The European Youth Forum, therefore, has great hopes for this study

of its Member Organisations, especially WOSM and YMCA, have and

and believes it can be a great step forward for the recognition of NFE

will continue to advocate a study on the impact of NFE. In May 2005

and the great work of Youth Organisations in Europe.

at the conference: ‘Young People in Eastern Europe and Central Asia: From Policy To Action,’ the YFJ and World Bank discussed an idea for a NFE study in the near future. The proposal materialized last autumn as the YFJ, the World Bank and the European Commission started developments for a large scale im-

More on World Bank & NFE Click Here 5

youth policy yfj & youth employment The European Youth Forum (YFJ) considers youth employment as a crucial component of youth policy.

There is still work to be done, not only at Global and EU level but also at regional and local level, in a collective involvement of public

Youth employment has become one of the greatest challenges of

authorities, social partners and youth organizations in order to

the 21 century as young people are increasingly facing difficulties

improve young people’s integration into the labour market. .

st

entering the labour market and struggling with precarious jobs where salaries are low and social protection conditions are scarce or

To the YFJ there are key issues which need to be tackled in order to

non-existent.

improve employment conditions of young people:

In previous decades at the global level, both in developed countries as well as countries in transition, labour markets have been incapable of integrating newcomers. 85 million young people are unemployed and the unemployed youth make up 43.7% of total unemployed

• Educational systems should be adopted to meet the labour markets’ needs • Importance of professional guidance (systematic advices in career planning should be provided)

people in the world. At the European Union (EU) level, 4.6 million

• Promotion of entrepreneurship education for young people

people aged between 15 and 24 are unemployed and young people

• Importance of vocational training as higher education is not

represent 38.5% of the total unemployed population. The situation

the only way to shape young people’s future opportunities

is even worse when talking about young people from South East

in life

Europe and Eastern Europe, where unemployment rates concerning

• Fight against leaving school early

young people are even higher.

• Youth NGO’s and social partners should work together to improve the situation of young people in the labour market

Given the importance of the topic, the YFJ has been developing a

• Importance of establishing balanced flexicurity strategies,

Policy Paper on Employment and has been actively engaged in

between security and flexibility, which allow for improving

advocacy work towards both EU Institutions such as the European

the functioning of labour markets and increasing the

Commission, European Parliament and Council of the European Union,

working opportunities of young people

but also towards the United Nations through the Youth Employment Network, aiming to improve the living conditions of young people.

Attention should not just be paid to the amount of jobs created but

Additionally, the YFJ is planning a symposium on Youth Employment

for the need to strive for better jobs. Internships should be part of

which is foreseen to take place by the end of the year.

education curricula, facilitating young people’s access to employment and allowing for their professional development. Internships

The concerns of the YFJ are more and more the concerns expressed

shall not become precarious types of contracts offered to graduates

at the EU level as one can see in the “Council Conclusions on a

without any labour protection and often without any or very limited

transversal approach to youth policy in view of enabling young

financial compensation.

people to fulfill their potential and participate actively in society” which were adopted under Portuguese Presidency in November

Importance of combating discrimination and disadvantage in the

2007. The same concerns are expressed in the “Key Messages from

labour market as well as fighting for gender equality at work.

the EPSCO Council to the Spring European Council” in 2008.

Click Here for EU’s Youth Policy Website 6

update on health youth health: alcohol, tobacco & mental health In the past few months the YFJ has increased involvement in the area of health and in turn, the youth’s opinion in health-related debates has increased. The YFJ has participated in many meetings organised by the European Commission and brought the youth perspective into areas such as alcohol and mental health. The European Commission will hold a joint event with the YFJ to build on the HELP campaign and discuss the future cooperation on health policies. This coordination meeting will focus on the political dimension of youth organisations’ involvement

tobacco The YFJ is also maintaining its involvement in the European Commission’s tobacco HELP campaign, with the Tobacco project continuing in 2008. The last two months were devoted to the preparation of the activities envisaged for this year. The YFJ already launched a call for proposals for tobacco-related activities to be run by Member Organisations at national level while the EU-wide on-line contest on youth and tobacco is going to be launched by the end of March on the “youth and tobacco” website.

in the health area and will be attended by high level representatives of the European Commission and youth organisations.

Youth & Tobacco Website

Alcohol

Click Here

The YFJ has been particularly active in the work on alcohol related harm, submitting a joint commitment to the European Alcohol and Health Forum (EAHF) with Eurocare and raising youth issues in the two task forces set up within the frame of the EAHF. One representative of each Member Organisation has the opportunity to give a presentation during the Marketing Task Force workshop. It gave a good example of the projects youth organisations can do to prevent alcohol related harm and it specifically dealt with the portrayal of alcohol in the media in Sweden. It showed, as well, how youth organisations can play a significant role and must be involved when it comes to alcohol, as the youth are one of the most vulnerable groups and peer to peer education being one of the most efficient ways of raising awareness. In the coming months, the YFJ will continue its work by participating in the founding conference of the Alcohol Policy Youth

mental health The YFJ has also developed its work on mental health by taking part in the preparations to the European High Level Conference on Mental Health which will take place in June 2008 and on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) by attending meetings and strengthening contacts with other organisations such as the United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) and the International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network (IPPF EN). The YFJ is organising Information and Networking Days on HIV/AIDS and sexual and reproductive health which will take place in July 2008.

Network in Romania, the 3rd Building Capacity Conference which will be held in Barcelona in April, as well as the Plenary of the EAHF. The European Commission is also organising an Open Forum on Alcohol, in the frame of the EAHF, which will be a tremendous opportunity for organisations to network and give input on alcohol policies.

Open Forum on Alcohol

European High Level Conference on Mental Health Click Here

Click Here 7

EU affairs the second citizen’s agora After the first Citizens’ Agora on the EU Reform Treaty of 8—9 November 2007, the European Parliament is organising its second Citizens’ Agora on the topic of Climate Change on 12—13 June

For more information on the Citizens’ Agora, please

2008. European civil society organisations have been invited to

consult the Agora website:

contribute to the work of the European Parliament’s temporary

http://forum.agora.europarl.europa.eu

committee on climate change, which is currently preparing its final report for this autumn.

The European Youth Forum and a good number of youth organisations are invited by the European Parliament to take part in this Citizens Agora, to develop, with other civil society organisations, views on five thematic questions:

Resources:

The EU sees its role as protecting life and safeguarding access to essential resources by peaceful means. Which policies should be pursued to assess the impact of climate change on biodiversity, define priorities for protection and the sharing of these resources in a sustainable manner?

techniques:

The EU considers itself a driving force in the process of production, from basic research to distribution. Which policies should be pursued in order to identify real needs, give better guidance for technical decisions and decide between alternatives?

solidarity:

The EU sees itself as a guarantor of fairness and solidarity. Which policies should be pursued to provide social back-up for the changes needed, protection for the most vulnerable and aversion of conflict between population sectors and regions?

economies:

The EU is one of the globe’s leading economic powers. Which policies should be pursued to regulate trade responsibly, to identify new development indicators, to identify new financial and fiscal tools, and to minimise risks?

governance:

The EU can act only on the basis of broad citizen participation that is free, aware and informed. Which policy should be pursued to educate those concerned, without standardisation, to clarify the arguments and to involve as many people as possible?

As youth organisations have an active role to play, not only in raising awareness on climate change but also in contributing to sustainable development, the European Youth Forum will actively take part in the Citizens’ Agora, with a delegation from all EU countries.

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eu affairs European union affairs commission The European Affairs Commission (EUACOM), whose task

agenda for 2008. A common session on voluntary activities looked

is to follow work pertaining to youth within the EU, met in

into the follow-up of the Resolution of the Education, Youth and

Rome, Italy on 29 February — 2 March, to discuss current

Culture Council of November 2007, focussing on a contribution to the

EU issues and plan work for the future. The meeting was

planned proposal of the European Commission for a recommendation

hosted by the Italian youth council, Forum Nazionale dei

to EU Member States on volunteering and the civil society campaign

Giovani-FNG (candidate member of the YFJ), and organised

to proclaim 2011 as the European Year of Volunteering. A second

in parallel to their General Assembly.

common session with FNG dealt with climate change, including a debate on the contribution of youth organisations to combating

At this meeting, the EUACOM prepared the Youth Empowerment

climate change and preparing a youth input for the European

Campaign for a written declaration in the European Parliament

Parliament’s Citizens’ Agora on Climate Change of 12—13 June

(see article page 1), and also contributed to the preparations of the

2008.

YFJ campaign as well as the manifesto for the European Parliament elections in 2009. The EUACOM members also provided input,

The European Union Affairs Commission in Rome was possibly the last

from an EU perspective, for the policy papers and opinion papers

one, as the European Youth Forum is currently undergoing a reform

that will be presented to the Council of Members in May.

of its internal working structures. Depending upon the results of the debates among Member Organisations at the Council of Members

The main sessions of this meeting were organised jointly with the

in May, the work of the EUACOM may be continued by specialised

Forum Nazionale dei Giovani and focussed on two key issues on the

thematic groups and a new EU advocacy body.

council of europe affairs commission The Council of Europe Affairs Commission, a permanent

policy, which the COEACOM prepared further input to draft the Final

working structure of the European Youth Forum under

Declaration, which will be adopted at the Ministerial Conference

the current statutes, held its regular meeting on 22-24

in Kyiv. In addition, the COEACOM worked on inputs to a number

February 2008 in Brussels.

of YFJ draft policy papers. Finally, the COEACOM also discussed the importance of securing a focus on Council of Europe-related matters

Standard updates on the work of the YFJ with regard to the Council of

within the reform of the internal working structures, which is currently

Europe on the developments within the Advisory Council on Youth

on the agenda of the YFJ.

and the Programming Committee on Youth were complemented with up-to-date information from the Directorate of Youth and Sport. The latter was represented in the meeting by Hans Joachim Schild, Manager of the Partnership on Youth between the EU and the Council of Europe, who brought firsthand information about the work for the long-term strategy on youth policy in Europe, the preparations for the 8th Conference of European Ministers responsible for Youth in Kyiv in October 2008, the refurbishment of the European Youth Centre in Strasbourg, the follow up to the All Different – All Equal campaign and other issues of importance.The main item on the agenda of the meeting was related to the above-mentioned strategy on youth 9

council of europe yfj & coe: exploring further oppurtunities for cooperation The European Youth Forum has been a major partner of

project “Building a Europe for and with Children”, enhancing links

the Council of Europe in the field of youth for many years.

between the two organisations in this area. A separate meeting with

Cooperating primarily with the Directorate of Youth and

the Education and Training Unit was held in March 2008.

Sport, the YFJ nevertheless spreads out towards other bodies of the Council of Europe that work on youth-

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe’s Committee on

related issues. The annual coordination meeting between

Science, Culture and Education has a Sub-Committee on Youth and

the two organisations, held in February 2008, was

Sport, whose secretariat members met with the YFJ. It is to be noted

therefore used as an opportunity to plan the cooperation

that the Parliamentary Assembly is working on a report “A new start

with traditional interlocutors in the year ahead and to

for youth cooperation in Europe”, which it aims to present in October

establish contacts with new ones.

2008. The input of youth organisations to the draft will be welcome. The YFJ also discussed other possible venues of cooperation,

Within the Directorate of Youth and Sport (DYS) the most important

especially with interested parliamentarians.

point in the year will be the 8th Conference of European Ministers responsible for Youth, which will take place on 10-11 October 2008 in

Another body approached by the YFJ during this meeting was the

Kyiv, Ukraine. This conference will determine the long-term strategy

Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in Europe, concretely, the

on youth policy in Europe. The YFJ and the DYS discussed the planning

secretariat members of the Committee on Culture and Education.

of the conference together with the youth event that will be held in

At this occasion, the YFJ was invited to take part in the April session

Kyiv on 8-9 October, which will be organised by the YFJ.

of the above-mentioned Committee. In addition, the YFJ outlined options to promote further use of the Revised European Charter,

The YFJ also received updates on the refurbishment of the European

the Participation of Young People in Local and Regional Life. The

Youth Centre in Strasbourg. The process has been delayed for several

proposed options included further use of the Pool of Trainers and

months and the Centre will likely be re-opened in the second half

for the youth sector statutory bodies to pay more attention to its use

of 2008. Furthermore, despite generous voluntary contributions

when conducting youth policy reviews (Council of Europe) and study

from certain Member States, the project still needs a large financial

visits (YFJ).

injection in order to realise the plans. To attract the attention of the Council of Europe Member States to the need for increased financing

Annual coordination meetings with the Council of Europe are one

of the youth sector, the YFJ has lobbied the Council to boost their

of the ways through which the YFJ remains actively involved with

regular financial input to the European Youth Foundation.

institutional partners, maintains communication of the YFJ policies in a clear and consistent manner, and keeps itself open to useful

Views were also exchanged with the DYS regarding the follow up to

information and feedback. This way the YFJ consolidates its relations

the ’All Different – All Equal‘ campaign. The YFJ will be involved in the

with existing partner structures, explores new opportunities and

pan-European activities in this framework, and possibilities are being

positions itself as a strong and credible interlocutor.

explored as to the possible involvement in a new Council of Europe campaign, which will focus on the fight against discrimination and will target media networks and educational structures for journalists. The YFJ also met and exchanged information with representatives from the European Youth Foundation and members from the Partnership on Youth between the EU and the Council of Europe, as well as, representatives of the Education Directorate. Also, for the first time, the YFJ met with the staff working on the Council of Europe 10

Other news Agenda 2008 May 02-03 COMEM Castelldefels, Spain

The e-Youth Opinion is the electronic newsletter of the

09-11

PoT Meeting Zagreb, Croatia

28-29

3rd Dialogue on Non-formal Education Brussels, Belgium

European Youth Forum. It is made thanks to the effort of the following contributors:

- Klavdija CERNILOGAR

June

- Maarten COERTJENS

07-08

Bureau Meeting III/08 TBD

07

EU Institutions Open Day Brussels, Belgium

11-12

Employment Week Brussels, Belgium

27-29

I&N Days on policies and best practice for youth autonomy Brussels, Belgium

- Angela CORBALAN - Ante MARTIC - Giuseppe PORCARO - Ewoud ROES - Julie TENG

Editing, proofreading & translation: - Anne DEBRABANDERE - Adam QUINN

Graphic design: - Association d’idées - Adam QUINN For more information on our events have a look at our calendar

This publication has been produced with the financial support of the European Union. Articles represent the opinions of the European Youth Forum and do not necessarily reflect the views of the EU.

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