Resolution of the Council and of the representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council of 28 June 2001 on promoting young people's initiative, enterprise and creativity: from exclusion to empowerment
Date: 2001-06-28
Institutions: Council of the European Union, Representatives of the Governments of the Member States
Subjects: EU employment policy, business start-up, job access, public awareness campaign, young person, youth employment

C 196/2

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Official Journal of the European Communities

12.7.2001

RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL AND OF THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF
THE MEMBER STATES MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL

on promoting young people’s initiative, enterprise and creativity: from exclusion to empowerment

of 28 June 2001

(2001/C 196/02)

I

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE REPRESEN-
TATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE MEMBER STATES OF THE
EUROPEAN COMMUNITY, MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL,

Bearing in mind that:

1. The Treaty establishing the European Community provides
for Community action to be aimed at encouraging the
development of youth exchanges and of exchanges of
socio-educational instructors.

2. The Community has been assigned the task among others
of promoting harmonious, balanced and sustainable devel-
opment of economic activities, a high level of employment
and social protection, and a rise in living standards and in
the quality of life.

3. The promotion of employment, improvement of living and
are
the social

working
mentioned among the specific objections of
provisions of the Treaty.

conditions,

combating

exclusion

and

promptly
non-formal
in the labour market.

approve

through
to
learning, and to ensure that it is recognised

knowledge

acquired

8. In the Presidency conclusions of

the European Council
meeting in Lisbon on 23 and 24 March 2000 one of the
targets set was for the Member States, in accordance with
their constitutional provisions, and also the Council and
the Commission to take certain necessary steps within
their areas of competence to fulfil inter alia the target of
developing a common European format
for curriculum
vitae to be used on a voluntary basis in order to facilitate
mobility by helping the assessment by both educational
and training institutions and employers of knowledge
acquired. The achievement of
the priority objective of
mobility will be based in particular on the action plan
for mobility,
approved by the Heads of State or
Government at the European Council in Nice, and on a
draft recommendation on mobility within the Community
for
students, persons undergoing training, volunteers,
teachers and trainers which, according to the conclusions
of the European Council in Stockholm, it is intended to
adopt by June 2001.

4. The European Parliament and the Council have by
Decision No 1031/2000/EC of 13 April 2000 (1) estab-
lished the (cid:145)Youth(cid:146) Community action programme. One
objective of
to encourage young
people’s initiative, enterprise and creativity so that they
can play an active role in society.

this programme is

9. The memorandum on lifelong learning presented by the
(Education/Youth) of 9
Commission to the Council
November 2000, proposed consulting all
the relevant
public and private actors on six main topics including
non-formal
learning and the need to invest more in
human resources.

5. On 9 November 2000 the Council and the Representatives
of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within
the Council, adopted a Resolution on the social inclusion
of young people (2).

10. Under its Decision 2000/819/EC of 20 December 2000 (5),
the Council established a multiannual programme for
enterprise and entrepreneurship, and in particular
for
small and medium-sized enterprises (2001 to 2005).

6. On 8 February 1999, the Council and the Ministers of
Youth, meeting within the Council, adopted a Resolution
on youth participation (3) which puts the inclusion of
youth in institutions of
social, political, cultural and
economic life in the foreground.

7. In a Resolution on a youth policy for Europe (4), adopted
by the European Parliament on 9 March 1999, the Member
States and the Commission were encouraged to act

(1) OJ L 117, 18.5.2000, p. 1.
(2) OJ C 374, 28.12.2000, p. 5.
(3) OJ C 42, 17.2.1999, p. 1.
(4) OJ C 175, 21.6.1999, p. 48.

11. In the conclusions of the European Council meeting in
Lisbon on 23 and 24 March 2000 entrepreneurship is
mentioned as one of the five basic skills which should
be provided through lifelong learning.

12. In Council Decision 2001/63/EC of 19 January 2001 on
guidelines for Member States’ employment policies for the
year 2001 (6), the development of entrepreneurship and
job creation is identified as one of the four pillars,

(5) OJ L 333, 29.12.2000, p. 84.
(6) OJ L 22, 24.1.2001, p. 18.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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THEREFORE.

II

13. ARE OF THE VIEW that young people’s initiative, enterprise
and creativity are a key resource that should be better
promoted in various spheres of society for the devel-
opment of their own personal and social skills as well as
being an important precondition for attaining the Union’s
strategic goal of becoming the world’s most competitive
and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world,
capable of sustainable economic growth, more and better
job opportunities and greater social cohesion.

14. WELCOME in this context

the emphasis placed by the
Lisbon Conclusions on lifelong learning as a basic
component of the European social model.

15. EMPHASISE the importance of young people’s own initiative
and creativity in combating racism, xenophobia and intol-
erance.

(iii) in the forthcoming evaluation of the Youth programme, to
report to what extent young people’s initiative, enterprise
and creativity are promoted within the framework of the
programme;

(iv) to involve young people in the development of European
learning

cooperation in the youth field and non-formal
initiatives;

(v) to take particular note of young people’s own initiative,
enterprise and creativity in drawing up new strategies for
lifelong learning,

INVITE the Member States:

IV

(i) to encourage and make more visible in all fields the spirit
of initiative, enterprise and creativity of the young people;

16. EMPHASISE the importance of young people’s initiative,
enterprise and creativity when it comes to their ability to
prevent social, political and cultural exclusion and the
importance of strengthening young people’s power and
influence over their life situation.

(ii) to improve young people’s information of available oppor-
tunities and support in starting and developing activities,
including cultural and business activities;

17. CONSIDER the results of

the questionnaire survey on
non-formal education on which the French Presidency, in
the light of
the discussions initiated by the Portuguese
Presidency during the year 2000, took the initiative on 8
December 2000.

18. CONSIDER that the promotion of young people’s initiative,
enterprise and creativity is one of the objectives of coop-
eration in youth issues,

(iii) to promote pupil participation and their initiative and
creativity as a valuable resource in teaching and other
school activities, and to contribute so that the education
system stimulates active citizenship;

(iv) to promote student participation in higher education, and
vocational
initiative,
enterprise and creativity are a resource not only in
education but also in research and other knowledge-
developing activities;

young people’s

training where

III

INVITE the Commission to emphasis the importance of young
people’s initiative, enterprise and creativity in European coop-
eration in youth issues and in particular:

(v) to take particular note of young people’s own initiative,
enterprise and creativity in drawing up new strategies for
both lifelong learning and innovative methods of teaching
and learning;

(i) in the preparation of Community cooperation policy in the
youth field, to associate young people themselves and to
consider their
initiative, enterprise and creativity as a
resource in society;

(vi) to integrate young people’s

initiative, enterprise and
creativity in practical national level labour-market policy
measures in the youth sector;

(ii) to ensure that the youth dimension is taken into account
in Community activities concerning initiative, enterprise
and creativity;

(vii) to develop and promote the sharing of experience and
dissemination of best practice with respect to both boys’
and girls’ initiative, enterprise and creativity in clubs and
associations, including Youth organisations,

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Official Journal of the European Communities

12.7.2001

V

INVITE the Commission and Member States, within their
respective spheres of competence:

(i) to integrate and promote young people’s

initiative,

enterprise and creativity in combating exclusion;

(ii) to encourage young people’s initiative and creativity in

combating racism, xenophobia and intolerance;

(iii) to promote sharing of experience and dissemination of
to activities and projects
initiative,

best practice with respect
developed on the basis of young people’s
enterprise and creativity;

(iv) to encourage young people’s initiative, enterprise and
creativity as a key driving force in the context of the
strategy for creating more and better jobs in Europe;

(v) to take into account the views of pupils and students in
implementation of Community education
the further
programmes notably Socrates and Leonardo da Vinci, in
order to put young people’s initiative and creativity to
use;

(vi) to promote research and sharing of experience in order
initiative,

to increase knowledge of young people’s
enterprise and creativity;

(vii) to emphasise the importance of non-formal learning as a
means of expressing and developing young people’s
initiative, enterprise and creativity and encourage those
engaged in non-formal learning to share their experience;

(viii) to promote existing cooperation between the Member
States, the Commission and international organisations,
especially the Council of Europe, with respect
to
research, methodology and assessment models concerning
non-formal learning;

(ix) to clarify to what extent and how young people’s
initiative, enterprise and creativity are put to use as a
resource in projects conducted with the support of the
EU Structural Funds;

(x) to educate young people as critical consumers, and take
particular note in this context of their important role as
consumers as well as practitioners in sectors such as
creative
music,
and to
film and other
industries
promote their enterprise,
initiative and creativity in
these sectors.