The development of their health at this age is a complex combination of biological, psychological, social and cultural processes. In many Member States one in five young people is neither studying nor working. Studies on the health and attitudes of young people also show that young people are exposed to a large number of risks, even in everyday life. Every year 12,000 young people are killed in road accidents in the European Union and suicide is one of the three major causes of death among young people. This is why the economic, social and cultural factors related to well-being must all be placed high on the political agenda.
Prevention has an important role to play.
The messages on all these questions are complex and thus extremely difficult to formulate and transmit as they touch upon the deep-seated emotions of young people. The transition process outside the parental home is changing as the period of study or training is being extended, the labour and housing markets are changing and people are waiting longer before starting a family. This situation raises the question of the autonomy of young people which is a precondition for any real participation. The meetings planned in the Member States could be the occasion to link up with young people to look at all these various aspects in order to identify ways of increasing their opportunities for autonomy in a changing society. Today's young people envisage living their lives in this wider area and want to develop in a world without borders.