The projects will be evaluated by the Programming Committee on Youth, the co-managed body taking decisions on the programme of the youth sector (including the grants awarded by the European Youth Foundation).

Access to rights

The first goal is supporting young people and youth organisations in accessing their rights and advocating education for human rights and democracy.

The steps through which accomplish this priority are:

• A roadmap on the dissemination of Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation CM/Rec(2016)7 on young people’s access to rights;
• Support measures to member states, local authorities and youth organisations to follow-up the conclusions of the review of Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation CM/Rec(2015)3 (access of young people from disadvantaged neighbourhoods to social rights);
• The continuation of the Human Rights Education Youth Programme;
• Indentification and remedies for the shrinking civic space on young people and youth organisations. Young people’s access to rights requires the removal of legal, political and social barriers.

Youth participation and youth work

The second of the youth priorities is the empowerment of young people and youth organisations. They shall be given the chance to develop youth policies and youth work, as well as to get involved and make an impact in the community they live in. Hence, any barrier or obstacle should be removed. This can be achieved through:

As for the young people:

• Supporting young people to access their rights to assemble and freely form, join and be active in associations; enhancing young people’s meaningful participation in political processes;
• Supporting youth participation in internet governance processes;
• Promoting the Revised European Charter on the Participation of Young People in Local and Regional Life and supporting member states and youth organisations to implement its principles;
• Further disseminating the “Have your say” manual to public authorities and the non-governmental sector.

As for the youth work:

• Pursuing the dissemination and implementation of Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation CM/Rec(2017)4 on youth work, developing and promoting a European youth work agenda;
• Supporting the quality development, sustainability and recognition of youth work and non-formal education and learning, notably through the use of Council of Europe instruments in the member states (e.g. through the Council of Europe Quality Label for Youth Centres and the Council of Europe Youth Work Portfolio).

Inclusive and peaceful societies

The third priority aims at supporting young people and youth organisations in their work on peace building and social cohesion, to prevent and combat discrimination and exclusion. This will develop in two directions: first, by promoting social inclusion, fostering active participation, gender equality and combating all forms of discrimination on the grounds of Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The specific targets are:

• Roma youth and other minority groups;
• Young refugees and their transitionfrom childhood to adulthood;
• Young people with disabilities;
• LGBTQI young people;
• Young women and girls.

Secondly, by enabling young people to promote peaceful societies by providing them with opportunities to play an active role in:

• Intercultural dialogue/learning;
• Peacebuilding and conflict transformation;
• Challenging the rise of nationalism and populism;
• Co-operation with neighbouring and other world regions.

Read more about the Council of Europe priorities on their dedicated page.

For an overview of the funding possibilities and calls by the CoE, click on the following link (or have a look at ournews section).

L'articolo Youth priorities: the document of the Council of Europe 2020-21 proviene da Youth Networks.

Should Russia evetually leave the CoE, in fact, this last one could be discontinued after 2020. The alternative would be a partial agreement on voluntary basis according to the will of the member states (with extra funding needed). The formal committee will meet on 23 May, after some informal consultations. In the meantime, the affected stakeholders did not stay quiet.

The reactions

The European Youth Forum, together with representatives from the major Political Party Youth Organisations active in Europe and beyond, released a public statement denouncing the cut:

The news is spreading across Europe and the Youth organisations are already clustering to prevent the cuts that are going to affect the Youth sector. The Youth department of the Council of Europe, that works closely to the European Commission in many co-operation projects, is as much pivotal as the European Union for the education of the new generations of Europeans. The fact that political matters, as the ones behind the decision from Russia and Turkey are, can affect the core of European values, is what is being contested.

The Youth department of the CoE

The international organisation of the Council of Europe was founded in 1949 by 47 countries. It aims at fostering human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Since 1972, the works within the Youth Department are managend in co-operation with the Advisory Council. This is made up of 30 representatives from youth NGOs and networks who provide opinions and input on all youth sector activities, together with setting the priorities and suggestions.

It also ensures that young people are involved in other activities of the Council of Europe. Here, representatives of the governements of the member states work closely with young people, who are then in the position of being able to influence important decisions on the functioning of the Youth Department. That is why it is so important to push for a better understanding of the issue: the more we know, the more we can make an impact.

L'articolo The youth department of Council of Europe is in danger due to financial cuts proviene da Youth Networks.

What for?

The Youth Advisory Councili is the non-governmental partner in the co-managed decision-making system used in the Council of Europe youth sector. Together with the The European Steering Committee for Youth (CDEJ), the governmental part, they form the Joint Council of Youth (CMJ), which sets the priorities, objectives and budget of the youth sector. There are 30 members in total in the Youth Advisory Council, that should reflect as much as possible the reality of young people and youth work in Europe. They are representatives of international non-governmental youth organisations, of national youth councils, and of non-governmental youth organisations or networks from the 50 States Parties to the ECC.

Which are the tasks?

Providing expertise to the CoE’s bodies that deals with youth issues, raising awareness on the work of the Council, giving information to organisations, networks, peers, social media, etc. about the Council of Europe’s work and standards, gathering opinions, information and proposals from their organisations/networks and their target groups and inform the youth sector.

The candidates should be:

• aged between 18 and 30;
• nominated by their organisation/network which must be situated in one of the 50 States Parties to the European Cultural Convention;
• committed to participating actively in the work of the Advisory Council on Youth;
• motivated, available and committed to attending the statutory meetings and to representing the Advisory Council in activities relevant to its work, as well as to contributing in writing to consultations and opinions;
• able to work in English;
• preferably have experience in at least one of the priority areas of the youth sector.

For further information, please refer to the following link with the official call and the guidelines to submit the online application.

The deadline is 28 April 2019 (23.59 hrs).

L'articolo Open call for CoE Advisory Council on Youth seats proviene da Youth Networks.

The call is open for non-governmental youth organisations, networks and other non-governmental structures involved in areas of youth work relevant to the Council of Europe’s youth policy. 

The activities will be held in co-operation with the European Youth Centres in Strasbourg and Budapest. They will be embedded in the study session for the first semester, starting on 1st October. 

Study sessions are international youth events lasting between 4 and 8 days which bring together members of youth organisations or networks and experts for discussions on a specific subject relevant to the priorities 2020-2021 of the Council of Europe Youth sector.

The deadline for applications (1^st semester 2020) is 1st April 2019.

L'articolo Call for co-operation study sessions between Council of Europe and youth organisations proviene da Youth Networks.