COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Accompanying the document Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the implementation of the EU Youth Strategy (2019-2021)
Date: 2021-10-14
Institutions: Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, European Commission
Subjects: EU employment policy, EU strategy, coronavirus disease, education policy, epidemic, social integration, social participation, student mobility, young person, youth policy

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 14.10.2021  SWD(2021) 286 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT     Accompanying the document Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the implementation of the EU Youth Strategy (2019-2021)  {COM(2021) 636 final} - {SWD(2021) 287 final}  
 
 
Contents 

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 3 

1. 

ENGAGE ........................................................................................................................ 7 

1.1 

EU initiatives and action ............................................................................................. 7 

1.1.1.  Youth participation in society .............................................................................. 7 

1.1.2.  Youth employment and skills ............................................................................. 23 

1.2.  Policy priorities and cooperation needs at national level .......................................... 30 

1.3.  Youth-led initiatives and actions ............................................................................... 31 

2.  

CONNECT ................................................................................................................... 37 

2.1 

EU initiatives and action ........................................................................................... 37 

2.1.1.  Youth mobility ................................................................................................... 37 

2.1.2.  Youth and the Digital world ............................................................................... 43 

2.2.  Policy priorities and cooperation needs at national level .......................................... 45 

2.3.  Youth-led initiatives and actions ............................................................................... 46 

3.  

EMPOWER ................................................................................................................. 48 

3.1.  EU initiatives and action ........................................................................................... 48 

3.1.1.   Quality Youth work ............................................................................................ 48 

3.1.2.   Social inclusion .................................................................................................. 54 

3.1.3.  Health and well-being ........................................................................................ 59 

3.1.4.  Education and Training ...................................................................................... 62 

3.1.5.  Culture ................................................................................................................ 72 

3.2.  Policy priorities and cooperation needs at national level .......................................... 74 

3.3.  Youth-led initiatives and actions ............................................................................... 75 

4. 

IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON THE YOUTH SECTOR .......... 77 

4.1.  Youth organisations and their role in mitigating the disruptions of the crisis ........... 79 

4.2. 

Impact on youth work practice .................................................................................. 80 

4.3.  Support provided to the youth work sector ............................................................... 81 

5.  

BEYOND THE EU ...................................................................................................... 86 

5.1.  Western Balkans ........................................................................................................ 87 

5.2.  The Eastern Partnership ............................................................................................. 90 

5.3.  Southern Neighbourhood........................................................................................... 92 

5.4.  Sub-Saharan Africa ................................................................................................... 94 

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5.5.  Latin America and the Caribbean .............................................................................. 97 

5.6.  Asia and Pacific region .............................................................................................. 98 

5.7.  The Youth Sounding Board for International Partnerships ....................................... 99 

6.  

INSIGHT INTO EU SPENDING ON YOUTH ...................................................... 102 

6.1.  Revised Dashboard of EU indicators in the field of youth: proposed Policy indicators 
for EU spending on youth................................................................................................... 102 

6.2.  EU spending on youth main sources under the new Multiannual financial framework 
2021-2027 103 

6.2.1.   Single Market, Innovation and Digital ............................................................. 104 

6.2.2.   Cohesion, Resilience and Values ..................................................................... 104 

6.2.3.  Natural Resources and Environment ................................................................ 109 

6.2.4.  Migration and Border Management ................................................................. 110 

6.2.5.  Neighbourhood and the World ......................................................................... 111 

Annexes ................................................................................................................................. 112 

List of main policy documents adopted in the youth field 2019-2021 ............................... 112 

List of main mutual learning and knowledge gathering activities 2019-2021 ................... 113 

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INTRODUCTION 

The  European  Union  (EU)  Youth  Strategy  is  the  framework  for  the  EU  youth  policy 
cooperation. The current policy cooperation phase started on 1 January 2019 for the period of 
nine years (2019-2027), based on a Council resolution adopted on 26 November 20181. The EU 
Youth Strategy follows three-year work cycles, at the end of which the Commission draws up 
an EU Youth Report. The priorities and actions for the respective working periods are presented 
in the EU Work Plans for Youth, and the Council sets these EU Work Plans together with the 
Commission. 

The EU Youth Strategy has a strong cross-sectoral approach and calls for mainstreaming youth 
as  a  priority  amongst  different  policy  areas.  The  Strategy  fosters  youth  participation  in 
democratic life, in line with Article 165 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU.  It supports 
social and civic engagement, and aims to ensure that all young people, within and beyond the 
European Union have the necessary resources to take part in society. Approximately 86 million 
young  people  live  in  the  EU.  Definitions  of  young  people  vary  between  countries.  The  age 
range 15-29 is often selected for statistical purposes at EU level. One in every six persons in the 
EU is aged between 15 and 29 years.  

The  Member  States  and  the  Commission  take  forward  a  number  of  priority  actions  under 
these core areas presented in the EU triennial Work Plans for Youth, which spans two Council 
Presidency Trios. This EU Youth Report 2021 evaluates progress towards the objectives and 
priorities of the EU Youth Strategy for 2019-2021. 

The Strategy focuses on three core areas of action, around three key words:   

  ENGAGE  which  aims  towards  a  meaningful  civic,  democratic,  economic,  social, 

cultural and political participation of young people;  

  CONNECT which is to foster different and inclusive forms of mobility for young people 
across the European Union and beyond with a view to make new connections, relations 
and exchange of experience, as well as to boost intercultural understanding, engagement 
in solidarity and volunteering activities;  

  EMPOWER which aims to encourage young people to take charge of their own lives. 

Youth work in all its forms is to serve as a catalyst for empowerment.  

The European Youth Goals2, designed by young people in 2018 in the framework of the EU 
youth dialogue and endorsed by youth Ministers, form an integral part of the Strategy. These 
goals  identify  cross-sectoral  areas that  affect  young people’s lives  and point out  challenges. 
The  EU  Youth  Strategy  aims  at  contributing  to  realising  this  vision  of  young  people  by 
mobilising EU level policy instruments as well as actions at national, regional and local level 
by all stakeholders. 

The  EU  Youth  Strategy  also  contributes  to  achieving  the  objectives  of  the  European  Green 
Deal – the EU sustainable growth  strategy  – by  supporting its call for  an inclusive and just 

1   2018/C 456/01 of 26 November 2018 
2   European Youth Goals | European Youth Portal (europa.eu) 

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transition,  including  in  the  areas  identified  by  young  European  citizens  as  ones  that  matter 
most to them: protecting the environment and fighting climate change. 

The implementation of the EU Youth Strategy is supported by several instruments, such as: 

  Mutual learning activities 

Mutual  learning  between  Member  States,  the  European  Commission  and  relevant 
stakeholders is the preferable approach for the advancement of youth policy with regard 
to both core and cross-sectoral areas. Besides Expert Groups, which can develop policy 
guidance  and  practical  tools  and  can  share  good  practices,  mutual  learning  activities 
include also peer reviews and peer counselling, high-level forums, analysis and studies. 

  Future National Activities Planners (FNAPs)  

The  Future  National  Activities  Planners  allow  Member  States  on  a  voluntary  basis  to 
share their priorities in line with the  EU  Youth Strategy. The  aim of the  FNAPs is to 
increase transparency in the implementation of youth policies at regional, national and 
EU level. Youth policies in Member States are among the most important instruments 
for  the  implementation  of  the  EU  Youth  Strategy.  They  are  often  consolidated  in  a 
national  youth  strategy  or  an  equivalent  youth  policy  planning  document,  as 
documented by the Youth Wiki3. The content of such national  youth strategies can be 
highly  relevant  for  other  Member  States  in  allowing  them  to  establish  synergies, 
facilitate  peer  learning  and  help  to  identify  and  cluster  different  interests  and  specific 
needs of Member States in youth policy development. The Member States have already 
been invited twice to submit FNAPs, in  2019  and in 2021, and the main outcomes  of 
these surveys are included in the current document. 

  EU Youth Dialogue (EUYD)  

The  EU  Youth  Dialogue  is  the  dialogue  with  young  people  and  youth  organisations 
involving policy and decision makers, as well as experts, researchers and other relevant 
civil society actors. It serves as a forum for continuous joint reflection and consultation 
on the priorities, implementation and follow-up of European cooperation in the field of 
youth.  It  builds  on  the  achievements  of  past  dialogue  processes  (previously  called 
“Structured Dialogue”), and it is organised into 18-month work cycles. 

  European Youth Portal (EYP) 

The European Youth Portal  is  the single multilingual  entry point for EU level  youth 
related  information  and  opportunities.  Its  revamped  version  launched  in  November 
2020  supports  the  EU  Youth  Strategy  in  providing  content  and  services  for  young 
people  centred  around  its  3  keywords  of  Engage,  Connect,  Empower  as  well  as 
through a dedicated section on the EU Youth Strategy targeting youth stakeholders. 

  EU Youth Strategy Platform 

The  Platform  is  a  collaborative  online  platform  for  youth  stakeholders  which  aims  to 
build a basis for a regular civic dialogue, offer opportunities to exchange information on 

3   The online platform presenting information on European countries' youth policies National Policies Platform 

| YouthWiki (europa.eu) 

4 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
activities  and  results,  and  facilitate  participatory  governance  and  coordination  of  the 
implementation of the Strategy.  

  Evidence-based tools  

Evidence-based  policy  making  requires  continuous  research,  knowledge  development 
and  outreach  to  young  people  and  youth  organisations.  The  European  Commission’s 
data  collection  sources  include  among  others:  the  dashboard  of  EU  indicators  in  the 
youth field; statistics on youth provided by the European Statistics Office (Eurostat); the 
Youth  Wiki  -  the  online  encyclopaedia  of  national  youth  polices  in  Europe;  public 
opinion surveys (Eurobarometers); research activities managed by the Youth Partnership 
between  the  European  Union  and  the  Council  of  Europe;  as  well  as  the  European 
Commission studies and reports on youth policies. 

  The  EU  Youth  Strategy  2019-2027  foresees  the  establishment  of  an  EU  Youth 
Coordinator within the European Commission, with the objective of enhancing cross-
sectoral cooperation, as well as knowledge development and exchange on youth issues 
within  the  European  Commission  services.  The  EU  Youth  Coordinator  took  up  her 
functions in 2021. 

Focus and structure of the report 

line  with 

In 
implementation of the first three-year cycle of the current EU Youth Strategy (2019-2021).  

the  Strategy’s  reporting  requirements, 

this  document  reports  on 

the 

The Council resolution provides that the EU Youth Strategy follows triennial working periods 
which  spans  two  Presidency  Trios.  The  priorities  and  actions  for  the  respective  working 
periods are presented in the EU Work Plans for Youth.  

The  report  focuses  on  the  priorities  of  the  two  Presidency  Trios  for  2019-2021:  “Creating 
opportunities for youth” and “Europe for YOUth – YOUth for Europe: Space for Democracy 
and  Participation”  and  shows  their  linkage  with  the  three  core  areas  of  the  Strategy.  This 
report aims at taking stock on the implementation of the EU Youth Strategy for 2019-2021. It 
evaluates progress towards the objectives and priorities of the strategy, with a particular focus 
on the EU work plan for youth set up for 2019-2021.  

As  far  as  the  report’s  structure  is  concerned,  the  reported  activities  are  classified  under  the 
three  core  areas  of  the  Strategy:  ENGAGE,  CONNECT  and  EMPOWER  and  organised  in 
three  corresponding  sections.  A  fourth  section  is  devoted  to  the  impact  of  the  COVID-19 
pandemic on the youth sector. Section 5 is focused on the international dimension of the EU 
Youth Strategy, while section 6 provides a first  insight  on EU spending  on  youth  under the 
new Multiannual financial Framework 2021-2027. 

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Youth Goals: a vision from youth for Europe 

1. Connecting EU with Youth

2. Equality of all genders

3. Inclusive societies

4. Information and constructive 
dialogue

5. Mental health and wellbeing

6. Moving rural youth forward

7. Quality employment for all

8. Quality learning

9. Space and participation for all

10. Sustainable green Europe

11. Youth organisations and 
European programmes

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1. 

ENGAGE  

In line with the Trio Presidency Germany - Portugal – Slovenia (July 2020 - December 2021) 
priority: “Europe for YOUth – YOUth for Europe: Space for Democracy and Participation” 

1.1  EU initiatives and action 

1.1.1.   Youth participation in society 

The EU Youth Dialogue (EUYD) is a key tool for youth engagement and participation from 
the  EU  Youth  Strategy.  It  strives  to  bring  together  young  people,  youth  organisations  and 
decision  makers,  supported  by  experts  and  evidence.  It  is  organised  into  18-month  work 
cycles.  Each  cycle  focuses  on  a  different  thematic  priority  set  by  the  Council  of  Youth 
Ministers.  The  dialogue  is  steered  by  a  core  group  at  EU  level  involving  the  Council 
presidencies,  the  Youth  Forum,  National  Youth  Councils  and  the  European  Commission. 
Inputs  are  organised  by  national  working  groups  and  processed  with  the  support  of  a  small 
team of researchers. The EUYD reaches in every cycle more than 50.000 young people and is 
one of the biggest single participatory process for citizens in the EU thanks to its capacity to 
mobilise young people via national platforms and youth organisations4.  

  The seventh Cycle of the EU Youth Dialogue  

The cycle under the Trio Presidency Romania-Finland- Croatia started on 1 January 2019 
and lasted for 18 months until June 2020. 

The Romanian Presidency initiated activities to clarify the governance of the dialogue, which 
led  to  the  Council  Resolution  establishing  guidelines  on  the  governance  of  the  EU  Youth 
Dialogue5.  The  Presidency  also  developed  a  methodology  with  a  thematic  framework  for 
working groups to design their local, national and European dialogues. As a basis for further 
national consultations, guiding questions were developed after discussions held by delegates 
at  the  EU  Youth  Conference  in  Bucharest  (March  2019)  and  finalised  by  the  trio  in 
cooperation  with  the  European  Steering  Group  of  the  Youth  Dialogue.  This  scheme  has 
generally been adopted by all presidencies since then. 

The common theme chosen by the Trio Presidency was “Creating opportunities for youth” 
with a focus on:  

  Quality Employment for All  

  Quality Youth Work for All  

  Opportunities for Rural Youth  

The thematic priority was therefore directly or indirectly connected to three European Youth 
Goals  and  their  targets:  Quality  Employment  for  All,  Quality  Learning  and  Moving  Rural 
Youth Forward. The Strategy and related EU Youth Goals were adopted during this cycle.   

4   https://europa.eu/youth/get-involved/eu%20youth%20dialogue/previous-eu-youth-dialogue-

consultations_en 
5   OJ C 189, 5.6.2019 

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The  EU  Youth  conference  is  a  recurrent  event  organised  by  each  Presidency,  in  the 
framework of the EU Youth Dialogue. Usually around 200 young people from the EU, youth 
delegates,  representatives  from  Youth  ministries,  NGOs,  researchers  alongside  other 
stakeholders and institutions like the Council of Europe take part. The aim of the conference 
is  to  create  a  platform  for  exchange  between  young  people  and  those  responsible  for  the 
implementation of youth policy on EU level.  

The first Youth conference to support the process of the 7th EU Youth Dialogue was held in 
Bucharest in May 2019 with the aim to engage young people and discuss solutions on how to 
improve access to decent work for young Europeans.  

The second Youth conference was held in Helsinki, Finland in July 2019 and had a focus on 
the education and training of youth workers.  

The third Youth Conference took place in Zagreb, Croatia in March 2020 and focused on the 
importance of opportunities for young people living in rural communities across the EU.  

An  estimated  56 287  young  people  from  all  over  the  European  Union  took  part  in  the  7th 
Cycle of the Youth Dialogue. 

The outcomes of the 7th Cycle of the EU Youth Dialogue were based on several interlinked 
processes. National and European Youth Dialogue activities took place listening to voices of 
young  people.  Participatory  approaches  supported  by  researcher  analysis  to  efficiently  and 
reliably  capture  the  opinions  of  these  56 287  young  people  were  used.  Methods  included 
focus groups, survey work, participatory action research, visual methodologies and dialogue 
events.  

The findings from the National and European Youth Dialogue Activities were then elaborated 
in  two  reports:  ‘Creating  Opportunities  for  Youth’  and  ‘Opportunities  for  Rural  Youth’, 
providing  detailed  findings  from  the  common  European  surveys  conducted  within  the 
National  Youth  Dialogue  Activities.  These  findings  from  the  National  and  European  Youth 
Dialogue  Activities  were  then  summarized  in  one  overview  report,  titled  ‘Creating 
Opportunities for Youth’. 

The findings reports were then distributed and presented to the participants of the EU Youth 
Conference  (EUYC)  2020  in  Zagreb,  Croatia.  The  EUYC  2020  Zagreb  participants  had  a 
chance  to  build  on  these  reports  by  engaging  in  workshop  groups  to  further  debate  and 
elaborate  on  the  voices  of  young  people.    The  recommendations  and  examples  of  good 
practices  harvested  through  these  working  groups  as  well  as  through  the  discussions  and 
presentations  of  participants  to  the  conference  floor  were  recorded  by  the  facilitators  and 
researchers  working  on  the  cycle.  These  outcomes  of  the  7th  Cycle  of  EU  Youth  Dialogue 
discussed  at  the  EU  Youth  Conference  in  Zagreb  in  Croatia  were  published  in  the  report. 
“Creating Opportunities for Youth”   

The following topics have been outlined during the 7th Cycle of EU Youth Dialogue.  

Quality Employment for All  

•  Improving  young  workers  rights  –  through  better  regulation  and  reducing  discrimination 
such as by ending unpaid internships and traineeships.  

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• Protecting young people’s physical and mental health and wellbeing at work – as a response 
to the impact of precarious employment and an uncertain future of work.  

•  Blending  work  and  learning  –  by  creating  learning  opportunities  for  young  workers,  and 
opportunities for students to experience work-based learning.  

•  Promoting  recognition  of  non-formal  education  and  volunteering  by  employers  –  for 
instance, through expanding and strengthening Youthpass.  

•  Extending  careers  guidance  –  for  instance,  by  providing  support  both  during  and  after 
education.  

•  Increasing  support  for  youth  entrepreneurship  –  for  instance,  through  mentoring  and 
financial support.  

•  Involving  young  people  in  the  implementation  of  the  Youth  Guarantee  –  for  instance, 
through collaboration with Youth Council. 

Quality Youth Work for All  

•  Youth  worker  training:  implementing  European  frameworks  nationally  –  it  was  identified 
that  the  various  standards,  definitions  and  competency  frameworks  developed  at  European 
level,  should  now  be  implemented  on  a  national  basis,  to  further  standardise  youth  work 
across Europe.  

•  Continuing  exchange  of  youth  worker  practices  across  Europe  –  was  identified  as  useful 
such  as  through  Erasmus+:  Youth  in  Action  programme  transnational  cooperation  activities 
training.  

• Increasing delivery of youth work in schools – was identified as a way of giving more young 
people access to youth work, and reforming formal education.  

• Increasing visibility and publicity of youth work opportunities – so that more young people 
were aware of them.  

• Fostering more inclusive youth work – so that youth work was sensitive to a diverse range 
of young people's needs.  

• Further developing digital youth work – in order to improve the use of digital technologies 
in the youth sector.  

• Improving pay and labour conditions of youth workers 

Opportunities for Rural Youth  

• Creating employment in rural areas – to ensure rural areas are attractive to young people.  

•  Linking  farming  and  youth  –  finding  synergies  between  agricultural  and  youth  policy  and 
investing in farming to better support young farmers.  

•  Providing  vocational  education  for  rural  development  –  to  equip  young  people  with  the 
skills to build a rural economy that is desirable to them.  

•  Improving  connectivity  and  transport  –  in  order  to  increase  young  people's  access  to 
opportunities outside of their areas.  

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•  Promoting  youth  participation  in  rural  areas  –  by  investing  in  existing  rural  youth 
organisations and bringing public administration closer to rural areas.  

•  Investing  in  the  rural  youth  sector  –  by  investing  in  rural  youth  centres  and  piloting  new 
approaches to delivering youth work in rural areas.  

•  Improving  access  to  information  on  youth  opportunities  –  ensuring  young  people  in  rural 
areas are aware of existing schemes such as Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps. 

  The eight Cycle of the EU Youth Dialogue 

In line with the Trio Presidency Germany - Portugal – Slovenia (July 2020 - December 2021) 
priority: “Europe for YOUth – YOUth for Europe: Space for Democracy and Participation  

The 8th Cycle, under the Trio Presidency of Germany - Portugal – Slovenia, started on 1 July 
2020 and will last until 31 December 2021. The topic of the 8th Cycle is “Europe for YOUth - 
YOUth  for  Europe:  Space  for  Democracy  and  Participation”  and  is  linked  to  Youth  Goal  9 
“Space and Participation for All”. 

The  first  EU  Youth  Conference6  of  this  cycle  took  place  under  the  German  Presidency  in 
Berlin in October 2020 in a virtual setting and was organised by the German Federal Ministry 
for  Family  Affairs,  Senior  Citizens,  Women  and  Youth  together  with  the  German  Federal 
Youth  Council.  200  participants  from  about  40  European  countries  explored,  discussed  and 
worked on the topics  youth,  democracy and participation  and developed ideas and demands 
on how the Youth Goal #9 “Space and Participation for All” could be realised. 

The programme of the conference followed a participatory approach, guiding the participants 
through  different  phases  of  open  brainstorming,  elaboration  and  discussion,  dialogue  with 
political decision-makers and reflection, and finally culminating in the formulation of seven 
concrete political demands by young people, one for each target of Youth Goal #9. 

In the final participatory format of the conference, participants had the opportunity to review 
and  complement  the  gathered  outcomes  of  the  conference.  These  outcomes  were  structured 
and  divided  according  to  the  seven  targets  of  Youth  Goal  #9  and  were  discussed  in  small 
groups.  Based  on  these  discussions,  each  group  formulated  one  concrete  political  demand 
which  can  contribute  to  the  implementation  of  Youth  Goal  #9  at  European  level  and  in  the 
Member States. 

In the end a harvesting summary was compiled with the main ideas, demands and solutions 
brought up by the participants of the EU Youth Conference concerning Youth Goal #9.  

The seven Targets of Youth Goal #9 and the respective political demands are as follows: 

Target 1 Ensure young people can adequately influence all areas of society and all parts of 
the  decision-making  processes,  from  agenda  setting  to  implementation,  monitoring  and 
evaluation  through  youth-friendly  and  accessible  mechanisms  and  structures,  ensuring  that 
policies respond to the needs of young people.  

6   https://www.dbjr.de/en/topics/eu-jugendkonferenz 

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• Political Demand: [We] demand co-decision-making processes on all levels with young 

people and youth organisations, implemented through a rights-based approach. 

 Target  2  Ensure  equal  access  to  everyday  decision  making  for  all  young  people  from 

different backgrounds.  

• Political Demand: Decision-makers should encourage and invest in dedicated processes 

which amplify young minority voices and ensure their direct engagement.  

Target 3 Increase youth participation and thus equal representation in the electoral process 

as well as in elected bodies and other decision-making organs at all levels of society.  

• Political Demand: Ensure young people's access to formal decision making by lowering 
the age of voting and political candidacy to 16 in all elections, while ensuring all youths have 
the  opportunity  to  gain  sufficient  skills  and  motivation  to  participate  actively  and  passively 
in elections, as well as removing all barriers to voting.  

Target  4  Provide  youth-led  physical  facilities  and  infrastructures  called  youth  spaces 
defined by being autonomous, open and safe, accessible to all, offering professional support 
for development and ensuring opportunities for youth participation.  

• Political Demand: We demand a new EU Fund to set up and sustain youth spaces.  

Target  5  Ensure  safe  virtual  youth  spaces  are  accessible  to  every  young  person  which 
provide  access  to  information  and  services  as  well  as  ensure  opportunities  for  youth 
participation.  

•  Political  Demand:  We  request  that  the  European  Commission  puts  the  creation  of  safe 
digital  spaces  for  young  people,  along  with  the  support  and  funding  of  developing  digital 
literacy  activities,  as  one  of  the  top  priorities  in  all  programmes  along  with  prioritising  it 
horizontally at European level.  

Target  6  Ensure  sustainable  funding,  common  recognition  and  development  of  quality 
youth work in order to strengthen youth organisations and their role in inclusion, participation 
and non-formal education.  

•  Political  Demand:  We  demand  funds  to  be  made  available  for  permanent  structures  of 

participation. 

Target  7  Provide  youth-friendly,  relevant,  comprehensive information, also  developed by 

and with young people, in order to enable youth participation.  

• Political Demand: We demand critical thinking to become a part of the obligatory private 
and  public  school  curriculum  for  at  least  one  hour  a  week  from  the  ages  10–16  in  order  to 
fight  fake  news  and  disinformation  with  media  and  information  literacy  and  to  encourage 
youth participation/motivation to be a part of the debate. 

In the framework of the Portuguese Presidency, the Portuguese Ministry of Education and 
the National Youth Council hosted a virtual Youth conference in March 2021.  

In  this  implementation  phase  of  the  8th  Cycle  of  the  EU  Youth  Dialogue  the  conference 
participants had the task to come up with concrete proposals, and debate and shape these into 
a  toolbox  of  actions,  measures  and  political  recommendations  to  help  achieve  the 
European Youth Goal #9 and its seven targets.  

The main ideas coming from the Conclusions of the seven working groups were: 

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Influence on policy-making - Taking inspiration from the EU Youth dialogue, Member States 
should set up similar mechanisms at national/local level. 

Inclusive  participation  -  Encourage  youth  from  minority  backgrounds  to  become  active 
citizens using peer-to-peer non-formal learning.  

Voting and electoral processes - Lowering the voting age at 16 at all levels of voting 

Physical youth spaces - Youth centers should be led by youth 

Digitalised  youth  spaces  -  Providing  feedback  to  young  people  on  their  proposals  coming 
from online consultations 

Funding - Create a platform to assist bottom up, youth led initiatives 

Youth  information  -  Implementation  of  non-formal  education  in  critical  thinking  learning  in 
schools by bringing the NGOs in. 

A  “Toolbox  for  the  Implementation  Phase”  is  elaborated  in  the  Conference  report  of  the 
Portuguese Presidency.  

Simultaneously  with  the  EU  youth  conference,  a  48-hour  EU  Youth  Digital  Hackathon 
"SOLVE  THE  GAP"  also  took  place.  Organised  by  the  Portuguese  Presidency  and  the 
Portuguese National Youth Council, it aimed at promoting and supporting the development of 
youth-led  innovative  digital  solutions  to  tackle  the  barriers  young  people  find  daily  in 
participating in the democratic political decision-making, with the creation of a digital tool to 
boost young people's participation.  

The winning project was the "European Policy Hub” from the NGO European Youth Energy 
Network  (EYEN).  This  digital  tool  aims  at  setting  up  a  One-Stop-Shop  to  facilitate  the 
understanding of the policy-making processes, help young people discovering the role of the 
European and national  institutions,  find volunteering  and job  opportunities and  engage with 
youth organisations that are already active. The winning team received a prize and technical 
support to finalise the prototype of their project. The winning project will be presented at the 
EU Youth Conference in Maribor, Slovenia in September 2021 where the participants will be 
its first users and multipliers. 

The third and last EU Youth Conference of the 8th Cycle planned for September 2021 will be 
looking at the whole cycle and the first results of the implementation phase. What has worked 
well? Where are changes visible? What influence did the 8th Cycle of the EU Youth Dialogue 
have and what is still missing in order to create “Spaces and Participation for all”? 

An  online  survey  of  the  8th  Cycle  EU  Youth  Dialogue  has  been  conducted  between  March 
and June 2021 in order to understand young people’s views on the European Youth Goal No 
9: Space and participation for all. The consultation was supervised by the European Steering 
Group of the EU Youth Dialogue, whose members are representatives from Youth councils, 
Youth  ministries,  the  European  Youth  Forum7  and  the  European  Commission.  More  than 
8 500  young people shared their views  on the topic of Space  and participation  for all. Over 

7   The European Youth Forum (YFJ) is the biggest youth platform in the world advocating towards European 
and international decision-makers to strengthen the youth perspective in key political processes. Its network 
is composed of 44 National Youth Councils and 61 International Youth NGOs.  

12 

 
 
                                                 
two thirds of the respondents felt they have no or little influence on public policy and political 
decision making, and expressed the need for more spaces for participation and for citizenship 
education. The results of the survey will feed into the Council Conclusions on the Outcomes 
of the 8th Cycle of the EU Youth Dialogue put forward by the Slovenian Presidency. 

  Council  conclusions  on  fostering  democratic  awareness  and  democratic  engagement 

among young people in Europe 

The Conclusions have been drafted in the framework of the EU Youth Dialogue topic chosen 
by  the  German-Portuguese-Slovenian  Trio  Presidency  “Europe  for  YOUth-YOUth  for 
Europe. Space and Democracy and Participation”, linking it to Youth Goal number 9 “Space 
and Participation for All”. Its aim is to ensure that consultations are inclusive and cover young 
participants with diverse backgrounds, interest and abilities. The Council Conclusions reflect 
on  the  ideas  and  opinions  gathered  at  the  EU  Youth  Conference  in  Berlin  in  October  2020 
where young people from all over Europe discussed with political leaders and developed the 
seven concrete demands (as mentioned above) on how the European Youth Goal #9 "Space 
and Participation for All" can be implemented. The seven demands have found their way into 
EU  policy  as  they  are  reflected  in  the  Council  Conclusions.  The  document  serves  as  a 
strategic framework for political work at the European level and aims to promote awareness 
of democracy and democratic engagement among  young people. It also  articulates what EU 
Member States and the European Commission can do to achieve this goal. 

  Council Conclusions on Strengthening the multilevel governance when promoting the 

participation of young people in decision-making processes 

The  Portuguese  Presidency  had  put  youth  participation  high  on  its  agenda  and  proposed 
Council conclusions, which focus on strengthening multilevel governance in the participation 
of young people in decision-making processes. The Conclusions are inspired by the EU Youth 
Dialogue topic chosen by the German-Portuguese-Slovenian Trio Presidency on “Europe for 
YOUth - YOUth for Europe. Space and Democracy and Participation”.  

The Council Conclusions emphasise the importance of providing  young people with  quality 
citizenship  education  and  equal  opportunities 
involvement  and 
empowerment in relevant decision-making processes at all levels. 

for  participation, 

The Conclusions invite Member States to empower all young people through education and 
training, youth-oriented information, feedback, non-formal and informal learning, youth work 
and  other  practices  that  contribute  to  informed  and  critical  participation  in  multilevel 
decision-making  processes.  They  also  invite  Member  States  to  support  the  setting  up  or 
improvement of sustainable multilevel governance structures, to facilitate youth participation 
in decision-making processes. 

The Conclusions invite the Commission to organise a peer-learning activity to promote the 
effective  participation  of  young  people  in  decision-making  processes  at  all  levels  and  in  all 
policy areas, thus creating a common understanding of the concept of multilevel governance.  

The Commission is also invited to build knowledge and capacity on youth participation in 
decision-making  processes  at  multiple  levels,  including  through  the  Youth  Wiki,  youth 

13 

 
 
research  networks  and  cooperation  with  international  organisations  such  as  the  Council  of 
Europe, the United Nations and the OECD and other relevant bodies.  

  Eurobarometer findings 

The Flash Eurobarometer8 “How do we build a stronger, more united Europe? The views of 
young people” published in April 2019 surveyed more than 10 000 young people across the 
EU aged between 15-30  years old  on  what  the  EU priorities should be  as well as on  which 
areas  education  and  training  should  focus  in  the  years  to  come.  Additionally,  the  survey 
provides an overview on young people’s trends regarding their social and civic participation. 
Finally,  it  illustrates  the  situation  regarding  youth  mobility  and  helps  to  identify  the  main 
reasons that possibly impede young people from taking part in a learning experience abroad.  

The results of this Youth Eurobarometer show that for more than two thirds of young people 
(67%),  priority  number  one  for  EU  action  over  the  next  ten  years  should  be  protecting  the 
environment and fighting climate change. The second and third priorities they identified are 
improving education and training, including free movement of students, apprentices or pupils 
(56%)  and  fighting  poverty,  economic  and  social  inequalities  (56%).  In  addition,  72%  of 
young  people  interviewed  say  that,  from  the  moment,  they  were  allowed  to  participate  in 
elections until today, they voted in local, national, or European elections 

The survey also shows that three out of four 15 to 30 year-old Europeans have been actively 
engaged in  some form  of organised activities or  movements,  58% took part  in  volunteering 
activities or local community projects and 35% in campaigns, strikes or street protests. 

  Study on landscape of youth representation in the EU 

The  "Study  on the landscape of  youth representation in  the EU”9 was commissioned by the 
European  Commission  in  2019.  It  mainly  focused  on  the  changing  landscape  of  youth 
representation to feed into the implementation of the European Youth Strategy 2019-2027, in 
particular the core area ‘Engage’ which aims to support youth participation in democratic life. 
This  study  helped  identify  the  patterns  and  contemporary  trends  of  youth  participation  with 
special  focus  on  gaps  between  the  EU  and  local/regional  youth  organisations,  as  well  as 
outreach towards non-organised or excluded youth. 

The  study  focused  on  the  following  four  key  objectives:  to  map  EU  youth  NGOs  and 
networks; to assess the contribution and impact of EU funding; to identify the new trends in 
youth participation; and to make future funding recommendations. In-depth interviews were 
conducted  aimed  at  understanding  the  opportunities  and  challenges  for  young  people  to 
participate  in  democratic  life  at  EU,  regional  and  local  levels.  As  part  of  the  study,  the 
Commission was also interested in understanding how EU grant funding was used to engage 
young people, and the impact of the funding. 

8   https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/99cb705b-fa13-11e9-8c1f-01aa75ed71a1/language-

en 

9   https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/57e87ca0-900d-11ea-812f-01aa75ed71a1 

14 

 
 
                                                 
The results  display  interesting findings on the relation  between digital  evolutions  and  youth 
participation. The digital world has played an increasing role in young people’s lives and their 
engagement with democratic life. But youth is not a homogenous group, and young people of 
different  ages  use  a  combination  of  different  social  media  and  online  channels  to  structure 
their  participation.  Thus,  successful  strategies  for  facilitating  youth  participation  include  a 
balanced mix of offline and online channels.  

The study  reports that the EU  youth  sector is  in  general  growing, and that traditional  youth 
structures  such  as  NGOs  and  networks  continue  to  play  a  key  role.  These  structures  are 
increasingly  using  online  methods  for  sourcing  affiliations  and  outreach.  NGOs  often 
combine  social  media  with  ‘on  the  ground’  engagement  with  schools,  youth  work,  and 
recruitment at gatherings. 

The study was conducted before the pandemic, therefore the effects of the pandemic on youth 
representation, limiting physical engagement, still need to be assessed. 

  Activities of the EU-CoE Partnership in the field of youth on political participation  

In  September  2019  the  partnership  between  the  European  Commission  and  the  Council  of 
Europe in the field of youth organised a symposium “The future of young people’s political 
participation: questions, challenges and opportunities”. Over 120 participants explored current 
tensions, questions, challenges and opportunities regarding the political participation of young 
people  in  today’s  changing  world  and  created  a  space  for  learning  and  inspiration  among 
actors involved in this topic.  

The symposium aimed to:  

●  offer  space  and  possibilities  for  participants  to  share  and  explore  examples  of  young 
people’s political participation in a changing world;  

● empower participants from different fields and levels to address this theme in their work on 
supporting young people’s democratic values and political engagement;  

● connect different actors working on these themes, from within and beyond the youth sector, 
to continue, develop or innovate in relation to that work; 

● produce knowledge relating to the trends of youth political participation, their reasons and 
implications 

The knowledge gathered and produced throughout 2019 and as a follow up to the Symposium 
include the literature review on political  participation,  young people’s Visions  of the Future, 
the Compendium  of  practices, report from  the  Symposium, videos and animated  videos, 
infographics and webinars.  

One  of  the  more  interesting  takeaways  from  the  symposium  are  the  forward-looking  broad 
points about what young people think about the future of political participation: 

• DIVERSE:  young  people  engage  in  politics  in  a  diversity  of  ways,  including  through 
conventional means of participation, such as voting and membership in political parties 
or youth organisations, voicing their opinions and influencing decision making processes 
through  formal  structures.  On  the  other  hand,  they  also  participate  using  alternative 
channels,  digital  tools,  activism,  even  civil  disobedience.  They  increasingly  engage 

15 

 
 
through  youth movements, take part in campaigns and protests, strongly  advocating for 
issues such as climate emergency.  

• SUBVERSIVE:  many  young  people  are  not  keen  to  conduct  politics  as  usual  and  they 
seek  to  critique  the  hypocrisies  that  they  see  in  the  status  quo  with  humour  and  irony. 
This is accelerated by social media and digital technologies, where memes and political 
satire  are  the  political  language  of  the  day.  Young  people  create  new  things  and 
processes, and are creative in using what exists.  

• INCLUSIVE:  open  and  pluralistic  participation  was  one  of  the  top  priorities  for  young 
people  at  the  symposium,  who  were  committed  to  finding  ways  to  make  their 
organisations and movements more diverse. Participation was also seen as a key method 
to making our societies more inclusive. We can anticipate more interest  from youth-led 
civil society in initiatives that specifically target seldom-heard young people.  

• EMPOWERING:  the  Symposium  participants,  through  the  Cubes  exercise,  have  also 
raised  the  educational  and  empowering  aspect  of  political  participation.  Participating 
requires a certain level of competences but it is also learned by doing. Sharing the power 
may empower both sides: young people and other stakeholders, as it gives opportunity to 
perceive things from a youth perspective, to rethink the ways in which they work and to 
reinvigorate the decision-making. 

• COLOURFUL:  while  artistic  activism  was  only  represented  among  a  small  group  of 
participants  at  the symposium, its impact  was felt in  a big way. A one-man play about 
civil disobedience. Painted t-shirts with protest slogans for the Fridays for Future march. 
A  song  written  and  performed  spontaneously  by  one  of  the  participants  about  political 
participation.  Young  people  are  moved  in  an  emotional  way  by  the  social  issues  that 
matter to them, and their artistic expression in turn moves others in society 

• FLEXIBLE:  there  is  no  one  right  way  to  do  participation.  Whether  it  is  sitting  on  an 
advisory  council, protesting on the street,  or painting a mural with  a political  message, 
participants  at  the  symposium  treated  all  forms  as  equally  valid,  each  with  its  own 
potential.  There  exists  opportunities  for  collaboration  and  cross-over  between  the 
methods, and this may be something to watch out for in the future.  

• UNCOMPROMISING  ON  KEY  VALUES:  while  young  people  showed  themselves  to 
be  exceedingly  flexible  about  the  types  of  political  participation  that  are  valid,  they  do 
not compromise on the values that they felt political participation should be based upon: 
democracy, human rights, diversity, and respect. It can be anticipated that youth-led civil 
society  will  take  up  more  initiatives  that  are  explicitly  values-based  in  this  direction. 
There  will  also  be  a  greater  need  for  strategies  on  how  to  engage  with  youth  who  are 
drawn to authoritarian, right-wing extremist and/or xenophobic movements, and how to 
create spaces for free and critical thinking, while being also promoting human rights and 
democratic citizenship. 

  EU Youth programmes and youth engagement 

The  EU  youth  programmes  such  as  Erasmus+  and  the  European  Solidarity  Corps,  will 
continue  to  be  important  tools  to  support  the  involvement  of  young  people  in  policy 

16 

 
 
processes. The programmes put strong focus on horizontal priorities – social inclusion, green 
and digital transitions, and promoting young people’s participation in democratic life. 

The new 2021-2027 Erasmus+ has a 7-year budget of more than €26 billion complemented by 
€2.2 billion from the EU external cooperation instrument. The programme will provide even 
more  funding  opportunities  in  the  field  of  youth  and  an  enhanced  accent  on  youth 
participation.  The  newly  featured  youth  participation  activities  will  provide  more  space  and 
possibilities for young people to take an active role in civic and democratic processes, thereby 
contributing  to  strengthening  their  sense  of  European  identity  and  to  building  more  bridges 
between young generations and decision-makers on both a European and national level. The 
programme  will  also  feature  new  formats  of  participation  for  organisations  such  as  the 
accreditation system that will facilitate long-term involvement.  

With  a  dedicated  budget  of  just  over  EUR 1  billion  for  2021-2027,  the  new  European 
Solidarity Corps programme will offer opportunities for at least 270 000 young people to help 
address societal and humanitarian challenges through volunteering or by setting up their own 
solidarity  projects.  For  the  first  time,  the  programme  will  also  allow  young  people  to 
volunteer in the humanitarian aid field across the world. The European Solidarity Corps offers 
an opportunity for  young people to  not  only make a meaningful  contribution  to society, but 
also gain invaluable experience and develop new skills. 83% of volunteers report that during 
their European Solidarity Corps volunteering they gained additional skills and knowledge that 
they  think  will  be  useful  in  their  future  career.  At  the  same  time,  the  programme  promotes 
European values, enhances intercultural understanding, inclusion and a sense of belonging to 
a community, the European community. 

Cooperation  with  civil  society  organisations  in  the  youth  field  is  essential  in  realising  the 
principles of youth participation in democratic life as laid down in article 165 of the Treaty on 
the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union  and  the  EU  Youth  Strategy.  Youth  civil  society 
organisations are targeted within all Key Actions of the Erasmus+ programme.  

Under Key Action 3 (KA3), Support to policy development and cooperation, the specific call 
Civil Society Cooperation in the field of youth provides operating grants to European NGOs 
and EU-wide networks. In 2021, 70 beneficiaries were funded from a budget of EUR 3,4 M. 
The European Youth Forum is also foreseen an operating grant for their activities and for the 
coordination  of  the  Youth  Dialogue  process.  Key  Action  3  aims  to  support  the  active 
involvement  of  civil  society  networks  and  non-governmental  organisations  in  policy 
implementation,  and  includes  also  the  European  Youth  Together  call  with  separate  lots  for 
grassroot  and  experienced  organisations.  Training  and  cooperation  activities  (TCAs)  are 
crucial  support  activities  under  KA3,  targeting  potential  beneficiaries  and  potential 
participants, practitioners and stakeholders in the field of youth. Through TCAs the National 
Agencies  provide  trainings,  thematic  and  research  activities,  support  and  contact  seminars, 
which  are  key  to  ensure  quality  implementation  of  the  programme  and  to  build  closer  links 
with the relevant elements of policy development. 

Key Actions 1 and 2 offer possibilities for mobility and cooperation projects for civil society 
organisations  and  their  staff.  A  separate  call  secures  as  of  2021  a  designated  budget  for 
cooperation  partnerships  for  Youth  European  NGOs.  The  Capacity  building  in  the  field  of 
youth supports international, multilateral cooperation projects between organisations active in 

17 

 
 
the field  of  youth  in  Programme and Partner countries to  strengthen  cooperation and policy 
dialogue in the youth field and non-formal learning, as a driver of sustainable socio-economic 
development and well-being of youth organisations and young people. 

  Youth participation across all sectors 

Conference on the future of Europe 

The Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) is a call for a European democracy that is 
more vibrant, interactive and relevant to citizens. The central premise behind the idea of the 
Conference  is  to  help  increase  legitimacy  and  trust  in  our  Union  by  giving  Europeans  a 
greater say on what the Union does and how it works for them. 

The official opening of the conference was on 9 May 2021 in Strasbourg and it is planned to 
reach  conclusions  by  spring  2022.  Ahead  of  the  opening,  an  interactive  multilingual  digital 
platform  was  launched  on  19  April  2021.  This  platform  allows  citizens  and  stakeholders  to 
submit ideas online, and help them participate in or organise events. A feedback mechanism 
will  ensure  that  the  ideas  expressed  during  the  Conference  events  result  in  concrete 
recommendations for EU action. By reaching out to citizens, empowering them, giving them 
the space to speak up, and showing them that their views are valued, the EU institutions aim 
to enhance their participation in political life, which is essential for Europe’s democracy. 

Citizens  are  invited  to  use  the  multilingual  digital  platform  that  is  fully  interactive  and 
multilingual.  People  can  engage  with  one  another  and  discuss  their  proposals  with  fellow 
citizens  from  all  Member  States,  in  the  EU’s  24  official  languages.  Furthermore,  they  can 
access  a  map  of  events  and  sign  up  to  participate  or  upload  information  about  own  events 
organised by them. In order to structure contributions to the platform, a list of topics has been 
selected  in  line  with  the  EU's  headline  ambitions,  as  set  out  in  the  Commission's  Political 
Priorities  and  the  European  Council's  Strategic  Agenda.  These  topics  provide  a  sufficiently 
broad framework to allow citizens to focus on what they consider important.  

The  field  of  education,  youth  and  culture  is  one  of  the  main  priorities  for  the  Conference. 
Other  priorities  include  physical  and  mental  health;  climate  change  and  the  environment;  a 
stronger economy, social justice and jobs; digital transformation, the EU’s role in the world; 
values  and  rights;  migration  and  how  to  strengthen  the  democratic  processes  governing  the 
EU. However, citizens are also free to raise any topic of concern to them via an ‘open box' on 
the multilingual digital platform for cross-cutting ideas or topics other than those listed above.  

The key ideas and recommendations from the platform will be used as input for the European 
citizens' panels and the Conference Plenaries and be included in the Conference's conclusions. 

In the framework of the Conference, the European Commission wants to give young people a 
special role in the debates, as the Conference addresses issues that are particularly relevant for 
their  future,  such  as  climate  change,  a  stronger  economy  and  the  growing  importance  of 
digital technologies. It is young people who will be most affected by any decision taken today 
on the future direction of the EU. For this reason, it is important for them to have a word on 
the  future  pace  of  the  EU  and  to  involve  them  as  much  as  possible  in  these  debates.  The 
existing  structures  for  youth  consultation  under  the  EU  Youth  Dialogue  allows  European 

18 

 
 
 
youth  organisations  and  national  platforms  in  all  EU  Member  States  to  get  involved  in  the 
Conference.  

The  current  trio  Presidency  (Germany,  Portugal,  and  Slovenia)  is  dedicating  the  ongoing 
cycle to youth involvement in democracy and participation. This will result in young people’s 
views  on  issues  that  are  most  likely  relevant  for  the  Conference  on  the  Future  of  Europe. 
Questions  will  address  how  young  people  are  experiencing  democracy  and  participation, 
citizenship education and young people’s self-initiated action with regard to societal change 
and democracy.  

The  EU  Youth  Strategy  Stakeholders  Platform  is  being  mobilised  to  ask  the  involved 
stakeholders  for  a  further  promotion  within  their  networks.  The  “EU  Youth  Strategy 
Stakeholders  Platform”  is  one  of  the  instruments  of  the  EU  Youth  Strategy  2019-2027  to 
facilitate participatory governance and coordination of the implementation of the Strategy. It 
is  a  collaborative  platform  for  the  youth  stakeholders  composed  of  Ministries,  National 
Agencies,  National  Youth  Councils,  youth  NGOs,  youth  organisations,  youth  workers,  and 
youth researchers. 

Key  youth  stakeholders,  like  the  Eurodesk  and  EYCA  networks,  are  engaged  in  the 
Conference on the Future of Europe. The Eurodesk Network is composed of more than 1600 
youth  information  centres  and  a  key  multiplier.  The  European  Youth  Card  Association 
(EYCA)  launches  a  youth-led  campaign  to  promote  participation  in  the  Conference  on  the 
Future of Europe as #STANDFORSOMETHING. The initiative offers a framework for youth 
seminars,  workshops,  debates  and  other  activities,  which  will  run  until  the  end  of  2021 
organised by young people. 

A new action format focusing on youth participation has been launched under the Erasmus+ 
2021-2027. Thanks to its low-threshold and flexible design, it offers funding for a vast range 
of  activities  in  the  field  of  youth  participation,  including  potential  projects  linked  to  the 
Conference on the Future of Europe.  

The participation of  young people in the Conference on the Future of Europe is also in line 
with the EU strategy on the rights of the child, which fosters the participation of children (up 
to 18 years old) in the EU political and democratic life. More than 10 000 children (11 to 18 
years old) participated to a consultation ahead of the adoption of the strategy to influence its 
priorities and actions10. 

In  2020,  the  European  Commission  commissioned  a  study  on  child  participation  in  EU 
political  and  democratic  life11.  The  report  covers  27  Member  States  and  the  UK,  looking  at 
child  participation  at  the  national  level.  For  10  countries,  the  researchers  also  looked  at  the 
local  level.  The  report  includes  12  case  studies.  More  than  200  children  and  young  people 
shared their opinions and experiences in interviews and focus groups that were organised.  

10   The  EU  Strategy  on  the  Rights  of  the  Child  and  the  European  Child  Guarantee  |  European  Commission 

(europa.eu) 

11   Study on child participation | European Commission (europa.eu)  

19 

 
 
 
                                                 
European Democracy Action plan/Democratic literacy 

The  European  Democracy  Action  Plan  (EDAP),  adopted  in  December  2020,  sets  out 
measures  for strengthening the resilience of EU democracies, addressing areas in which our 
systems  and  citizens  are  most  vulnerable.  The  Action  Plan  sets  out  a  reinforced  EU  policy 
framework  and  specific  measures  to:  promote  free  and  fair  elections  and  strong  democratic 
participation; support free and independent media; and counter disinformation. 

The European Democracy Action Plan recognises that a healthy democracy relies on citizen 
engagement  and  an  active  civil  society,  not  only  at  election  time  but  all  the  time.  Engaged, 
informed and empowered citizens are the best guarantee for the resilience of our democracies. 
Initiatives such as the EU Youth Strategy (2019-2027) are contributing to the overall goal of 
EDAP  to  strengthen  democratic  resilience  by  fostering  citizen  engagement.  Other  relevant 
initiatives are the EU Youth Dialogue, youth participation activities under Erasmus+ and the 
European  Youth  Portal,  as  well  as  the  new  European  Solidarity  Corps  programme,  which 
offers a wide range of opportunities for civic engagement by supporting communities in need 
in the EU and elsewhere.  

The Youth Goal  target  #9 “Space and Participation for All” aims to  provide  youth-friendly, 
relevant, comprehensive information in order to enable youth participation, This was further 
developed into the political demand to develop critical thinking. The Commission’s pledge for 
common guidelines for teachers and educational staff has already started to materialise via the 
Toolkit  for  Teachers  on  How  to  spot  and  fight  disinformation,  developed  by  the 
Commission’s  Disinformation  team.  Peer-learning  activities  within  the  classroom  are 
specifically  designed  to  teach  youngsters  how  to  identify  and  fight  disinformation.  Namely, 
the political demand to introduce in the school curriculum the fight of fake news with media 
and information literacy while encouraging  youth participation in the disinformation debate, 
as expressed in the Youth goal, is completed by such Commission actions towards fostering 
media  and  democratic  literacy.  The  Rights  and  Values  programme  will  finance  curricula 
promoting  young  people’s  civic,  political  and  democratic  engagement  in  support  of  civil 
society  organisations’ efforts  to  encourage and facilitate active participation.  Externally, the 
Development,  Education  and  Awareness  Programme  contributes  to  actively  engaging  the 
youth in addressing global challenges and raising awareness on universal values. 

Under  the  European  Democracy  Action  Plan,  the  Commission  has  pledged  to  strengthen 
media  literacy  from  various  angles  and  support  national  media  literacy  campaigns,  in 
cooperation with  the European Digital  Media Observatory (EDMO) and the Media  Literacy 
Expert Group. Media literacy projects will also be supported across various other programmes 
involving young people and schools such as Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps, as 
well as through the new cross-sectoral strand of the Creative Europe programme. For 2021 the 
theme for the ‘etwinning’ action, which helps schools, teachers and students across the EU to 
collaborate via new technologies, is ‘media literacy and disinformation’.  

Another indicator of citizens' engagement is shown in the  Commission’s report on the 2019 
elections to the European Parliament - the last European elections had the highest turnout in 
over  25  years.  Both  Europe’s  young  and  first-time  voters  drove  turnout  figures  up.  Their 
turnout  increased  strongly  and  exceeded  the  increase  in  turnout  of  other  age  groups. 
According  to  the  post-election  Eurobarometer,  they  were  motivated  by  a  strong  sense  of 

20 

 
 
voting being a civic duty (over 50%), by a concern about climate change, a desire to promote 
human  rights  and  democratic  values,  as  well  as  the  economy.  As  announced  in  the 
Commission’s  report  on  the  2019  elections  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  2020 
Citizenship Report, the Commission will pick up on this momentum, by making young voters 
one of its key outreach groups for the 2024 European Parliament elections. 

Better Internet for Kids Youth Pledge 

Involving children and young people in matters that affect them, and giving them a voice, are 
fundamental rights under both the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (article 12) and 
the EU Charter of Fundamental Human Rights (article 24). Under the EU Strategy for a better 
internet  for  children12,  in  celebration  of  Safer  Internet  Day  (‘SID’)  2020,  a  group  of  Better 
Internet  for  Kids  (BIK)  Youth  Ambassadors  prepared  a  Youth  Pledge  for  a  better  internet 
(‘Youth  Pledge’)  on  how  to  make  information  on  the  apps  and  services  they  use  on  the 
internet more age appropriate for children and young people.  

Based on a preliminary mapping exercise of research and youth consultation work within the 
Commission’s  co-funded  network  of  Safer  Internet  Centres,  the  BIK  Youth  Ambassadors 
came  up  with  several  concrete  ideas  and  presented  them  to  the  Alliance  to  better  protect 
minors  online13  (‘Alliance’).  These  included:  simplifying  the  language  employed,  using 
infographics, and providing users with an incentive to read the privacy policies. 

More  detailed  work  on  the  Youth  Pledge  was  carried  out  throughout  the  year  2020,  in 
partnership with  six companies, namely  Facebook,  Lego, Samsung, Sulake, Super RTL  and 
Twitter,  all  members  of  the  Alliance.  Progress  of  work  was  presented  at  the  annual  Safer 
Internet Forum in November 2020 in a dedicated youth-led event14. On SID 2021, the Youth 
Pledge  celebrated  its  first  year  of  existence  presenting  the  achievements  so  far  with 
representatives of industry, civil society and policy makers present. 

Stimulating pan-European debate around current affairs  

Following an open Call for Proposals in 2020, two new media projects were launched in 2021 
with the aim to engage young Europeans with innovative, thought-provoking content around 
current  affairs.  The  Call  required  professional  media  organisations  from  at  least  5  EU 
Member States to  team  up and create innovative production and distribution  methods. They 
are required to show multiple viewpoints on topics that are relevant to  youngsters, allowing 
them to compare perspectives and discover how their interests link to interests of youngsters 
in other countries, and to relevant EU initiatives. Grant  recipients need to put in place solid 
journalistic methods and enjoy  full editorial  independence. While it will take time for these 
projects to reach their full potential, the first results are promising. 

12   COM/2012/0196 final 
13   The  Alliance  is  a  self-regulatory  initiative  –  facilitated  by  the  Commission  -  of  leading  ICT,  media 

companies and NGOs designed to improve the online environment for children and young people 

14   https://www.betterinternetforkids.eu/en/practice/articles/article?id=6767851  

21 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
Communicating Cohesion Policy towards and with young people 

DG REGIO led communication campaigns towards and with young people in order to make 
Cohesion policy and European Territorial Cooperation more understandable for young people. 

In  the  context  of  the  Interreg  30  Years  celebrations  campaign,  DG  REGIO,  in  cooperation 
with the Interreg Volunteer Youth, as well as with young people of Macro Regional Strategies 
piloted  a  core  group  who  elaborated  the  Manifesto  for  young  people  by  young  people  to 
shape the European cooperation policy with 12 recommendations. Young people consider 
that Macro Regional Strategies and Interreg programmes can make a difference in the fields 
of  skills  development  and  training  opportunities;  increasing  opportunities  for  youth 
employment;  communication  via  digital  tools;  addressing  climate  change  and  boosting 
citizen’s  engagement  in  policymaking  and  implementation.  Some  actions  in  the  Manifesto 
have already been undertaken in 2020 and in the beginning of 2021, such as the organisation 
of youth dialogues at the EU Macro Regional Strategies Week (in October 2020), the creation 
of  a  Massive  Open  Online  Course  (MOOC)  about  Interreg  and  Macro  Regional  Strategies, 
and the delivery of a communication kit for young people to disseminate the Manifesto and to 
reach out to other young people.  

The  Youth4Regions  programme  aims  to  increase  awareness  of  EU  regional  policy  by 
building a community of journalists that are knowledgeable and engaged with our policy. The 
programme  targets  journalism  students  and  journalists  in  their  early  careers.  In  2020,  the 
programme  received  534  applications  from  EU,  accession  and  neighbouring  countries,  of 
which 20 selected applicants came to Brussels in October to attend the 2020 European Week 
of Regions and Cities. These selected applicants followed trainings about Cohesion policy and 
communication, gained work experience in the Week’s pressroom and visited EU institutions 
and  media  organizations.  Some  of  the  Youth4Regions  alumni  are  working  now  for  large 
media organisations in Europe, such as El País, Deutsche Welle and TVP (Poland). 

The  Interreg  30  Years  Anniversary  campaign  run  in  2020  highlighted  Interreg  projects 
contributing  to  youth  and  undertook  actions  to  encourage  young  people  from  the  Interreg 
programmes and Macro Regional Strategies to express their opinion on cooperation issues at a 
time  when  Interreg  2021-2027  programmes  were  drafted.  The  Interreg30Years  celebration 
campaign  was  the  opportunity  to  communicate  with  young  people,  with  the  support  of 
Interreg Volunteer Youth and to create a core group of young people who issued a Manifesto 
and recommendations towards policy makers (see below the dedicated box). 

Green Trip /  DingDong Challenge  was launched in  October 2020 to  promote  sustainable 
green  behaviour  challenges  to  engage  young  people  in  contributing  to  Europe’s  climate 
neutrality target. The initial travelling phase, illustrated in the campaign video, consisted in 15 
influencers  visiting  70  green  visits  to  (mostly)  EU-funded  projects  in  Belgium,  Germany, 
Greece, Lithuania and Portugal, which has reached a total of 9.7 million young Europeans in 
their  respective  countries.  As  of  January  2021  the  campaign  has  embarked  on  the  so-called 
“empowerment”  phase.  A  toolkit  has  been  produced  to  raise  awareness  about  EU  funded 
green  projects  among  secondary  school  pupils  and  encourage  them  to  take  up  green 
challenges.  

22 

 
 
 
1.1.2.  Youth employment and skills   

With  the  “Engage”  core  area  the  EU  Youth  Strategy  also  aims  towards  a  meaningful 
economic and social participation of young people, hence the need to make sure that they can 
benefit  from  optimal  transitions  towards  the  labour  market.  In  the  youth  field,  the  Council 
conclusions  on  young  people  and  the  future  of  work  adopted  in  May  2019  highlighted 
insecurity,  the  lack  of  social  protection  and  precarious  working  conditions  as  the  main 
problems facing young people in the current and future labour environment. 

A  number  of  measures  to  address  these  problems  were  identified  in  the  conclusions: 
adaptable  and  responsive  social  security  and  education  and  training  systems,  the 
promotion  of  lifelong  learning,  ensuring  smooth  school-to-work  and  work-to-work 
transition, as well as equal access to quality jobs for all young people. 

In the employment  and  skills  field,  the EU has  developed a whole set  of activities  going in 
that direction. 

  Youth Employment Support – YES  

The European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan of March 2020 sets as sub-target to decrease 
the rate of NEET aged 15-29 from 12.6% (2019) to 9% by 2030, namely by improving their 
employment prospects. 

The EU supports Member States in reducing youth unemployment and inactivity. The aim 
is to help  young people develop their potential to shape the future of the EU and propel the 
digital and green transitions forward. 

During the aftermath of the global 2008 financial crisis, youth unemployment went up from 
16.0% in 2008 to a peak of 24.4% in 2013. Since then, the figures improved dramatically with 
record lows of 14.9% just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. However: 

  youth  unemployment  always  remained  more  than  twice  as  high  as  general 

unemployment 

 

a  stable  labour  market  integration  started  to  take  longer,  with  many  job-to-job 
transitions and spells of precarious work 

  vulnerable groups, such as youth of racial and ethnic minorities or young people with 

disabilities, continued to be disadvantaged throughout this period 

  youth inactivity did not decrease nearly as much as youth unemployment. 

To build back better from the new economic downturn triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, 
the  Commission  adopted  a  Youth  Employment  Support  (YES)  package  in  July  2020.  The 
Youth Employment Support – A Bridge to Jobs for the Next Generation is built around 
four strands that together provide a bridge to jobs for the next generation: 

  A reinforced Youth Guarantee  

  A future-proof approach for vocational education and training  

  A renewed European Alliance for Apprenticeships  

  Additional elements supporting youth employment. 

The reinforced Youth Guarantee 

23 

 
 
The  Youth  Guarantee,  launched  in  2013  and  reaffirmed  by  the  European  Pillar  of  Social 
Rights, is a commitment by all Member States to ensure that all young people under the age 
of  30 receive  a  good  quality  offer  of  employment,  continued  education,  apprenticeship  or  a 
traineeship within a period of four months of becoming unemployed or leaving education. It 
has  opened  up  opportunities  to  over  31  million  young  people  and  has  been  a  driver  for 
structural reforms and innovation in Member States15.  

The Youth Guarantee was reinforced in October 2020. In addition to its broadened target 
group,  it  caters  for  the  millions  of  youth  at  risk  of  unemployment  unable  to  enter  today’s 
labour market, without losing sight of activating the hardest-to-reach who may face multiple 
obstacles.  The  reinforced  Youth  Guarantee  does  all  this  through  tailored,  individualised 
approaches; providing young people with the appropriate levels of guidance and helping them 
find crash courses if upskilling proves to be necessary. The Youth Guarantee approaches take 
intelligence  shaped  by  COVID-19  ramifications, 
into  account 
acknowledging  also  the  opportunities  provided  by  the  accelerating  digital  and  green 
transitions.  Partnerships  will  play  a  central  role  in  all  stages  of  the  implementation  of  the 
reinforced Youth Guarantee. 

labour  market 

local 

National resources are key in supporting youth employment measures in each Member State. 
However,  the  EU  supports  the  implementation  of  the  Youth  Guarantee  through  substantial 
funding (see following sections below).  The Commission’s aim is that at least EUR 22 billion 
will be dedicated to youth employment over the 2021-2027 financing period. 

In addition to financial support, the EU provides policy support and mutual learning activities 
to  help  Member  States  strengthen  the  infrastructure  and  measures  for  the  reinforced  Youth 
Guarantee,  for  example  through  the  Youth  Guarantee  Knowledge  Centre16.  The  EU  also 
monitors  progress  across  Member  States  in  the  context  of  the  European  Semester,  through 
specific data collection and in cooperation with the Employment Committee. 

Vocational Education and Training 

Vocational education and training (VET) helps young people get ready for their first job and 
supports  adult career and skill  development.  During the recovery, VET  will be essential for 
helping  young  people’s  entry  into  the  workforce.  This  is  confirmed  by  the  2020  Council 
Recommendation  on  vocational  education  and  training,  which  defines  key  principles  and 
concrete  objectives  to  ensure  that  VET  supports sustainable  competitiveness,  social  fairness 
and  resilience.  The  Recommendation  sets  concrete  objectives  related  to  VET  learners’ 
employability, exposure to work-based learning and international mobility. 

In  the  Osnabrück  Declaration  (November  2020),  Member  States,  EU  Candidate  Countries 
and EEA countries, the European social partners and the European Commission, together with 
VET providers’ associations and learners’ representatives, committed to concrete deliverables 
in the period 2021-2025 to fully realise VET’s potential as an enabler of the recovery and just 

15   Draft Joint Employment Report from the Commission and the Council accompanying the  Communication 

from the Commission on the Annual Growth Survey 2018, COM/2017/0674 final. 

16   https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langld=en&catld=1327 

24 

 
 
                                                 
transitions  to  digital  and  green  economies.  The  European  Training  Foundation  supports  the 
candidate countries with monitoring of progress with VET reforms. 

Renewed European Alliance for Apprenticeships 

While  quality  apprenticeships  have  a  vital  role  to  play  in  preserving  and  creating  youth 
employment,  they  have  been  particularly  impacted  by  the  COVID-19  lockdowns. Many 
SMEs are no longer in a position to accept candidates due to a lack of resources and activity. 

Since  its  launch  in  2013,  the  European  Alliance  for  Apprenticeships  (EAfA)    has  brought 
together 36 EU, EFTA and candidate countries and over 355 stakeholders (businesses, social 
partners,  chambers,  vocational  education  and 
regions,  youth 
representatives  or  think  tanks)  who  so  far  pledged  1  034  476  apprenticeship  places  to 
strengthen  the  quality,  supply  and  image  of  apprenticeships  in  Europe,  and  to  enhance 
apprentice  mobility.  The  European  Training  Foundation  facilitates  the  engagement  of  the 
Western Balkan countries in the EAfA. 

training  providers, 

With the Youth Employment Support  Package, the Commission launched a renewed EAfA, 
which  now  focusses  on  six  new  priorities  and  targets  important  horizontal  issues  such  as 
gender,  social  inclusion,  health  and  safety,  as  well  as  internationalisation  of  vocational 
education and training: 

  committing to quality and effective apprenticeships, and encouraging Member States 

and companies to do so, by fostering national apprenticeships coalitions. 

 

incentivising support to  SMEs for providing a stable supply of quality and effective 
apprenticeships. 

  mobilising  local  and  regional  authorities  as  catalysts  for  apprenticeships  within  the 

local business environment. 

 

strengthening  social  dialogue  through  a  more  active  involvement  of  national  social 
partner organisations. 

  engaging  European  sectoral  social  dialogue  committees 
proactively, with a view to agree on joint sectoral pledges. 

in  apprenticeships 

 

supporting the representation of apprentices in the Member States by relaunching the 
European Apprentices Network. 

The European Apprentices Network 

In 2017 the Commission launched the European Apprentices Network (EAN), together with 
the  European  Youth  Forum  (YFJ)  and  the  Organising  Bureau  of  European  School  Student 
Unions (OBESSU). They agreed on the following tasks for the network: 

  To  clarify  the  perception  of  young  people  on  apprenticeships  through  exchanging 

experiences, discussing challenges and sharing information. 

  To function as an informal consultative body for the Commission on apprenticeships.  

  To promote apprenticeships as a worthwhile career choice (e.g. through ambassadors for 

25 

 
 
 
apprenticeships). 

  To  facilitate  contacts  between  youth  organisations  and  other  actors  in  apprenticeships, 

especially members of the EAfA. 

The  network  includes  fifteen  members  from  twelve  countries.  They  collectively  identified 
seven priorities for the next years, including on quality education and quality assurance.  

In 2020 EAN set up a new structure to expand its membership which is currently based on 
individuals only. The idea is to be a representative voice towards institutions and stakeholders 
at  all  levels  on  issues  concerning  apprenticeships  and  to  engage  national  bodies  and  other 
organisations in developing the quality of apprenticeships.  

A  Council  Recommendation  on  a  European  Framework  for  Quality  and  Effective 
Apprenticeships,  adopted  in  March  2018,  sets  out  14  criteria  on  learning  and  working 
conditions, as well as on framework conditions, that improve the quality and effectiveness of 
apprenticeships,  to  the  benefit  of  learners,  companies  and  society.  The  Commission  will 
report on the implementation of the Framework in summer 2021. 

  The European Skills Agenda 

The European Skills Agenda adopted by the Commission in July 2020 sets a five-year plan to 
support  the  development  of  more  and  better  skills.  The  Skills  Agenda  calls  upon  Member 
States  and  stakeholders  to  invest  major  efforts  in  up-  and  reskilling,  for  a  sustainable  and 
inclusive  recovery  in  the  context  of  the  green  and  digital  transition.  This  will  contribute  to 
achieving the target of 60% of adults – both young and old – participating in learning by 2030 
set in the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, adopted in March 2021, and endorsed 
by the Porto summit of May 2021. All of the Skills Agenda’s 12 flagship actions are relevant 
for young people, but certain actions outlined below in particular will help improve prospects 
for young people to make successful transitions from education to quality and rewarding work 
and to set the foundations for lifelong learning.  

Action 1 – a Pact for Skills 

The  Pact  for  Skills  is  a  shared  engagement  model  for  skills  development  in  Europe: 
companies,  workers,  national,  regional  and  local  authorities,  social  partners,  cross-industry 
and  sectoral  organisations,  education  and  training  providers,  chambers  of  commerce  and 
employment services all have a key role to play to up and reskill the workforce. Through the 
Pact, public and private organisations join forces and take concrete action to upskill and 
reskill  people  in  Europe.  The  Pact  includes  individual  commitments  as well  as  large-scale 
partnerships  in  the  industrial  ecosystems  and  regional  partnerships.    Concrete  commitments 
can  be  new  training  opportunities  for  employees;  including  tailored  training  and  career 
development for those at the early stage of their careers.    

Action 10 - A European approach to micro-credentials 

Within  Europe,  a  growing  number  of  citizens,  including  young  people, need  to  update  their 
knowledge, skills and competences in view of the needs of a fast-changing society and labour 
market.  The recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and the green and digital transitions require 
people  to  upskill  or  reskill,  to  maintain  and  acquire  the  competences  that  enable  them  to 
participate  fully  in  society,  ensure  their  personal,  social  and  professional  empowerment. 

26 

 
 
Increasingly, young people and workers are undertaking short and tailored training and need 
to get recognition for that. Micro-credentials recognise the results of such short courses. They 
can  make  learning  more  adapted  to  individual  needs,  thus  fostering  more  innovative  and 
inclusive  approaches  to  lifelong  learning  and  employability  through  targeted,  relevant 
learning,  facilitating  access  to  the  labour  market  and  job  transitions.  To  date  no  European 
definition  or  standards  exist  to  support  the  quality,  transparency  and  take-up  of  micro-
credentials  across  the  EU,  limiting  their  potential.  For  that  reason,  the Commission  aims  to 
develop a common definition and approach to description of micro-credentials by the end of 
2021, so micro-credentials can be used more widely and recognized across Europe. The report 
from  the  Micro-credentials  higher  education  consultation  group,  published  on  14  December 
2020,  provides  a  strong  basis  for  broader  and  wider  consultations  with  all  relevant 
stakeholders,  including  formal  and  non-formal  education  and  training  providers  throughout 
2021.  The  Commission  launched  a  public  consultation  until  13  July  2021,  accompanied  by 
targeted stakeholder consultations. 

Action 11 – New Europass platform  

Once someone has a certificate proving their skills, they need to be able to communicate them 
when  applying  for  a  job  or  further  learning.  New  technology  opens  up  possibilities  for 
communicating skills beyond the traditional CV and for linking people up with learning and 
job opportunities. The new Europass is an open framework of online tools and information to 
support  people  to  manage  their  careers  in  a  fast-changing  labour  market.  Europass  helps 
people  to  communicate  their  skills,  qualifications  and  experiences  so  that  they  can  be 
understood across Europe. It is available free-of-charge and in 29 languages. 

Validation: Making skills visible in a changing labour market and society  

The  need  to  promote  agile  validation  approaches  to  promote  more  inclusive,  more  flexible 
and more individualised learning pathways, also in order to support transitions in the labour 
market,  is  more  crucial  than  ever.  It  is  estimated  that  85%  of  learning  during  our  lifetime 
takes  place  outside  formal  learning,  mostly  during  adult  years.  However,  despite  EU  and 
national  policies  promoting  validation,  validation  of  skills  is  not  yet  always  possible,  and 
therefore the full potential of validation as a way to give visibility and value to all learning, 
regardless  of  where  and  how  it  happens,  has  not  yet  been  reached.  As  set  out  in  the  Skills 
Agenda, the Commission will provide a strategic framework for the recognition of transversal 
skills  to  support  validation  practitioners  in  the  European  Union  and  develop  resources  to 
support validation of transversal skills by employers and employment services. This will build 
on the work undertaken in the context of the Council Recommendation on validation of non-
formal and informal learning of 2012. The Commission will also, together with CEDEFOP, 
continue  to  regularly  update  the  European  Guidelines  on  validation,  as  a  tool  to  promote  a 
shared understanding of validation in Europe.  

The EPSR Action Plan announced that the Commission will: present an initiative to support 
social dialogue  at  EU and national  level  in  2022. The initiative will include the launch of a 
new award for innovative social dialogue practices; an information and visiting programme 
for young future social partner leaders; the review of sectoral social dialogue at EU level; 
and a new supporting frame for social partner agreements at EU level. 

27 

 
 
 
  EURES targeted mobility schemes (TMS) 

The  overall  objective  of  the  EURES  TMS  action  is  to  support  jobseekers  over  18,  with  a 
special  focus  on  young  people,  to  find  a  job,  a  traineeship  or  an  apprenticeship  in  another 
EU/EEA  country.  Thanks  to  the  direct  financial  support  to  jobseekers  to  contribute  to  the 
costs  linked  to  moving  to  another  country,  i.e.  for  language  training,  interviews,  relocation 
allowances,  recognition  of  qualifications,  the  EURES  TMS  action  promotes  fair  mobility, 
tackles intra-EU mobility challenges and sustains jobseekers who need support in working in 
another country. The action ensures also customised employment services to jobseekers such 
as  matching  of  job  vacancies  and  CVs,  and  information  and  guidance  for  jobseekers  and 
employers. 

With a view to helping jobseekers to exercise their right of freedom of movement across the 
EU,  and  to  addressing  labour  markets'  imbalances  and  skills  shortages,  EURES  TMS  is  an 
instrument  to  enhance  young  people's  employment,  to  support  older  and  vulnerable  people, 
and to help employers in finding abroad the skills lacking in their national labour markets. 

Notably  for  young  people,  the  EURES  TMS  action  may  also  contribute  to  facilitating 
transitions  from  education  to  work.  SMEs  can  receive  financial  contributions  to  the  costs 
related to an integration programme for recruited people. The EURES TMS projects can also 
provide  other  support  measures,  i.e.  tailor-made  and  free  of  charge  training,  mentoring  and 
assistance  to  jobseekers.  From  2015  to  2020,  the  Targeted  Mobility  Schemes  helped  more 
than 10.000 young people to find a sustainable job in another EU/EEA country. 

  The European Social Fund (ESF), Youth Employment  Initiative (YEI) and European 

Social Fund Plus (ESF+) support to youth employment 

Over  the  2014-2020  programming  period,  the  Youth  Employment  Initiative  (YEI)  and the 
European  Social  Fund  (ESF)  have  invested  at  least  €15  billion  in  youth  employment  and 
labour  market  integration  measures,  as  well  as  over  €26  billion  in  education  and  training 
measures with young people likely being the main beneficiaries of this funding.  

In the 2021-2027 period, the European Social Fund Plus  (ESF+) with  a  budget  of over €99 
billion  will  integrate  the  YEI,  making  it  the  key  EU  funding  instrument  to  support  the 
implementation  of  the  Youth  Employment  Support  (YES)  package,  including  the 
reinforced Youth Guarantee.  

The ESF+ will promote sustainable and quality youth employment and mobility by supporting 
activation measures of unemployed young people and youth not in education, employment or 
training (NEET), vocational education and training (VET), apprenticeships and traineeships, 
support  for  self-employment  and  entrepreneurship  and  modernisation  of  labour  market 
institutions. 

  European Regional Development Fund investments in labour market integration  

The  support  to  sustainable  and  quality  employment  and  labour  mobility  under  ERDF  for 
2014-2020 amounts to EUR 3.4 billion. These investments, which might have also targeted 

28 

 
 
 
 
youth,  have  focused  on  improving  employability  and  raising  activity  level  amongst 
disadvantaged  and  vulnerable  groups,  supporting  competitiveness  of  the  labour  force, 
promoting  self-employment  and  entrepreneurship,  and  fighting  discrimination.  Furthermore, 
supported  measures  include  infrastructure,  equipment  and  fostering  access  to  labour  market 
services  and  investment  support  for  self-employment,  SMEs,  business/jobs  creation,  social 
innovation and social entrepreneurship17.  

Examples of projects and initiatives co-funded by ERDF:  

The  ERDF-co-funded  Coopcity  project  aims  to  foster  social  innovation  and  social 
entrepreneurship  to  support  the  Brussels  Capital  Region  in  its  path  of  becoming  a  “smart 
city”.  The  region  faced  a  series  of  paradoxical  trends  such  being  Belgium’s  leading 
employment area yet 40% of young people were unemployed. To address these, Coopcity has 
set  up  a  social,  cooperative  and  collaborative  entrepreneurship  centre,  through  which  it 
provides  guidance,  advice,  support,  and  training  services  in  the  form  of  five  support 
programmes that meet the needs of projects throughout all of their development stages. The 
centre also facilitates coworking space for such projects. As of 2020, Coopcity has supported 
more  than  100  projects,  created  more  than  40  new  enterprises,  generated  77  employment 
positions,  received  over  200  applications,  and  welcomed  almost  3700  participants  in  its 
workshops.  

As  part  of  the  EU  Strategy  for  the  Adriatic  and  Ionian  Region  (EUSAIR),  the  POPRI 
international  competition  supported  entrepreneurial  idea  among  young  people  from  9 
countries of the Adriatic-Ionian macro region with the support of the European Commission 
(DG  REGIO)  and  the  Interact  Interreg  programme.  The  competition  started  in  Slovenia, 
where 3,494 participants have taken part in it so far, assisted by more than 500 mentors and 
300  institutions.  Young  people  who  participate  are  offered  new  skills,  advice  on  idea  and 
business  model development,  feedback on their entrepreneurial  ideas through the evaluation 
of a  commission  of experts, and the opportunity to  present  in  front of  an international  jury. 
The  award  ceremony  took  place  during  the  EAUSAIR  Forum,  attended  by  leaders  from  9 
European countries on 11 and 12 may 2021. 

In the context of the Bavarian Forest Future Region — Šumava 2020 +  project, EUREGIO is 
particularly important not only to get the opinion and views of politics, public administration 
and business, but also to give  young people a say in the field of regional development.  It is 
funded by the European Union and aims to identify the future regional funding priorities for 
the  new  INTERREG  programming  period  starting  in  2021  and  to  provide  the  necessary 
guidance for further directing cross-border cooperation. The EUREGIO Youth Fora are part 
of the project’s work. 

17   European Union, Analysis of ERDF support for inclusive growth in the 2014-2020 programming period  – 

Final Report, 2018, p.70-71. Available at  
https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/studies/pdf/erdf_support_inclusive_growth_en.pdf 

29 

 
 
                                                 
1.2.  Policy priorities and cooperation needs at national level 

  Future National Activity Planners (FNAPs) 

The  Future  National  Activity  Planners  (FNAPS)  are  an  instrument  introduced  in  2019 
allowing  Member  States  to  share  on  a  voluntary  basis  their  priorities  in  line  with  the  EU 
Youth Strategy. As part of the Future National Activity Planners (FNAPs), the Commission 
surveyed Member States in 2019 and a lighter version in 2021 to gather information on their 
youth  policy  priorities  regarding  the  implementation  of  the  European  Youth  Goals  and 
cooperation needs in line with the EU Youth Strategy. 21 Member States shared their plans in 
2019 and 18 offered updates in 2021. 

As part  of the Future National Activity Planners exercise in 2019, EU Member States have 
identified the three main topics where they would like to cooperate with others in a European 
context under the core area ENGAGE: 

  Almost one third of them focused on the use of the  EU Youth  Dialogue in order to 

include diverse voices of young people in decision-making processes.  

  The need to encourage and promote inclusive democratic participation of all young 
people  in  society  and  democratic  processes,  mentioned  by  half  of  the  countries;  in 
particular,  via  development  of  youth  representations  at  local,  regional  and  national 
level. 

  Another  topic  that  was  highly  mentioned  by  the  Member  States  is  the  promotion  of 
innovative  and  alternative  forms  of  democratic  participation  e.g.  digital 
democracy tools. In most cases, that was linked with the digital area and the need to 
find new ways to engage young people based on their needs and interests.  

The results of the Future National Activity Planners (FNAPS 2021) also highlight the need to 
support  and  convey  the  EU  Youth  Dialogue  in  order  to  include  diverse  voices  of  young 
people  in  decision-making  processes  (mentioned  by  half  of  the  countries)  as  the  top 
cooperation  priority  under  the  core  area  ENGAGE.  It  is  followed  closely  by  the  need  to 
encourage and promote inclusive democratic participation of all young people in society and 
democratic processes.   

Also,  more  than  a  third  of  the  Member  States  expressed  their  wish  to  cooperate  in  order  to 
support and develop opportunities for 'learning to participate', raising interest in participatory 
actions and helping young people to prepare for participation.  

Responding  Member  States  could  choose  between  various  cooperation  tools  to  support 
implementation  of  priorities:  evidence  building/research,  expert  group  at  EU  level,  peer 
learning  focussed  on  policy  development,  Transnational  cooperation  activities18  under  the 
programme and peer counselling.  

18   Transnational Cooperation Activities (TCA) encompasses a range of events, seminars and workshops, which 
enable Erasmus+ National Agencies to collaborate and share best practice across Europe. The overall aim of 
the activities is to improve the quality and impact of the programme at a systemic level. 

30 

 
 
                                                 
The  most  popular  tools  among  Member  States  under  the  core  area  ENGAGE  in  2019  have 
been:  Evidence  building/research  and  the  Peer  learning  focussed  on  policy  development 
followed by the Transnational cooperation activities under the Erasmus+ programme. 

With  more  than  a  half  of  the  total  Member  States  replies  of  FNAPS  2021  exercise, 
Transnational  cooperation  activities  under  the  programme  has  been  chosen  as  a  favourite 
cooperation tool, followed by Evidence building/research and Peer learning focused on policy 
development. 

Some more specific proposals arising from the 2021 outcomes: 

  Slovenia underlines the importance of the cooperation in the Expert group at EU level 
on  youth  work  as  an  important  tool  of  Member  States  cooperation,  followed  by  the 
peer  learning  in  terms  of  exchange  of  experiences  and  transnational  cooperation  in 
different  projects  of mental health, local  development of  youth  work, etc. Related to 
the  European 
that,  collaboration  with  Germany  and  Portugal 
Commission and the European Youth Forum on the 8th Cycle of EU Youth Dialogue 
as  part  of  the  Trio  Presidencies  is  showcased  by  Slovenia  as  an  example  of  good 
practice.   

together  with 

  France is also highlighting the importance of the Expert groups at European level and 
Peer  learning  counseling  in  terms  of  active  engagement  of  young  people,  youth 
organisations and other organisers of youth work in the development, implementation 
and  evaluation  of  policies  affecting  the  lives  of  young  people  on  local,  regional, 
national and European level.  

1.3.  Youth-led initiatives and actions  

  Encouraging  and  promoting  inclusive  democratic  participation  of  all  young  people  in 

society and democratic processes 

By fostering meaningful youth participation within their organisations, democratic processes 
become something natural for young people involved in these structures. This is also the case 
for  the  values  of  cooperation,  compromise  and  working  together  to  achieve  common  goals. 
All this translates into a better understanding of democratic processes and the importance of 
defending them inside and outside their organisations.   

Participants learn the importance of getting engaged and acquire the competences to be able 
to critically analyse the information they are given and to make independent decisions about 
the world they live in and their own lives. Moreover, by enabling and encouraging travel and 
mobility,  youth  organisations  and  European  Non-Governmental  Youth  Organisation 
(ENGYOs)  in  particular  can  increase  the  value  young  people  attach  to  learning  other 
languages and provide opportunities for young people to learn other languages.  

Many youth organisations are fostering a diverse membership and are finding ways to bring 
young people from different geographical, linguistic, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds 
working and thinking together, making the promotion of diversity one of their main strengths. 
Inclusion and representation of young people from underrepresented minorities such as youth 
from  rural  and  EU  ultra-peripheric  regions  and  other  remote  regions  such  as  the  EU  Arctic 
region , young people with disabilities, LGBTQI youth or migrant youth is also a priority of 
many youth organisations. The Erasmus+ annual reports show that the youth sector in general 

31 

 
 
is  involving  on  average  more  participants  with  special  needs  or/and  from  disadvantaged 
backgrounds than other parts of the programme.   

Youth  organisations  actively  look  into  promoting  this  diversity  not  only  through  specific 
activities and projects but also through their organisational structure and values, focusing on 
enabling  members  from  all  socio-economic  backgrounds  to  fully  participate  in  their 
organisations. Most of them seek to fully cover all expenses related to their statutory meetings 
and  internal  structures  and  have  put  in  place  processes  to  make  sure  that  their  governing 
structures (such as the board or secretariat) are as representative as possible not only in terms 
of gender but also underrepresented youth.  

  Actively engage in the development, implementation and evaluation of policies affecting 

the lives of young people on local, regional, national and European level 

Youth organisations play a key role in ensuring that young people are actively engaged in all 
policies that affect their lives from local to European level.  

For  example,  European  Non-Governmental  Youth  Organisations  (ENGYOs)  organise  10  to 
15 activities per year for the capacity building of their membership on different policy topics. 
Capacity building of their members is thus a crucial part of the work of ENGYOs, providing it 
through regular training and working groups for their members. Many ENGYOs also provide 
these training sessions to non-members and unorganised youth as well. 

Many members of ENGYOs are also members of their respective national youth councils or 
even  members  of  municipal  councils,  regional  and  national  parliaments  and  the  European 
Parliament, allowing them to make sure that the voice and ideas of young people are part of 
the  debates  on  youth  policy.  They  also  prepare  them  to  communicate  about  youth  issues  to 
stakeholders outside the youth field, becoming ambassadors for EU youth policy and quality 
youth work in Europe and beyond.  

For  example,  ENGYOs  and  their  members  engage  young  people  throughout  the  Structured 
Dialogue process, gathering the input of young people in each cycle but specifically providing 
European perspective. They also run their own regular consultations on EU relevant topics in 
order  to  understand  the  needs  and  concerns  of  young  people  and  bring  them  to  decision 
makers at EU level through the European Youth Forum.  

Here below some contributions from National Youth Councils and youth organisations: 

Contribution from the National Youth Council of Spain  

Young  people  in  general,  and  Spanish  youth  in  particular,  are  characterised  by  their  social 
commitment: they get involved in volunteer projects, they are very aware and sensitive to all 
the issues that affect our planet and its progressive degradation (climate change, sea pollution, 
deforestation...),  social  inequalities;  they  look  for  a  sustainable  alternative  to  the  society  of 
indiscriminate consumption in which we live and care for the most inclusive and supportive 
values,  which  revolve  around  the  2030  Agenda  and  the  Sustainable  Development  Goals  in 
order  to  make  the  world  a  more  pleasant,  connected  and  humane  place  for  everyone. 
Implementation measures carried out during the year: 

During  the  8th  Cycle  of  the  European  Youth  Dialogue  Programme,  framed  under  the 
theme of the 9th Youth Goal “Europe for Youth - Youth for Europe: space for democracy 

32 

 
 
and  participation”  the main  concern  of  the  different  working  groups  in  this  programme  is 
the creation of spaces for young people to actively participate in the decision-making process.  

At present, 203 young Spanish Ambassadors and Coordinators (161 Ambassadors and 42 
Coordinators) are participating in this Cycle. The Ambassadors are working, at regional and 
local level, to organise events in their communities and municipalities that can extend this tool 
of  dialogue  between  young  people  and  decision-makers  in  order  to  be  more  present  in  the 
discussions on youth issues that directly influence them.  

Although  as  participatory  agents  they  take  the  lead  in  their  activities,  programming, 
consultations,  events  with  politicians  or  other  youth  decision-makers,  their  work  is 
coordinated  and  followed  up  by  the  National  Working  Group  (hereafter  NWG),  and  the 
Spanish Youth Council, in collaboration with the Spanish Institute for Youth. These three 
active  agents  monitor  the  work  and  drive  the  design  and  implementation  of  the  next 
events.  

To  promote,  assist  and  support  this  initiative,  in  November  2020,  the  first  Training  of 
Embassies for Dialogue with Youth of the VIII Cycle of Dialogue took place. Due to the 
COVID-19  pandemic,  the  training  took  place  through  virtual  platforms  and  with  the 
facilitation of the Training Exchange of the Spanish  Youth Council. The online format also 
made it possible to reach more people than in the past.  

During the training sessions, the young people enrolled had the opportunity to learn in depth 
about the programme, the actors involved, as well as the deadlines for the development and 
implementation of the 8th Cycle of Dialogue. Work was also carried out in groups made up of 
the NWG, Regional Councils and Embassies, an ideal moment for the members of each one to 
meet  their  representatives  and  to  learn  about  the  activities  for  the  coming  months  aimed  at 
disseminating the youth surveys on the theme of the Cycle.  

This  training  was  followed,  in  December  2020,  by  a  2nd  Embassy  Training  with  the 
participation  of  50  young  people  representing  the  19  regions  of  the  national  landscape. 
During  the  training,  carried  out  by  the  Spanish  Youth  Council’s  pool  of  trainers,  they  were 
able  to  work  with  the  questions  of  the  online  survey  in  order  to  present  them  to  the 
representatives of the General Directorates of each region and to explain the work that the 
embassies do in the territory. 

On  8  and  9  May,  the  third  Training  of  Embassies  was  held,  which  focused  on  tools  for 
political advocacy, public policies and the generation of discourse, issues raised as the needs 
by the embassies themselves. 

Contribution from the National Youth Council of Romania  

As a National Youth Council, one of our core priorities is ensuring youth participation at all 
levels. As a general direction, we monitor youth policies related to the youth sector and come 
up with concrete measurements. 

One  example  of  such  position  is  one  of  the  most  complex  youth-related  document  in  our 
country, the Romanian Youth Resolution 2020-2027, a strategic document initiated by our 
NYC  and  other  27  important  organisations  from  Romania,  created  on  the  basis  of  the 

33 

 
 
 
European  Youth  Objectives,  followed  by  a  set  of  concrete  measurements  that  can  be 
implemented  by  the  Romanian  Government.  In  the  Resolution,  each  EU  Youth  Goal  has  a 
dedicated chapter initiated by different  organizations  that are experts in  the field.  To ensure 
qualitative  youth  participation  in  the  process,  we  co-organised  the  annual  Youth  Summit 
during  which  we  had  consultations  with  young  people  from  all  over  Romania  for  each  EU 
Youth Goal.  This  way,  young people  and  youth organisations had the  chance to  go deep in 
each  subject  and  shape  the  objectives  together.  By  this  way,  we  have  coagulated  the  civil 
society  in  finding  measures  for  the  future  of  youth  with  legislative  measures,  a  long-term 
strategy for which all the civil society will advocate. 

Contribution from YMCA Europe 

In  2020,  YMCA  Europe  sought  to  support  young  people  in  a  moment  of  great  isolation, 
during  the  height  of  COVID-19  crisis.  For  this  reason  a  platform  was  created  to  connect 
young  people,  YMCA  Connects,  and  to  take  advantage  of  the  shared  space  to  share  best 
practices  on  how  to  volunteer  and  support  communities  during  the  pandemic,  digital  youth 
work tools and tips, and mental health support during those challenging times YMCA Europe 
also started a campaign, together with other 6 organizations, called Youth Matters, asking to 
include young people, youth work, non-formal education and youth organisations in the post 
COVID Recovery Plans.  

YMCA  Europe  implemented  in  2019  and  in  2020  its  Leadership  Academy.  The  project 
“Leadership Academy'' is created to empower young people to take action as active citizens 
and  to  equip  them  with  skills  so  they  can  promote  social  change  and  strengthen  their 
movements as bearers of democratic values and change makers. The participants are leaders 
of Civil society organizations, 18-35 years old, who take governing or managing positions in 
their organizations or are developing to apply for them. The aim of the training is to promote 
European  active  citizenship,  build  a  common  European  identity  and  encourage  youth 
advocacy actions from local to the European level. The aim is to empower  young people to 
become  engaged  in  their  organizations  and  to  engage  their  organizations  in  becoming 
advocates for disadvantaged groups. The 2020 session, which took place online, also focused 
on digital  tools  for activism and participation.  The programme engaged  a total  of 65  young 
people from 25 countries, and created a total of 20 cross border mini projects engaging more 
than 591 young people across Europe, and indirectly benefiting 25.000. 

YMCA Europe implemented in 2019 and 2020 its peacebuilding programme Roots for Peace. 
In particular, the activity Be a Voice, not an Echo, was dedicated to raising awareness about 
the spread of hate speech in online mediums and equip participants with knowledge and skills 
on  how  to  combat  it  through  value-based  positive  narrative.  This  was  done  in  cooperation 
with Ted-Ex, creating an informal network. 

Contribution from Network of European Youth Capitals  

During  the  pandemic,  the  Network  of  European  Youth  Capitals  engaged  through  its  local 
partners  over  7 700  young  people  through  the  Happy  City  research.  Beyond  the  content 
provided  through  young  people’s  engagement,  there  was  a  large-scale  willingness  in 
providing  answers,  reaching  young  people  who  are  not  involved  in  youth  organisations  or 
youth activities on a permanent basis. 

Main conclusions of the research were the following: 

34 

 
 
1.  During the pandemic, young people felt less happy and thought the city itself was less 
happy than the usual. They also felt the city was less proactive. There was an overall 2 
point-decrease in the sense of happiness on a 10-point scale. 

2.  Leaving the house: 4 of 5 youngsters left their home during the pandemic at least once 
every  week  (31%  1-2  times  /  week,  26%  at  least  once  per  day,  21.8%  3-6  times  / 
week). 

3.  Main activities that caused leaving the house: 3 of 4 young people used their time out 
of home for groceries shopping, 1 out of 3 for individual physical activities and 1 out 
of 4 for job activity. 

4.  Post-pandemic  concerns:  2  out  of  5  pointed  to  the  resumption  of  social  and 
development  activities  as  the  top  concern,  1  out  of  3  pointed  to  the  resumption  of 
physical  connections  with  friends  and/or  family.  1  out  of  4  youngsters  listed  taking 
care of own health of the health of a family member, looking for a new job, resuming 
work or retrieval of courses/information related to studies. 

5.  City’s  management  of  the  pandemic  crisis:  4  out  of  5  youngsters  think  the  situation 
was  managed  effectively  or  rather  effectively.  In  their  perception,  things  like  law 
enforcement, additional measures, provision of “sanitary infrastructure” and ensuring 
the correctness of law enforcement were aspects that should’ve been better taken care 
of. 

6.  Youth for the city: 2 out of 5 youngsters think they have done something for their city. 
Regarding  what  they  have  done,  they  named  the  rules  following,  support  for 
disadvantaged/elderly/in need people, volunteering activities and donations of money, 
goods and blood. 

7.  What do young people think they could do to help the city: compliance with the law, 
having  a  job  in  their  city,  involvement,  new  ideas,  supporting  local  businesses  and 
causes and volunteering. The main target-groups mentioned were the environment, the 
youngsters, the elderly and the disadvantaged people. 

8.  During the pandemic, youngsters thought their city was cleaner than usually. 

9.  Per  city,  these  differences  can  be  correlated  with  the  measures  taken  in  order  to 

manage the pandemic crisis. 

10. The most satisfied youngsters seem to be part of the below 14 age category, while the 

least satisfied are part of the over 30 age category. 

11. The most satisfied young people by employment status are not employed, while those 

that are, are the least satisfied at almost all indicators. 

12. The  most  satisfied  youngsters  by  last  graduated  studies  are  primary  education 

graduates, while the least satisfied are the PhD ones. 

This survey provided a good starting point for cities to plan short and medium-term action for 
young people for an upcoming post-pandemic time. 

Additional  work  was  conducted  on  local  level  regarding  the  impact  of  the  COVID-19 
pandemic on young people. As a specific example, the city of Cluj-Napoca decided to use the 

35 

 
 
opportunity coming from necessity and to apply a holistic approach regarding research on the 
health,  learning,  agency  and  enabling  environment  for  young  people.  Three  complementary 
research processes were conducted (Profile of Young People, LEAP interdisciplinary research 
and the local Happy City survey). 

Out  of  this  work,  several  strategic  projects  emerged  on  local  level.  On  “Engage”,  the 
municipality developed together with professional partners a new concept called Cluj Youth 
Rapid  Response.  Through  this  idea  the  city  is  pursuing  the  creation  of  a  technology-based, 
collaborative  solution  that  functions  at  an  urban  and  metropolitan  level  as  an  interface 
between  young  people  who  need  help/assistance/support  and  the  corresponding,  city-wide 
stakeholders/service providers who can address/assist/provide support to them in solving their 
problems.  The  project  concept  was  built  in  such  a  way  that  it  will  involve  participatory 
mechanisms through which young people will co-design this solution. 

The European Youth Forum has voiced the  youth perspective on the “The Future of Work” 
through a dedicated publication in 2019 emphasising the medium to long-term impacts of the 
future  of  work,  in  terms  of  social  and  economic  inclusion  of  young  people.  Social  and 
economic inclusion work remains also high on the agenda of the European Youth Forum. In 
2020, the Youth Forum co-edited the report ‘Youth and COVID-19’19 based on the ILO-led 
Global  Survey  on  Youth  and  COVID-19  and  co-organised  the  global  launch  event.  A 
workshop,  “Not  another  lost  generation:  Real  solutions  to  tackle  youth  unemployment  and 
social exclusion in Europe” was co-hosted at the German Presidency Conference ‘Our Social 
Europe 
the  outcome 
recommendations were shared in plenary. Finally, the Youth Forum published the results of a 
consultation  within  and  beyond  the  European  Youth  Forum  on  Quality  Standards  for  the 
Youth Guarantee and continued advocacy work on the topic.  

two  Member  Organisations,  and 

-  Strong  Together’  with 

19   https://www.youthforum.org/sites/default/files/publication-pdfs/Youth-and-COVID-19-Survey-

Report_English.pdf 

36 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
2.   CONNECT  

(In  line  with  the  Trio  Presidency  Romania-Finland-Croatia  (January  2019  -  June  2020) 
priority: “Creating opportunities for youth”) 

2.1  EU initiatives and action 

The new EU Youth Strategy gave a clear impetus to mobility and connecting  young people 
across Europe and beyond and building networks of young people from different regions. To 
achieve this goal, EU level cooperation focused on:  

  Supporting  the  implementation  of  the  European  Solidarity  Corps  through  policy 
cooperation  and  community-building,  in  particular  through  updating  and  expanding 
the  2008  Council  Recommendation  on  the  cross-border  mobility  of  volunteers,  and 
further strengthening the potential of the European Youth Portal / European Solidarity 
Corps portal in reaching out to youth and helping build a community; 

 

Increasing  participation  in  cross-border  learning  mobility  and  solidarity  under 
Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps with an emphasis on young people with 
fewer opportunities.  

During  the  reporting  period  2019-2021,  the  cross-border  youth  mobility  programmes, 
including  youth  exchanges  under  Erasmus+  and  cross-border  volunteering  under  the 
European  Solidarity  Corps,  continued  to  be  unanimously  considered  as  a  great  success 
with a high interest among young people. Even in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, 
interest for such an experience remained high confirming that solidarity is at the heart of 
the European values.  

2.1.1.  Youth mobility 

  EU  programmes  creating  new  opportunities  by  supporting  youth  mobility  and 
volunteering:  Erasmus+  (including  the  new  action  ‘DiscoverEU’),  the  European 
Solidarity Corps and the European Social Fund Plus 

Under  the  core  area  ‘Connect’,  the  EU  Youth  Strategy  is  promoting  and  facilitating 
connections, relations and exchange of experiences between  young people as a pivotal asset 
for the future development of the EU.  

By  supporting  the  learning  mobility  of  people,    and  in  particular  the  younger  generation, 
Erasmus+ is  providing them with  unparalleled opportunities to  broaden their perspective on 
Europe  and  the  world,  while  developing  essential  transversal  skills,  fostering  learning  and 
innovation,  boosting  employability,  promoting  excellence,  and  increasing  participation  in 
democratic life. 

Higher  education  student  mobility  between  Programme  Countries  (funded  under  Key 
Action  1  –  Learning  Mobility  of  individuals  of  the  Erasmus+  programme)  is  the  biggest 
exchange scheme of young people in Europe. In the academic year 2019-2020, 97.4% of the 
students taking part in stays abroad for study or traineeship purposes were below 30 years old. 
These young students benefited from a total of 324 000 Erasmus+ student mobility activities. 
Of those young students, 61% were female and 39% male. 

37 

 
 
Youth  Exchanges  (funded  under  Key  Action  1  –  Learning  Mobility  of  individuals  of  the 
Erasmus+  programme)  contribute  to  foster  these  connections.  In  the  period  covered  by  this 
report,  around  250 000  participants  took  part  in  Youth  Exchanges  and  acquired  or  further 
developed  skills,  competences  and  European  values.  With  a  budget  allocation  of  more  than 
EUR  155 million,  the  action  funded  more  than  6 000  projects,  involving  participants  from 
Erasmus+ programme and partner countries from all backgrounds, proving the success of this 
mobility opportunity and the important and stable interest of  youth organisations and young 
people.  

DiscoverEU  started  as  a  citizen’s  initiative.  As  they  were  travelling  across  Europe  with 
Interrail, Herr and Speer - two young Europeans - had the idea of providing free travel passes 
to all 18-year-olds in the European Union. The idea was taken up by the European Parliament, 
which  supported  it  financially  as  a  Preparatory  Action  to  be  implemented  by  the  European 
Commission.  Through  the  financial  support  of  the  European  Parliament,  the  DiscoverEU 
initiative was born, and it provided 18-year-old young people from all backgrounds with the 
opportunity  to  travel  around  Europe,  learn  from  other  cultures,  build  new  friendships  with 
fellow  Europeans,  and  explore  their  European  identity.  Organised  for  the  first  time  in  June 
2018,  young  Europeans  embraced  the  opportunity  with  enthusiasm.  Nearly  350 000  young 
people  applied  on  the  European  Youth  Portal  for  the  almost  70 000  travel  passes  available 
over four application rounds in 2018-2019.  

The  rounds  foreseen  to  take  place  in  2020  had  to  be  cancelled  due  to  the  COVID-19 
pandemic,  but  the  young  people  who  were  eligible  in  2020  will  be  able  to  apply  under  the 
round foreseen in October 2021.  

Due  to  the  success  of  the  initiative,  the  action  has  been  integrated  into  Erasmus+  (2021-
2027)20,  which  will  allow  18-year-olds  from  all  Erasmus+  programme  countries  to  explore 
Europe. 

DiscoverEU  aims  at  fostering  the  sense  of  belonging  to  the  European  Union  of  the 
participants and allows them to explore its cultural diversity. It also seeks to equip the young 
participants with skills and competences of value to their future lives, as well as inspire them 
to embrace sustainable travel in particular and environmental conscience in general. 

Here is what Anna Sophia from Austria says about her experience with DiscoverEU: 

‘I learned how to manage my finances well (I used an app for this), how to organise all train 
connections and overnight stays and most of all I learned about myself. I have become more 
spontaneous and confident. In addition, I was also able to improve my English.’ 

TRAVELLED TO SLOVENIA, BULGARIA, CROATIA AND GREECE |  

Based  on  lessons  learned  from  the  previous  programme,  the  Erasmus+  2021-2027  is  even 
more  inclusive  and  international.  It  continues  to  support  lifelong  learning  and  innovative 
education  and  training  activities  in  Europe  and  beyond.  It  offers  reinforced  opportunities  to 
take  part  in  learning  experiences  abroad  and  cooperation,  including  new  mobility 

20   Regulation  (EU)  2021/817  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  20  May  2021  establishing 
Erasmus+: the Union Programme for education and training, youth and sport and repealing Regulation (EU) 
No 1288/2013 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32021R0817 

38 

 
 
                                                 
opportunities  for  school  pupils,  students,  and  sport  staff.  70%  of  the  Erasmus+  budget 
supports mobility opportunities in a lifelong learning perspective. 

The European Student Card Initiative is fundamental in making it as easy as possible for 
both students and higher education institutions to participate in the Erasmus+ programme. By 
replacing the paper processes used across Europe to facilitate student mobility with digital and 
streamlined  processes,  the  initiative  constitutes  a  revolution  for  the  management  of  student 
mobility in Europe, making it simpler, more efficient and greener.  

As  part  of  continuous  commitment  to  increase  outreach  to  young  people  and  youth 
organisations,  the  European  Commission  has  launched  in  November  2020  a  revamped 
European  Youth  Portal.  It  aims  to  be  a  single  multilingual  entry  point  that  gives  young 
people  and  the  youth  sector  an  easy  access  to  EU  level  information  and  opportunities.  The 
content is adapted to its user needs and based on the new EU Youth Strategy. In a near future, 
it will also a host a space for exchange and networking. The European Youth Portal remains 
in  the  top  visited  websites  of  the  europa.eu  domain  with  an  average  of  more  than  400 000 
monthly visits since the revamp and peaks of 1 million visits during DiscoverEU rounds.  

Major milestones achieved in 2020 included the creation of a revamped Erasmus+ Mobile 
App,  the  one-stop-shop  for  students  to  access  all  the  information  and  services  they  need 
before,  during,  and  after  their  exchange  abroad.  The  app  allows  for  a  user-friendly  and 
inclusive Erasmus+ programme. Some of its new features include access to information and 
services, the ability to share tips and deals with other students, as well as trace the mobility of 
the participants abroad. Up to now, the app has been downloaded over 112 000 times. 

The  European  Solidarity  Corps  mobile  app  also  plays  a  key  role  in  disseminating 
information  about  volunteering  opportunities  and  in  enhancing  the  community  building 
around it. With the app, young people can: 

  Apply for volunteering opportunities directly; 

  Access a chat feature to exchange with other registrants; 

  Publish pictures about their volunteering experience; 

 

 Take part in contests.  

The  number  of  users  is  constantly  increasing,  coming  up  to  more  than  8 000  by  the  end  of 
2020. 

The Pilot Project ‘A first step towards a European framework for mobility for makers’ 
aims to boost mobility of makers and exchange of good practices. It strengthens trans-national 
and  cross-sectoral  cooperation,  tests  mobility  schemes  and  facilitates  the  exchange  of  good 
practices  between  the  cultural  and  creative  industries,  fab  labs21,  creative  hubs  and  maker-
spaces22,  as  well  as  formal  and  non-formal  learning  and  skills  development  systems. 
Following a call for proposals, the project started in November 2019 with a budget of EUR 

21   A Fab Lab, or digital fabrication laboratory, is a place to play, to create, to mentor and to invent: a place for 

learning and innovation. 

22   Maker-spaces  are  places  where  people  can  come  together  to  use,  and  learn  to  use  materials  as  well  as 

develop creative projects 

39 

 
 
                                                 
500 000  and  a  duration  of  18  months.  The  project  maps  mobility  schemes  for  makers, 
develops  a  methodology  for  measuring  and  evaluating  the  impact  of  makers’  mobility 
programmes  in  value  creation,  inclusion  and  skills  development.  It  also  runs  a  European 
demonstrator of makers mobility scheme, advocating and sharing of good practice, capacity-
building  and  communication.  This  way,  it  will  make  the  first  steps  towards  embedding 
makers’ mobility schemes for skills development and inclusion into mainstream Cultural and 
Creative Industries support programmes, policies and ecosystems across Europe. The project 
has  produced  a  guide  to  mobility  for  makers  and  an  interactive  tool  for  searching  mobility 
schemes for makers. More information at: http://makersxchange.eu  

The European Social Fund has supported the mobility of disadvantaged youth, including 
young  people  not  in  employment,  education  or  training  (NEET)  in  2014-2020.  The  new 
European  Social  Fund  Plus  (ESF+)  will  continue  this  important  work  in  2021-2027.  ESF 
mobility  programmes  provide  opportunities  to  groups  that  are  not  extensively  covered  by 
other programmes and they can be a stepping-stone to returning to education, employment or 
training. In the 2014-2020 period, the “IdA - Integration through Exchange” social innovation 
developed  in  Germany  has  been  scaled  via  the  ESF  to  15  Member  States  through  a 
coordinated call (Transnational Learning Network mobility).23 With a total budget of €105.3 
million  (€72  million  from  the  ESF),  the  programme  has  allowed  6 820  young  people  to 
acquire skills, knowledge and capacity through work-related experiences abroad. Currently, 9 
Member States and regions continue the work after the end of the official funding period by 
the  European  Commission  through  national/regional  resources.  On  top  of  excellent  labour 
market integration results, which are higher than 50%, this approach often triggers profound 
personal  development  processes.  Young  people  return  from  their  stay  abroad  more  self-
confident, open-minded and with a new sense of purpose. 

  Revision  of  the  2008  Council  Recommendation  on  the  mobility  of  young  volunteers 

across the EU 

By the end of 2021, the Commission will propose a revised Council recommendation on the 
mobility  of  young  volunteers  across  the  EU.  The  revision  is  the  follow-up  of  a  Council 
invitation  from  November  201824.  It  proved  to  be  particularly  relevant  and  timely  in  the 
context of the COVID-19 crisis as well as due to new developments and emerging priorities in 
the field of volunteering. Those include the launch of the European Solidarity Corps and new 
forms  of  volunteering  including  digital  or  blended  volunteering.  Finally,  responding  to  the 
COVID-19  crisis,  new  priorities  are  emerging  including,  particularly,  health  and  safety  of 
volunteers, inter-generational solidarity and digital volunteering. 

The  2008  Recommendation  aimed  to  eliminate  obstacles  to  volunteering  in    the  European 
Union  by raising awareness on the mobility of young volunteers, increasing the capacity of 

23     Europäischer Sozialfonds für Deutschland - TLN Mobility (esf.de) 
24   In November 2018, the Council invited  the Commission to update  the 2008 Council  Recommendation on 
the mobility of young volunteers across the EU as part of their Resolution endorsing the EU Youth Strategy. 

40 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
the organisations to offer volunteering opportunities, reducing barriers to participation in the 
programme  especially  for  disadvantaged  groups,  and  increasing  the  recognition  of  skills 
gained  by the participants during the volunteering experience. The Recommendation invited 
the  Commission  to  support  Member  States  through  mutual  learning,  to  provide  incentives 
through mobility programmes and create an online portal to match volunteering demands and 
supply. The actions were followed up and are now mainstreamed in the EU’s youth actions. 
An  evaluation  from  2016  noted  that,  whilst  the  Recommendation’s  overall  objectives 
remained  valid,  implementation  by  Member  States  remained  modest.  The  evaluation  found 
the Recommendation to lack a concrete connection to EU funding and strong tools to monitor 
its  implementation.  There  was  only  moderate  response  in  Member  States  and  youth 
organisations  to  set  up  opportunities  with  their  own  resources  (beyond  the  European 
Voluntary Service, the EU programme that was replaced by the European Solidarity Corps in 
2017). Furthermore, in the years that followed the adoption of the Recommendation, Member 
States’ priorities shifted towards the fight against the high rate of youth unemployment in the 
aftermath of the financial crisis.  

Work  on  the  revision  of  the  Council  Recommendation  was  based  on  the  outcomes  of  a 
dedicated study and conclusions of an expert group gathering relevant experts across the EU 
as  well  as  evidence-based  knowledge  on  the  topic.  The  Commission  also  launched  a  public 
consultation25  to  collect  citizens' views and identify  new challenges and opportunities in  the 
field of youth volunteering and feed into the revision of the Recommendation. 

  Study on removing obstacles to cross-border solidarity activities26 

The  study  was  carried  out  to  support  the  review  of  the  Council  Recommendation  by 
complementing the work of the expert group. The study identified the key obstacles to cross-
border  solidarity  activities  that  persist  at  policy  and  organisational  levels  across  the  EU 
Member  States  such  as  diversity  of  administrative  and  regulatory  frameworks.  It  also 
formulated  concrete  policy  recommendations  that  can  be  fed  directly  into  the  review  of  the 
Recommendation. Among the main recommendations of the study: 

The study recommends strengthening collaboration between Member States (1) to achieve 
the  better  alignment  of  the  administrative  and  legal  frameworks  that  regulate  volunteering 
both at national and at EU level, as well as the clarification of the legal status of volunteers 
and  participants  in  other  solidarity  activities.  Member  States  and  the  Commission  have 
already  started  to  share  practices  and  experience  regarding  volunteering  scheme  and  further 
cooperation is foreseen through a Peer learning activity (planned in the autumn 2021). 

Better dissemination of information on volunteering opportunities (2) could  be achieved 
by  creating  ‘one-stop-shop’  websites,  linking  the  European  Youth  Portal  to  sources  of 
information about volunteering schemes at national level, promoting volunteering activities in 
formal and secondary education institutions, and involving key stakeholders and employment 

25   https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12774-Mobility-of-young-
volunteers-across-the-European-Union-Update-of-the-EU-framework/public-consultation_en  
26   https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/1a7042cb-e678-11ea-ad25-01aa75ed71a1  

41 

 
 
                                                 
 
agencies  to  popularise  volunteering  as  a  career-development  opportunity.  The  revamped 
European Youth Portal launched in 2020 has already addressed this issue. 

The study recommends that the Member States and the Commission further develop tools and 
long-term  strategies  to  increase  the  inclusion  and  participation  in  solidarity  activities  of 
young  people  with  fewer  opportunities  (3).  This  could  be  achieved  by  improving  the 
outreach of volunteering schemes and supporting capacity building within organisations. The 
Erasmus+  and  European  Solidarity  Corps  Inclusion  and  Diversity  Strategy  addresses  this 
issues at programme level. 

  Report of expert group on mobility of young volunteers and cross-border solidarity 

Following  the  results  of  the  expert  group  on  mobility  of  young  volunteers  and  cross-border 
solidarity,  the  Commission  prepared  a  practical  toolbox  for  actors  and  stakeholders  in  the 
field  of  youth  as  well  as  recommendations  for  policy  makers  on  promoting  the  mobility  of 
young volunteers and cross-border solidarity.  

  Council  conclusions  on  raising  opportunities  for  young  people  in  rural  and  remote 

areas 

The adoption in May 2020 of Council Conclusions on raising opportunities for young people 
in  rural  and  remote  areas27  provides  further  incentive  and  guidance  to  promote  approaches 
aimed  at  reducing  inequalities  between  urban  and  remote/rural  areas.  It  also  promotes  the 
development  of  cross-sectoral  measures  which  reflect  the  views  and  perspective  of  young 
people in rural and remote areas. The conclusions encourage the exchange of best practices in 
using the opportunities provided by youth-related programmes and policies such as Erasmus+ 
and  the  European  Solidarity  Corps  in  order  to  improve  employability,  mobility  and 
participation  of  young  people  in  society.  The  Council  Conclusions  provide  an  incentive  to 
reach  out  to  young  people  with  different  geographical  and  cultural  backgrounds  and  to 
promote their participation. 

  Young people and sustainable mobility 

European  Mobility  Week28  is  the  Commission’s  flagship  awareness-raising  campaign  on 
sustainable  urban  mobility.  The  main  event  takes  place  from  16-22  September  each  year, 
culminating in the popular Car-Free Day. It promotes behavioural change in favour of active 
mobility  such  as  walking  or  cycling,  public  transport,  and  other  clean,  intelligent  transport 
solutions.  

European Mobility Week celebrates its 20th  year in  2021, and this significant  anniversary is 
being used to engage with young people. The social media campaign focuses on young people 
in the second half of 2021, especially those who, like European Mobility Week, turn 20 this 
year. A new ‘virtual museum’ exhibit will include testimonials by people who were 20 years 
old  when  European  Mobility  Week  was  first  launched  in  2001.  A  targeted  webinar  on 
engaging young people in urban mobility planning and campaigns was held at the end of July. 

27   https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/44119/st08265-en20.pdf 
28   https://mobilityweek.eu/home/ 

42 

 
 
 
                                                 
The aim is to foster a continuous debate among young people on sustainable urban mobility. 
In  line  with  the  European  Green  Deal  priorities  and  in  response  to  young  people’s  growing 
concerns  on  the  deteriorating  state  of  climate  and  environment,  the  Commission  is  also 
implementing and preparing a number of initiatives in these areas. Following the adoption of 
the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the Commission is preparing a proposal for a Council 
Recommendation  on  encouraging  cooperation 
in  education  for  environmental 
sustainability, announced in the Strategy. A dedicated youth engagement campaign on nature 
and biodiversity  will also be implemented in  the run-up to  the UN  Biodiversity Conference 
(CBD COP15).  

2.1.2.  Youth and the Digital world29 

The  use  of  internet  is  an  essential  component  in  young  people’s  life,  90%  use  it  on  a  daily 
basis  and  45%  of  young  people  were  already  engaged  in  e-learning  activities  in  2019. 
Digitalisation  has  opened  many  opportunities  for  interaction,  learning  and  participation  but 
also comes with challenges related to digital skills and the digital divide. The adoption of the 
Digital Education Action Plan (2021-2027) paves the way for the digital transformation of 
our  education  and  training  systems  and  provides  opportunities  for  young  people  to  sharpen 
their digital skills and competences. 

COVID-19 – Better Internet for Kids mini campaign on online safety  

March 2020 saw the coronavirus pandemic take hold across Europe and beyond. As schools 
closed and people were confined to their homes, the internet and online services became more 
important than ever before.  

Through    the  long-established  strands  of  awareness  raising  and  helpline  services  especially, 
the  Commission’s  co-funded  Safer  Internet  Centres  were  perfectly  positioned  to  provide 
localised support on staying safe online to children and young people, parents and carers, and 
teachers and educators in these challenging times.  

Through a COVID-19 mini-campaign hosted on the Better Internet for Kids portal and shared 
via social media, Safer  Internet  Centres quickly rallied to  provide a whole host of guidance 
and  resources,  providing  general  advice  to  families,  suggestions  for  positive  content  and 
online resources for family entertainment, and tips on ensuring well-being during lockdown.  

To  support  the  educational  community,  guidance  was  rapidly  developed  on  safe  emergency 
remote  teaching  and  learning,  including  how  to  use  the  abundance  of  suddenly  popularised  
video-conferencing tools safely in both online learning and social contexts.  

In  addition,  responding  to  the  heightened  online  risks  to  which  all  citizens  were  exposed, 
Safer  Internet  Centres  promoted  a  range  of  resources  on  various  topics.  Those  include 
managing screen time, disinformation and fact checking, protecting online privacy, being alert 
to online scams and threats, and dealing with harmful or illegal content. 

COVID-19  –  Research  mapping  children  and young people’s  online  safety  and  remote 
schooling in COVID-19 times 

29   See also Section 3. Empower  

43 

 
 
                                                 
In  parallel,  in  March  2020,  the  Joint  Research  Centre  (JRC)  of  the  European  Commission 
started an international study30 to evaluate the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on the digital 
lives of children and  young people across Europe. The study especially focuses on children 
and  young  people’s  online  safety,  privacy,  education  and  well-being.  Results  of  the  study 
provided  a  comparative  mapping  of  remote  schooling  experiences31  and  online  risks  and 
opportunities32  in  eleven  countries.  The  reports  informed  very  quickly  policy-makers  and 
stakeholders on the changing context of the digital lives of children and young people, on its 
risks,  opportunities  and  growing  inequalities33.  They  also  linked  to  the  Better  Internet  for 
Kids mini campaign on online safety, informing Safer Internet Centres and the expert group 
on safer Internet for children34.  

  Artificial Intelligence and Children’s Rights. 

Looking  ahead,  in  support  of  further  EU  strategies  in  the  area  such  as  the  EU  strategy  for 
Better Internet for Kids, the JRC has launched a study to explore the impacts of AI technology 
on Children’s rights.  

Technological  evolution  has  always  been  a  driving  factor  for  societies.  Today,  digital 
transformation  and  tools  empowered  by  Artificial  Intelligence  (AI)  stand  out  as  a  game 
changer,  driving  the  world  towards  another  technological  revolution.  AI  affects  individuals, 
communities  and  institutions  on  multiple,  interconnected  and  interdependent  levels.  The 
impact of AI is everywhere, offering both major opportunities and challenges for the lives and 
futures of billions of people, including children35. 

The  Joint  Research  Center  is  coordinating  this  study  on  the  impacts  of  AI  technology  on 
children’s  rights,  choosing  participatory  research  to  collect  the  voices  and  the  views  of 
children and young people themselves on the subject.  

Additionally, the 3P’s Model (Protection – Provision – Participation) stated by the Universal 
Declaration  of  Human  Rights has  been  adopted  for  this  research.  In  a  nutshell,  Convention 
rights  outlines that  children have  the  right  to  protection,  provision,  and  participation  and 
offers a framework for taking a broader view on issues of digital literacy and young people’s 
online lives, identifying interlocking responsibilities of different stakeholders.   

30   https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/science-update/kidicoti-kids-digital-lives-covid-19-times  
31   Vuorikari,  R.,  Velicu,  A.,  Chaudron,  S.,  Cachia,  R.  and  Di  Gioia,  R.,  How  families  handled  emergency 
remote schooling during the COVID-19 lockdown in spring 2020, EUR 30425 EN, Publications Office of 
the European Union, Luxembourg, 2020, ISBN 978-92-76-24519-3, doi:10.2760/31977, JRC122303.  
32   Lobe, B., Velicu, A., Staksrud, E., Chaudron, S. and Di Gioia, R., How children (10-18) experienced online 
risks during the COVID-19 lockdown - Spring 2020, EUR 30584 EN, Publications Office of the European 
Union, Luxembourg, 2021, ISBN 978-92-76-29762-8, doi:10.2760/066196, JRC124034. 

33 

“Digital Learning for Every Child: Closing the gaps for an inclusive and prosperous future” (2021) T20 Policy Brief, 
Digital Transformation Task Force (Forthcoming). 

34   https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/expert-group-safer-internet 
35   European  Commission,  Getting  the  future  right  –  Artificial  intelligence  and  fundamental  rights,  European 
2020 

Union 
https://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2020/artificial-intelligence-and-fundamental-rights 

Fundamental 

November 

Agency 

(FRA), 

Rights 

for 

18 

44 

 
 
                                                 
The outcomes of the first Youth Panel Workshop will be published by the end of 2021 as part 
of a comprehensive report. 

  Raising awareness about the EU Youth Strategy 

In  2019,  communication  material  has  been  developed  in  several  languages  in  order  to 
communicate  about  the  Strategy,  particularly  on  the  internet  and  through  social  media.  The 
European  Youth  Portal36  was  revamped  in  2020  and  now  hosts  a  section  on  the  EU  Youth 
Strategy as well as a specific section on the EU Youth Dialogue. The European Youth Portal 
is  a  single  entry  point  for  young  people  and  the  youth  sector  to  facilitate  dissemination  of 
opportunities and provide a space for exchange and networking. With the help of the network 
of  Eurodesk  and  Eurodesk  Brussels  Link,  it  continued  to  provide  young  people  with 
information  about  opportunities  for  mobility  and  exchange  projects,  for  democratic 
participation activities in policy areas such as employment, human rights and peacebuilding, 
as well as for other forms of cooperation on a European scale. 

The  EU  strategy  stakeholder’s  platform  and  the  communication  tools  and  networks  such  as 
Eurodesk,  ERYICA  (European  Youth  Information and Counselling  Agency)  and  EYCA 
(European Youth Card Association) have been mobilised and contributed to raise awareness 
on activities linked to the Strategy. 

The  Eurodesk  Network  offers  information  services  to  young  people  and  to  those  who  work 
with them. The Network supports the Erasmus+ objective to raise young people's awareness 
of mobility opportunities and encourage them to  become active citizens. Eurodesk federates 
around 1 000 local  youth information  providers, so- called  ‘multipliers’, that are regional or 
local organisations working with  young people and delivering  youth information (e.g.  youth 
centres, youth information centres, associations and municipalities). 

ERYICA, the European Youth Information and Counselling Agency is composed of national 
Youth  Information  Coordination  Bodies  and  Networks.  It  represents  generalist  youth 
information services.  

EYCA,  the  European  Youth  Card  Association  giving  young  people  access  to  discounts  and 
promoting mobility in Europe.  

The  three  networks  are  therefore  offering  different  services  while  sharing  the  mission  of 
informing,  guiding  and  supporting  young  people  in  seizing  opportunities  that  can  support 
them in being active citizens of their societies and in making informed choices for their lives. 

2.2.  Policy priorities and cooperation needs at national level 

Results  from  the  FNAPs  in  both  2019  and  2021  exercises,  show  that  most  of  the  Member 
States agree on two main topics for cooperation under the core area CONNECT: 

  Enabling  access  for  all  young  people,  as  well  as  for  youth  workers,  to  cross-
border mobility opportunities, including volunteering in the civil society sector, by 

36   https://europa.eu/youth/home_en 

45 

 
 
 
                                                 
 
eliminating  obstacles  and  implementing  support  measures  with  special  attention  to 
young people with fewer opportunities; 

  Sharing best practices  and further work on effective systems for validation and 
recognition  of  skills  and  competencies  gained  through  non-formal  and  informal 
learning activities. 

EU Cooperation tools  

In 2019, when asked about the most useful cooperation tools, Member States identified both 
Peer  learning  focussed  on  policy  development  and  Transnational  cooperation  activities 
under the programme. 

In  the  second  FNAPS  survey  in  2021,  Member  States  rank  the  Transnational  cooperation 
activities under the programme as their preferred tool for cooperation and followed by  peer 
learning focused on policy development and the evidence building/research.  

A Peer learning activity on non-vocational qualification for youth work organised at the 
initiative of France gathered representatives and experts from 11 Member States in June 2021. 
The issue of mobility of youth workers and recognition of qualification was tackled during the 
discussions. Participants agreed that youth work is a diverse field of practise particularly in its 
variety  of  traditions,  stakeholders,  settings  and  practices  in  recognition  of  non-vocational 
qualifications of youth work. Best practices in terms of certification and quality assurance of 
youth work from France, Portugal, Finland, and Germany were presented during the PLA.   

2.3.  Youth-led initiatives and actions  

  Contribution from the National Youth Council of Spain  

In order to be educated and to be able to participate actively for and with their peers, we need 
to  reflect  on  the  public  spaces  which  would  allow  young  people  to  meet,  discuss  political 
views and set up projects that are important for them. We also want to make sure that young 
people receive clear information about public issues that matter to them help them acquire the 
necessary skills to understand and critically reflect on the information. 

In parallel to the consultations during the development of the 8th Cycle of the Dialogue on the 
9th  Youth  Goal  on  youth  participation,  in  February  2021  we  had  the  opportunity  to  hold  a 
historic  online  event.  For  the  first  time,  former  participants  in  the  Structured  Dialogue 
programme  (5th  Cycle)  had  the  opportunity  to  exchange  good  practices  with  the  current 
ambassadors of the Youth Dialogue.  

During the exchange, the former ambassadors shared their experience with carrying out their 
projects, contacts with the administrations or fund raising to support their activities.  

In  addition  to  the  promotion  of  participatory  projects,  other  topics  of  interest  have  been 
emerging  in  the  context  of  the  pandemic,  such  as  job  insecurity  and  personal  autonomy, 
digital training, as well as the concern for mental health, which has increased since the health 
crisis. The Spanish Institute of Youth has been raising awareness on the new pathologies, as 
well  as  on  the  need  to  support  and  monitor  young  people  in  their  work,  training  and  study 

46 

 
 
environments.  Further  details  are  outlined  in  the  Youth  in  Spain  2020  Report37,  which 
provides  a  general  overview  of  the  situation  of  young  Spaniards,  taking  into  account  their 
heterogeneity. 

  Contribution from Rural Youth Europe  

Our podcast 'Rural Voices'38 was launched in 2020. The idea was to give rural young people 
across  the European Union a platform to share their experiences, knowledge and thoughts to 
raise awareness of rural life, tackle stigmas rural youth face and unite young people from all 
walks  of  life  with  a  shared  passion  for  all  things  rural.  Topics  included  LGBTQ+,  rural 
housing,  and  rural  competences  to  name  a  few.  By  openly  discussing  these  topics,  the 
podcasts empower and equip listeners to be active citizens and to bring about positive change. 
Our first series were very successful and the second series has been launched in May 2021. 

  Contribution from the Network of European Youth Capitals  

While  the  international  work  during  the  pandemic  was  seriously  impacted,  the  Network  of 
European  Capitals  decided  to  continue  their  cooperation  with  enhanced  digital  tools  and 
platforms. 

One of their key moments during the pandemic happened in October 2020 when the Network 
of  European  Capitals  organised  their  first  online  international  Conference  to  connect  actors 
from  European  Youth  Capital  cities.  The  event  was  attended  by  decision  makers  such  as 
mayors and high-level executives from municipalities, youth workers involved in local youth 
ecosystem development, and international experts related to  the thematic approach proposed 
by the conference. 

The  Happy  City  Conference  addressed  how  young  people  can  be  at  the  forefront  of 
revitalising our cities during and after the COVID-19 crisis. Participants addressed how this 
crisis  impacted  youth  participation  in  the  cities  of  Europe,  and  how  cities  and  their  young 
people can adapt to a more digitalised environment, what are the prospects for the future and 
what can be done for developing and improving urban youth ecosystems. 

Participants tackled urban happiness through 4 specific topics: Happy City / Towards Digital / 
Participation in Crisis / Cities.Youth.Future. 

37   http://www.injuve.es/observatorio/demografia-e-informacion-general/informe-juventud-en-espana-2020  
38   https://www.ruralyoutheurope.com/podcasts/ 

47 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
3.   EMPOWER  

(In  line  with  the  Trio  Presidency  Romania-Finland-Croatia  (January  2019  -  June  2020) 
priority “Creating opportunities for youth”) 

3.1.  EU initiatives and action 

3.1.1.   Quality Youth work  

Policy framework and priorities 

The  European  Youth  Strategy  gave  a  clear  signal  to  all  EU  Member  States  on  the  need  to 
invest,  recognise  and  frame  youth  work.  Following  the  Commission  Communication 
“Engaging, Connecting and Empowering young people: a new EU Youth Strategy” as well as 
the Strategy endorsed by the Council, two documents adopted in 2019 emphasise and support 
the need to invest on youth work: the Council conclusions on digital youth work39 as well as 
the Council conclusions on Education and training of youth workers40.  

The Council Conclusions on digital youth work invite Member States and the Commission 
to encourage the exchange of best practices, to promote and make use of existing EU funding 
instruments, peer-learning activities and to carry out research to increase the knowledge in the 
field as well as to improve digital competences through non-formal learning and training. 

The  Council  conclusions  on  education  and  training  of  youth  workers  focus  on  the 
importance of ensuring high quality education and training for youth workers. Together with 
Member  States,  the  Commission  is  invited  to  carry  out  further  research  on  youth  worker 
education and training systems in the European Union, and to foster the recognition of non-
formal learning in youth work. The Commission is furthermore invited to explore, by the end 
of 2021, options to further develop the education and training of youth workers, including the 
preparation of a Council Recommendation. 

Youth  work  has  an  important  place  in  the  implementation  of  Partnership  between  the 
Council  of  Europe  and  the  European  Commission  in  the  field  of  youth.  Launched  20 
years ago, the partnership’s goal is to foster synergies between the priorities and programmes 
pursued by  the two partner institutions in the  youth  field.  The EU focuses on implementing 
the objectives of the EU Youth Strategy: engage, connect, empower. The Council of Europe 
supports  young people’s access  to  rights,  youth  participation  and  youth  work, inclusive  and 
peaceful societies in line with the priorities of the youth sector for2020-2021, as well as the 
Council of Europe Youth Strategy 2030. Under that framework the first Massive Open Online 
Course  (MOOC)  on  Essentials  of  Youth  Work  took  place  in  September  and  October  2020. 
The course allowed participants to acquire the “basics” of youth work, learn how youth work 
is  supported,  get  inspired  by  examples  of  youth  practices  across  the  European  Union  and 
reflect on the future of youth work. A second edition of the MOOC took place in May-June 
2021 in order to raise awareness on youth work to a wider audience and draw attention to its 
social value, provide an overview of youth work practices and policies across  the European 
Union and present current developments in this field. 

39   Council conclusions on Digital Youth Work (OJ C 414, 10.12.2019, p. 2) 
40   Council conclusions on education and training of youth workers (OJ C 412, 9.12.2019, p. 12) 

48 

 
 
                                                 
European Youth Work Agenda  

Building  on  a  proposal  made  by  the  Commission  in  its  2018  Communication  on  the  EU 
Youth  Strategy  and  on  the  Council’s  invitation  to  ‘focus  on  implementing  a  Youth  Work 
Agenda for quality, innovation and recognition of youth work.’, the European Youth Work 
Agenda  Council  Resolution41  is  the  latest  EU  document  that  recognises  the  value  of  youth 
work.  The  Member  States  and  the  European  Commission  are  invited  to  take  a  number  of 
measures  in  order to  integrate  youth  work into existing and future  youth  policies, recognise 
the  role  and  the  needs  of  the  youth  work  community  and  create  a  number  of  new  training, 
information  and  dissemination  tools,  applications  and  mechanisms,  with  the  support  of 
Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes. 

The Agenda is defined as a ‘strategic framework for strengthening and developing quality and 
innovation  in,  and  recognition  of  youth  work.’  The  process  of  implementing  the  Agenda, 
called the Bonn Process in the Resolution, aims at covering all levels of competence, not only 
within the EU but also as far as the Council of Europe’s activities are concerned.  

Member States and Commission are invited inter alia to:  

  Strive to ensure that the Agenda is shaped to the greatest extent possible by the youth 

work community of practice42; 

  Foresee a European Youth Work Convention in principle every five years to serve as a 

forum for the further development of the Agenda; 

  Set up an open and consultative ‘Network for youth work development in Europe’ of 

relevant structures that contribute to the development of youth work;  

  Monitor  and  evaluate  the  implementation  of  the  Agenda,  notably  via  the  EU  Youth 

report.  

More specifically, the European Commission was invited to:  

  Ensure that the Agenda is enshrined in the implementation of the EU Youth Strategy.  

  Reinforce  the  existing  partnership  with  the  Council  of  Europe.  The  EU-Council  of 
Europe  partnership  in  the  youth  field  could  be  assigned  a  central  role  in  ensuring 
synergies and in facilitating dialogue for youth workers.  

  Consider developing an open and multilingual dedicated European digital platform on 
youth work to share information, knowledge and good practices, with an expert group 
representing  the  youth  work  community  to  accompany  and  advise  on  the  process  of 
creating and implementing the platform.  

41   Council  Resolution  on  the  Framework  for  establishing  a  European  Youth  Work  Agenda  (OJ  C  415, 

1.12.2020, p. 1–8) 

42   The ‘youth work community of practice’ includes youth workers and youth leaders, youth work managers, 
project  carriers,  accredited  and  independent  youth  work  organisations,  trainers,  researchers,  educators  of 
youth  workers,  local  communities  and  municipalities,  National  Agencies  for  Erasmus+  Youth  and  the 
European Solidarity Corps, youth representations and young people, and policy-makers for youth. 

49 

 
 
                                                 
  Strengthen  knowledge-building  and  evidence-based  approaches  in  youth  work  in 

Europe. 

Bonn Process and reinforced Partnership 

Shortly after the adoption of the 2020 Council Resolution, the principles of a European Youth 
Work  Agenda  received  further  endorsement  from  stakeholders  at  the  3rd  European  Youth 
Work  Convention,  held  on  in  December  2020  as  part  of  the  Germany’s  Presidency  of  the 
Council  of  the  EU  and  Chairmanship  of  the  Committee  of  the  Ministers  of  the  Council  of 
Europe.  The  Declaration43  adopted  at  the  Convention  included  detailed  proposals  for  steps 
and measures to be taken.  

The  Declaration  includes  participants’  expectations  regarding  the  roll-out  of  the  European 
Youth  Work  Agenda.  The  most  salient  of  these  are  found  under  the  headings  Quality, 
Recognition, Validation and Policy. 

In  the  field  of  Quality,  participants  called  for  the  Union  and  Member  States  to  “establish 
national  and  international  networks  for  youth  work,  as  well  as  creating  youth  work 
professional  alliances,  structures  and  unions.”  They  would  welcome  “an  open,  inclusive, 
accessible and multilingual European digital platform on youth work as an evolving tool for 
the  community  of  practice,  in  synergy  and  complementarity  with  existing  platforms; 
promoting  such  a  platform  to  local  youth  workers,  facilitating  their  use  of  it  as  a  place  for 
peer-learning  and  mutual  support,  for  innovation  and  piloting,  for  discussing  quality  and 
emerging issues.” Finally, they invited the Union and its Member States to “use a European 
Youth  Work  Convention  every  five  years  to  evaluate  progress,  revise  objectives  and  set 
pathways to reaching them.” 

In the field of Recognition, very substantial recommendation were made, starting with a call 
to “develop a set of common terms, existing definition(s) of youth work, that can be agreed 
upon  and  used  at  national  level,  in  user-friendly  and  the  corresponding  languages.”  This 
would  “build  on  existing  successful  initiatives  that  showcase  higher  education  structures 
engaging  with  the  non-academic  communities,  including  youth  work,”  allowing  to  “enlarge 
the establishment of collaborative spaces and establish a think tank on education and training 
of  youth  workers.”  The  organisation  of  “peer-learning  activities  at  all  levels  with  specific 
education  and  training  related  purpose”  should  be  furthered,  as  should  the  cooperation  with 
“organisations  that  have  developed  tools  to  support  recognition  of  the  learning  process  and 
outcomes  (e.g. Open  Badges).” A result from  the  Peer-to-peer learning activity (PLA) on 
non-vocational  qualifications  for  youth  work  which  took  place  online  on  7-8  June  2021 
was the need to support and organise youth work exchanges between European countries and 
the  formal  and  non-formal  education  approaches  to  provision  and  recognition  of  non-
vocational qualifications to youth workers. 

43   Final  declaration  of  the  3rd  European  Youth  Work  Convention.  Signposts  for  the  future.  Bonn,  10 

December 2020.  
https://www.eywc2020.eu/en/news/final-declaration-of-the-3rd-european-youth-work-convention-signposts-
for-the-future.29  

50 

 
 
                                                 
This,  in  turn,  makes  initiatives  in  the  fields  of  Validation,  certification  and  accreditation 
inevitable,  in  an  effort  to  “clarify  the  difference  between  recognising  the  profession  of  paid  
youth workers and the professionalisation of youth work.” Building on work of the Union and 
its Member States in  other  areas, it is  clear that the large proportion of unpaid  work within 
youth  work  should  not  be  an  obstacle,  as  skills  and  competences  can  be  mapped  and 
recognized even when the work they underpin is not commodified. Participants wanted to see 
“complementing  measures  to  validate  learning  in  youth  work  in  formal  education  contexts, 
which  can  also  imply  to  develop  joint  curriculum  and  standard  courses  at  national  and 
European levels” and the development of “a shared vision of qualification for youth workers, 
to ensure the quality of certification processes both in non-formal education and learning, and 
formal  education.”  They  also  called  for  “a  European  Network  of  Youth  Workers 
Associations,  and  support  similar  processes  at  national  level,  where  they  do  not  yet  exist, 
connecting with current thematic strategies such as the European Training Strategy44 and the 
Youthpass  strategy,”  which  would  be  able  to  “build  on  European  initiatives  such  as  the 
Strategic  National  Agencies  Cooperation  projects  like  Europe  Goes  Local  or  on  Education 
and Training of Youth Workers.” 

Under  Policy,  finally,  a  strategic  framework  for  youth  work  development  was  called  for 
which  would  “support  for  a  Joint  Action  Task  Force  to  monitor  the  roll-out  of  the  Bonn 
process.” 

Main follow-up activities 

Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps programmes will further support youth work in 
particular through Transnational Cooperation Activities45 (Erasmus+ Youth) and Networking 
Activities (European Solidarity Corps) among National Agencies, contributing to the strategic 
impact  of  the  programme  and  supporting  youth  work  quality  development  at  national  and 
European level. Some Member States have also funded or planned to fund youth work under 
the Structural Funds and the NextGenerationEU46 temporary recovery instrument. 

Through  its  learning  mobility  opportunities  targeting  youth  workers,  the  Erasmus+ 
programme  aims  at  supporting  youth  empowerment  through  quality,  innovation  and 
recognition  of  youth  work.  Youth  Workers  Mobility  (Key  Action  1  –  Learning  Mobility  of 
individuals  of  the  Erasmus+  programme)  projects  have  been  supporting  the  professional 
development  of  the  participating  youth  workers,  while  contributing  to  capacity  building  for 
quality youth work of their organisation.  

In  2019-2020,  this  action  has  offered  opportunities  for  close  to  94 000  youth  workers  to 
develop their key competences through transnational training courses and seminars, contact-
making events,  study visits  and job-shadowing. 3 000 projects  have been  funded addressing 
topics of relevance for youth work and youth policy, including active citizenship, democracy 

44   https://www.salto-youth.net/rc/training-and-cooperation/trainingstrategy  
45   Transnational Cooperation Activities (TCA) encompasses a range of events, seminars and workshops, which 
enable Erasmus+ National Agencies to collaborate and share best practice across Europe. The overall aim of 
the activities is to improve the quality and impact of the programme at a systemic level. 

46   https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/recovery-plan-europe_en  

51 

 
 
                                                 
and  youth  participation,  inclusion  and  equity,  new  innovative  curricula  and  pedagogical 
methods. The success of the action is also shown in the very high satisfaction rate of (almost 
96%)  among  participants,  with  almost  95%  declaring  an  improvement  in  their  competences 
and high satisfaction in meeting their professional (88.6%) and personal development (95%) 
needs through their mobility experience. 

Erasmus+  Key  action  2  supporting  strategic  partnerships  in  the  field  of  youth  also  includes 
quality, innovation and recognition of youth work among its recurrent priorities. 

Knowledge and evidence based 

As far as evidence building is concerned, the Commission is supporting European cooperation 
in  the  field  of  youth  with  data  and  information.  Different  actors  are  already  interacting  and 
working  in  a  complementary  way,  such  as  the  EU-Council  of  Europe  Partnership  and  the 
National  Agencies  resource  centres  (SALTOs,  in  particular  Salto  for  Training  and 
Cooperation). 

The  Commission  is  also  itself  developing  knowledge,  via  a  new  chapter  dedicated  to  youth 
work in the Youth Wiki (the website informing about national  youth policies in the EU and 
managed by EACEA) and a ‘study on youth work in the EU’. The study provides a snapshot 
of where youth work in the European Union stands, how youth workers experience their daily 
realities and where they see needs to act. The study focused on the needs of youth workers at 
the  grassroots  level  and  existing  public  policies  against  the  background  of  the  pandemic.  It 
indicates that the current pandemic situation has heightened the need for further resources to 
offset  additional  costs  or  to  compensate  for  budget  shortfalls,  and  as  well  as  the  need  for 
greater access to digital infrastructure and material. 

SALTO YOCOMO online tool for youth workers 

A good practice of an EU-level process that attempts to create bridges between communities 
of  youth  work  practice  is  the  Education  Training  Strategy  (ETS)  2021-2027.  The  ETS  is  a 
strategic  framework  for  the  development  of  quality  youth  work,  prepared  and  equipped  to 
sense,  face,  address  and  respond  to  occurring  challenges  and  opportunities  for  change.  Its 
main objective is to support a competence-based approach to education and training of youth 
workers in Europe. Among the goals of the ETS, we highlight the call for:  

1.  Recognised modular courses for youth workers working at European and International 

level 

2.  A  certificate  and  recognition  measures  for  trainers  working  at  European  and 

International elves  

3.  Pilot initiatives and innovative approaches for the development of quality, sustainable 

and future fit youth work  

SALTO  Training  and  Cooperation  has  been  monitoring  the  implementation  of  the  model  at 
EU  level  since  its  launch  and  it  showed  that  it  provided  increased  visibility  to  the  role  of 
youth  workers  and  supported  their  development  as  professionals  by  providing  them  with  a 
tool for reflection and self-assessment. The ETS competence model also contributed over the 
years  to  a  more  systemic  understanding  of  youth  work  and  its  contributions  to  society.  The 
YOCOMO online tool and the Youthpass for youth workers (Yocomo Self-Assessment Tool 

52 

 
 
(https://satool.salto-youth.net)  also  contributed  to  this increased  understanding  of  which  key 
competences are important for youth work at international level. The competence model will 
adjusted  by  the  users  and  supported  by  user-friendly  tools  to  be  effective  in  guiding  youth 
workers and SALTO is working in simplifying and expanding the model to new dimensions 
such as solidarity, digital competences and civic engagement.  

Transnational Cooperation Activities (TCAs) between National Agencies have also played 
a  crucial  role  in  supporting  the  quality  implementation  of  the  Erasmus+  programme  in  the 
field of youth, contributing to the strategic impact of the programme. The National Agencies 
continued to use intensively the TCAs for training and support activities tailored to the needs 
of  the  different  youth  actions.  In  the  period  2019-2020  almost  600  hosting  TCAs  were 
planned, targeting more than 68 000 participants. Moreover, National Agencies set up longer-
term thematic cooperation activities supporting the linkages between the programme and the 
EU  Youth  Strategy.  Such  long-term  strategic  activities  will  further  develop  in  the  new 
programme  (Erasmus+  2021-2027),  where  a  cluster  of  activities  around  the  topics  of  youth 
work  have  been  launched  (digital  youth  work,  education  and  training  of  youth  workers, 
European academy on Youth Work, activities supporting the implementation of the European 
Youth Work Agenda, Europe Goes Local, etc). The outcomes of these activities are expected 
to contribute and feed in ongoing relevant programme and policy processes. 

EUROPE  GOES  LOCAL  –  Supporting  Youth  Work  on  Municipal  Level,  is  a  strategic 
partnership  in  the  youth  field  supported  by  the  Erasmus+  Youth  programme  through  TCA 
budget. It was initiated in 2016 by 20 National Agencies of the Erasmus+ youth programme 
in cooperation with the partnership between the EU and the Council of Europe in the field of 
youth, the European Youth Forum and two networks: POYWE and the InterCity Youth. Each 
participating  country  created  a  National  Working  Group  which  involves  municipal  youth 
department  and  youth  work  providers,  local  organisations,  trainers  and  researchers  who  are 
actively involved municipal level youth work. Europe Goes Local took first steps in 2021 to 
become  a  long-term  strategic  platform  for  cooperation  involving  national  and  European 
stakeholders connected to municipal level youth work. 

European Charter on Local Youth Work and the Changemakers Kit 

The European Charter on Local Youth Work is a product of the network which was launched 
in  2019.  The  aim  of  the  Charter  is  to  contribute  to  the  further  development  of  local  youth 
work. It does this by stating which principles should guide it. It gathers how different aspects 
of local youth work (its organisation and practice, the youth policy linked to it, the needs of 
youth workers and its quality development) should be considered to meet its principles.  

It is a free-to use methodological tool, functioning as a checklist around which stakeholders 
can  gather  and  discuss  what  measures  that  might  be  needed  for  the  further  development  of 
youth work, making sure that no aspect or perspective is left out and that youth work  

provision  is  carried  out  in  the  best  and  most  efficient  way.  The  Charter  is  translated  into 
twenty different  languages and constitutes, altogether, a common  European platform  for the 
necessary dialogue on youth work. 

The next step was to help youth workers to use the Charter effectively in their daily work. The 
Changemakers  Kit  is  an  on-line  toolkit  which  can  guide  youth  workers  in  the  quality 
development  process,  via  offering  information  sources,  a  self-assessment  tool,  discussion 

53 

 
 
points  to  start  a  dialogue  and  good  practices  from  fellow  youth  workers.  The  Kit  was 
launched  in  October  2020.  Good  practices  from  local  youth  work  and  from  the 
implementation of the Charter were collected. 

Website: https://www.europegoeslocal.eu/ 

InterCity Youth 

InterCity Youth – the European Network of Local Departments for Youth Work (ICY) strives 
to  empower  municipalities  in  developing  quality  youth  work.  The  development  of  this 
network  has  been  supported  by  an  Erasmus+  strategic  partnership  aimed  at  developing  a 
common  set  of  quality  indicators.  In  2019-2020  ICY  promoted,  trained  and  encouraged 
municipalities  to  use  the  quality  indicators.  KEKS,  one  the  main  ICY  member  organisation 
gathers 72 member municipalities in Sweden, Finland and Slovenia. The main driving force 
for this is the use of KEKS web based system for documentation and follow up, the Logbook 
(http://www.keks.se/the-logbook/). Through this system, based on common quality indicators, 
municipalities  can  gather  the  information  they  need  to  both  develop  their  activities  and  to 
enhance the recognition of youth work through knowledge based advocacy.  

RAY Youth Research Dialogue 

A new initiative from the ‘Research-based Analysis of European Youth Programmes’ (RAY) 
started in June 2021. The overall aim of the ‘Youth Research Dialogues’ series is not only to 
make RAY research findings more accessible but also other European youth research studies 
and  create  a  dialogue  between  researchers  about  their  findings.  The  ‘Youth  Research 
Dialogues’  series  will  promote  different  topics,  e.g.  inclusion  and  diversity,  pandemic  and 
youth work, digitalisation, etc. 

In addition to researchers from the RAY Network, the ‘Youth Research Dialogues’ series will 
feature research colleagues from different global and European contexts and networks. 

The  Youth  Research  Dialogue  series  is  addressed  to  the  European  youth  sector  and  allows 
participation through a livestream, and the recording can also be watched after the live event 
from the site and social media of RAY. 

3.1.2.   Social inclusion  

One of the overall objectives of the EU Youth Strategy is to contribute to  the eradication of 
youth poverty and all forms of discrimination and promote social inclusion of young people. 

The  new  programmes  for  youth  adopted  for  the  2021-2027  also  have  a  strong  inclusion 
dimension. An Inclusion and Diversity Strategy47 - inspired from the Strategy previously in 
force for the Erasmus+ youth chapter has been devised for the all fields of Erasmus+ 2021-
2027  and  the  new  European  Solidarity  Corps,  to  support  an  easier  access  to  funding  for  a 
wider  range  of  organisations,  and  to  better  reach  out  to  more  participants  with  fewer 

47   Implementation  guidelines  -  Erasmus+  and  European  Solidarity  Corps  Inclusion  and  Diversity  Strategy: 
https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/resources/implementation-guidelines-erasmus-and-european-
solidarity-corps-inclusion-and-diversity_en  

54 

 
 
 
                                                 
opportunities.  It  also  sets  up  a  framework  for  those  projects,  supported  through  the 
programme,  which  intend  to  work  on  inclusion  and  diversity  related  issues.  This  Strategy 
aims  to  help  addressing  the  barriers  different  target  groups  may  face  in  accessing  such 
opportunities within the European Union and beyond.  

  Protecting children and promoting their rights 

EU Strategy on the rights of the child 

In March 2021, the Commission adopted it first-ever comprehensive EU strategy on the rights 
of  the  child48.  Containing  more  than  40  concrete  actions  and  initiatives  over  its  6  thematic 
priorities, the strategy aims to bring under one coherent policy framework all EU legislative 
and  policy  actions  to  strengthen  the  protection  and  promotion  of  the  rights  of  all  children. 
With  a  strong  focus  on  participation  of  children  to  EU  political  and  democratic  life,  the 
strategy was designed based on the views of more than 10 000 children, who participated to a 
broad consultation ahead of its adoption. 

Child Guarantee 

The  Council  recommendation  establishing  a  European  Child  Guarantee  adopted  in  June 
202149  stems  from  the  European  Pillar  of  Social  Rights  and  supports  a  number  of  its 
principles. It is an important and concrete deliverable of the European Pillar of Social Rights 
Action  Plan  and  will  contribute  to  the  ambitious  target  set  herein  to  lift  at  least  5  million 
children  out  of  poverty  or  social  exclusion.  The  initiative  follows  the  2013  Commission 
Recommendation  ‘Investing 
the  cycle  of  disadvantage’  and 
complements the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child 2021-2024.  

in  Children:  breaking 

Based on a Commission proposal presented in March 2021, the Member States are invited to:  

(a)  guarantee  for  children  in  need  effective  and  free  access  to  early  childhood  education 
and care, education and school-based activities, at least one healthy meal each school day 
and healthcare;  

(b)  guarantee  for  children  in  need  effective  access  to  healthy  nutrition  and  adequate 
housing. The target group of the initiative, the children in need, is defined as persons under 
the age of 18 years, who are at risk of poverty or social exclusion.  

In  line  with  the  proposed  recommendation,  Member  States  will  nominate  national  Child 
Guarantee  Coordinators,  identify  children  in  need  and  barriers  they  face  in  accessing  and 
taking up key services, prepare action plans for implementing the recommendation (covering 
the period until 2030), develop effective outreach measures towards children in need and their 
families, and ensure participation of relevant stakeholders in the preparation, implementation, 
monitoring and evaluation of the action plan. The recommendation foresees strong monitoring 
mechanisms, including through the European Semester. 

Challenging gender stereotypes 

48   https://ec.europa.eu/info/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/rights-child/eu-strategy-rights-child-and-

european-child-guarantee_en  

49   https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1428&langId=en  

55 

 
 
                                                 
The  Commission  has  developed  two  educational  toolkits50  that  will  help  teachers  organise 
discussions  in  class  to  effectively  address  gender  stereotypes,  based  on  the  example  of  the 
transport sector. The main purpose is to make young people understand that occupations are 
not  reserved  for  a  particular  gender.  One  toolkit  has  been  developed  for  primary  school 
teachers  and  primary  school  young  learners  (6-7  years  old),  the  other  one  for  learners  at 
secondary  school  (14-15  years  old).  The  latter  includes  information  about  the  unique 
importance  of  the  transport  sector  for  the  economy  and  explanations  about  the  less  known 
transport  occupations,  including  the  key  competences  required  for  such  occupations.  Both 
toolkits  also  allow  school  leaders  and  school  counsellors  to  challenge  gender  stereotypes  in 
schools, where an environment free of stereotypes may lay a firm foundation for children to 
grow up freely and develop their unique interests and talents. 

  Young people and children in migration 

The importance of supporting children in the New Pact on Asylum and Migration. 

The New Pact on Asylum and Migration, which was adopted in September 2020, provides for 
a  comprehensive  framework  for  the  EU  migration  policy  and  the  common  European 
framework for migration and asylum management includes a specific section on the necessary 
support to children. It highlights the fact that the reform of EU rules on asylum and return is 
an  opportunity  to  strengthen  safeguards  and  protection  standards  under  EU  law  for  migrant 
children. The action plan insists on another key  theme for  youth, the access of after school, 
cultural and sport activities, as an efficient inclusion tool. 

The action plan on integration and inclusion 

The  Action  Plan  on  integration  and  inclusion,  which  was  adopted  in  November  2020, 
includes several priorities and measures that relate directly to young migrants. Its first sectoral 
priority  is  education  and  training,  with  measures  related  to  training  of  teachers  and  youth 
workers so they can better support young migrants, programmes on the transition to adulthood 
of unaccompanied minors. 

Young people and children (mostly women and girls) are especially vulnerable to exploitation 
and  trafficking.  The  EU  Strategy  on  Combatting  Trafficking  in  Human  Beings  2021-
202551,  adopted  on  14  April  2021,  takes  into  account  in  particular  women  and  children,  as 
they are the most targeted by traffickers, and trafficking for sexual exploitation. The priorities 
of the Strategy focus on reducing demand that fosters trafficking; breaking the criminal model 
to  halt  victims’  exploitation,  both  offline  and  online;  and  protecting,  supporting  and 
empowering the victims, especially women and children.  

50   The toolkits can be found under the following references: European Commission, Educational toolkit to help 
fight gender stereotypes in primary school: Challenging learners to discover a world of opportunities based 
on  the  example  of  the  transport  sector,  Luxembourg:  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union,  2021, 
DOI:10.2832/27413;  European  Commission,  Educational  toolkit  to  help  fight  gender  stereotypes  in 
secondary  school:  Challenging  learners  to  discover  a  world  of  opportunities  based  on  the  example  of  the 
transport sector, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2021, DOI:10.2832/283111. 

51   https://ec.europa.eu/home-

affairs/sites/default/files/pdf/14042021_eu_strategy_on_combatting_trafficking_in_human_beings_2021-
2025_com-2021-171-1_en.pdf  

56 

 
 
                                                 
Urban partnership on the inclusion of migrants and refugees 

The  Partnership  formulated  concrete  recommendations  and  requests  to  EU  institutions  and 
Member States to support cities in the protection of unaccompanied minors52.  

The  European  Migration  Network  published  in  March  2021  a  report  on  the  state  of 
implementation  in  2019  of  the  2017  Communication  on  the  protection  of  children  in 
migration53. 

The Union actions of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund had priorities related to 
youth, such as, in 2020, “migrant children's transition to adulthood”. The Commission’s calls 
for  proposals  on  assistance,  support  and  integration  of  third-country  national  victims  of 
trafficking  in  human  beings,  including  most  recently  those  published  in  2019  and  2020,  
addressed the gender dimension and child-specific aspects54.  

Joint meetings of the informal expert group on the rights of the child and the informal 
expert group on the protection of children in migration55 

These  joint  meetings  focused  for  example  on  alternative  care  systems,  i.e.  systems  for 
providing  accommodation  and  assistance/support  to  the  migrant  children  that  constitute 
alternatives 
interests 
assessment(s)in  asylum,  return  and  other  (administrative  and/or  judicial)  proceedings 
concerning migrant children. 

traditional  “institutional”  arrangements  and  on  best 

the 

to 

European Social Fund Plus investment in social inclusion 

One  of  the  three  ESF+  investment  areas  is  social  inclusion  and  breaking  the  cycle  of 
disadvantage across generations. Member States should allocate at least 25 % of their ESF+ 
resources under shared management to foster social inclusion. The fund places a special focus 
on  young  people  in  disadvantaged  or  vulnerable  situations,  including  young  people  not  in 
education, employment and training (NEET). In particular, the ESF+ will support: 

  equal access to and completion of quality education and training;  

  socio-economic  integration  of  third-country  nationals  and  young  people  from 

marginalised communities, including young migrants and young Roma; 

  equal  and  timely  access  to  quality  and  affordable  services,  including  services  that 

promote access to housing;  

  social integration of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion, including the most 

deprived young persons and children. 

52   https://futurium.ec.europa.eu/en/urban-agenda/inclusion-migrants-and-refugees/library/evaluation-report-

urban-partnership-inclusion-migrants-and-refugees 

53   https://ec.europa.eu/home-

affairs/sites/default/files/00_eu_emn_2019children_in_migration_synthesis_report_final.pdf 

54   https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/eu-policy/call-proposals-support-victims-trafficking-human-beings  
55   https://ec.europa.eu/info/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/rights-child_en 

57 

 
 
 
                                                 
European Regional Development Fund  

The  allocated  EUR  13.8  billion  of  ERDF  for  2014-2020  in  EU  Member  States  has  been 
invested  towards  social  inclusion,  combating  poverty  and  any  discrimination.  As  regards 
thematic areas, ERDF supported transition to family and community-based services ensuring 
independent  living  conditions,  tackling  education  and  spatial  segregation,  integration  of 
people  with  a  migrant  background,  and  social  housing.  All  these  measures  might  have  also 
targeted youth.   

Examples of projects co-funded by ERDF are:  

The High Five project has increased political  awareness  among local  15-25-year-olds  in  the 
the disadvantaged neighbourhoods of the Moabit district in Berlin. To achieve this goal, the 
project  provided  a  platform  though  which  young  people  could  recognise  opportunities  for 
political  participation,  discover  their  own  political  interests,  identify  problems  and  work  to 
solve them. They then had the opportunity to engage directly with politicians to translate their 
conclusions  into  actions.  This  platform  consisted  of  year-round  weekly  workshops,  14-day 
summer schools and two annual youth assemblies in autumn, all co-designed by young people 
themselves. Subjects covered contemporary political situation, issues young people encounter 
in  their  daily  lives  and  historical  political  topics.  Socially  disadvantaged  young  people, 
including those with disabilities and from migrant or refugee backgrounds, were an important 
target  group, as the project  looked to  help  them deal  with  discrimination  and make positive 
use of their life experience. As a result, High Five contributes to improving the quality of life 
and increase participation in society for residents of disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Due to its 
success,  the  project  was  recognised  as  a  finalist  for  the  European  Commission  2020 
Regiostars Award for the category on “Citizen Engagement”.  

The  REGIOSTARS  awards  2020  dedicated  a  category  to  “youth  empowerment  for 
cooperation across borders”, to celebrate the 30 years of Interreg.  This annual competition 
organised  under  the  patronage  of  the  regional  policy  Commissioner  since  2008  aims  at 
identifying  excellent  projects  financed  by  cohesion  policy  in  Europe.  In  2020,  nearly  40 
projects  submitted  for  the  category  showing  that  cohesion  policy  creates  long-term 
relationships  between  youth  across  borders  and  contributes  to  intercultural  exchange  by 
empowering young people to collaborate across borders. The winner Energy@School project 
developed a scheme to train school students as “Junior Energy Guardians” in seven European 
countries. 

Since the launch of the ‘Youth.Shaping.EUSALP’ initiative in 2018, the EU Strategy for the 
Alpine  Region  (EUSALP),  has  developed  many  activities  allowing  young  people  being 
involved in  both  governance structures of the Strategy  and concrete projects.  The  European 
Commission has deployed EUR 1M to support this initiative covering the creation of summer 
camp and activities in the Alps with young people and members of the EUSALP. The Pitch 
your Project competition is supporting projects created by young people in the areas of natural 
resource  sustainable  management,  digitalisation,  education,  labour  market,  promotion  of 
heritage  and  integration  of  the  region,  strengthening  crisis  resilience  capabilities,  and 
development of local supply. Furthermore, the initiative has introduced a Youth Council, with 

58 

 
 
 
more  than  20  young  people  regularly  engaging  with  members  of  the  EUSALP  and 
participating in decision-making.   

3.1.3.  Health and well-being 

The  EU  conducts  actions  specifically  dedicated  to  the  health  of  young  people  and  children. 
For instance, more than 700 projects financed on volunteering through the Solidarity Corps 
are dedicated to health and well-being, many of which build on sport as a vehicle for physical 
and mental health, well-being and inclusion of especially disadvantaged groups.  

  Health and sport 

The promotion of sport and health-enhancing physical activity is one of the priorities of the 
EU Work Plan for Sport. In 2021, the Commission will invigorate action in this area through 
the launch of the HealthyLifestyle4All initiative, a follow-up to the Tartu Call for a Healthy 
Lifestyle. This will be a 2-years’ campaign that aims to link sport and active lifestyles with 
health, food and other policies. It will showcase the Commission’s commitment to promoting 
healthy lifestyles across generations including children and young people. Activities that will 
entice getting active will be concentrated in September at the occasion of the European Week 
of Sport. 

The sport actions are supported under the Erasmus+ programme and are an important vector 
to promote positive values of social inclusion, tolerance and solidarity alongside the benefits 
of physical activity for health. In the 2014-2020 financing period, about one in three projects 
focused on ‘Encouraging] social inclusion and equal opportunities in sport”. Thanks to the 
ability  of  sport  to  link  people,  projects  in  this  field  are  very  successful  to  create  valuable 
occasions for inclusion and social cohesion. Projects in the field of sport also provided young 
athletes  with  valuable  occasions  for  developing  skills  thanks  to  the  Promotion  of  the 
Guidelines on the Dual Career of Athletes or the promotion of employability in and through 
sport for a broader public. 

Scoring for the Future- Increasing youth employability through football 

The project promoted education in and through sport focusing on life skills development for 
increased employability of NEET (not in education, employment or training) young people. It 
harnessed the potential of sport, and especially football  to  play  an important  role to  support 
young individuals in the pursuit of a better future. 

Erasmus+ Projects Results Platform: Erasmus+ project card | Erasmus+ (europa.eu) 

Project website: KidMove | Athlete-centered coaching practices 

  Health determinants 

Joint Action on Health Equity Europe (JAHEE) 

The Joint Action is currently financed for the period from June 2018 to November 2021 under 
the  3rd  Health  Programme.  It  joins  efforts  of  Member  States  addressing  health  inequalities 
including in children and young people, and underlying social determinants of health. It aims 
to  deliver  a  policy  framework  with  a  menu  of  actions  and  recommendations  for  national, 
regional  and  local  uptake  and  implementation,  develop  better  policies,  improve  monitoring, 
governance,  implementation  and  evaluation;  implement  good  practices  and  facilitate 

59 

 
 
exchange  and  learning;  identify  factors  of  success,  barriers  and  challenges  and  how  to 
overcome them. 

The actions focusing on children and young people health are:   

(a)  Promotion  of  personal  and  oral  hygiene  among  children  aged  3-5  and  reducing  any 
inequalities  among  children  from  different  provinces,  ethnic  groups  and  socio-economic 
levels in Cyprus,   

(b)  Improving  access  to  oral  health  services  among disadvantaged  children  in  Spain 
(Andalusia),  

(c) Students in the land of germs (Greece),  

(d) Public health for children (Greece), Improving access of children with special needs to the 
Programme “Development and health through Sport” for young people from Bucharest.  

JAHEE aims to frame all these actions into a bigger picture of integration and sustainability, 
prepare an evaluation to access adequacy of all those implementing efforts and their impact, 
and address the main conclusions in a consensus policy document to the attention of EU and 
Ministries of Health. 

https://jahee.iss.it/ 

Healthy lifestyle – Marketing to children of products high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS)  

The lifestyle of the average European has changed dramatically over recent decades and the 
current  sedentary  lifestyle  is  for  a  great  extent  responsible  for  the  worrying  increases  in 
overweight and obesity seen across age groups and socioeconomic population groups. 

Many factors contribute to this lifestyle change. One of the factors is eating patterns. Children 
in  European  countries  now  consume  more  fast-food  and  sugar-sweetened  beverages,  eat 
outside  the  home  more  frequently  and  spend  less  time  eating  family  meals  than  previous 
generations and are significantly impacted by the aggressive (online) marketing of foods and 
non-alcoholic beverages high in fat, sugars and salt. 

In  order  to  help  Members  States  to  halt  and  reverse  this  negative  trend  and  the  increased 
incidence  of  non-communicable  diseases 
(cardiovascular  disease,  cancer,  diabetes, 
obesity/overweight),  the  Commission  launched  in  2020  the  Best  ReMaP  joint  action  on 
implementation of validated best practices in the area of nutrition, which includes initiatives 
focusing on reducing aggressive (online) marketing to children.   

The objective of this practice is to explore, develop and share, within participating countries, 
the  best  practices  on  how  to  implement  effective  policies  to  reduce  marketing  of  unhealthy 
food  products  (food  and  non-alcoholic  beverages)  to  children  (up  to  18  years)  and  develop 
harmonised monitoring and implementation tools thereof in the EU.   

This initiative focuses on implementation and monitoring actions that are transferrable across 
the  17  participating  countries  including  the  development  of  voluntary  codes  of  conduct  and 
designing protocols and tools to monitor unhealthy food marketing to children. 

60 

 
 
 
This  EU  Framework  will  provide  guidance  for  policy  implementation  at  national  level  to 
support the adoption of the best practices across EU Member States, with recommendations 
for further EU and national measures. 

Best-ReMaP – Healthy Food for a Healthy Future (bestremap.eu) 

Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan includes actions on health promotion   

Through  the  focus  on  cancer  prevention  and  lifestyles,  the  Cancer  Plan  –  a  priority  for  the 
Commission  in  the  field  of  public  health  and  adopted  in  February  2021  –  will  also  benefit 
other  major  communicable  diseases  as  they  share  the  same  health  determinants:  healthy 
diets, regular physical activity, no tobacco use, and no harmful alcohol consumption.  

Adopting a healthy and active lifestyle at a young age will help to reduce non-communicable 
diseases, including cancer, at a later stage in life. The Cancer Plan aims to create a ‘Tobacco-
Free Generation’ - where less than 5% of the population uses tobacco by 2040, compared to 
around  25%  today  -  and  introduces    the  ‘HealthyLifestyle4All  initiative  -  campaign  to  be 
launched in September 2021 promoting sport, physical activity and healthy diets.  

The  Cancer  Plan  also  aims  at  improving  health  literacy  on  cancer  risks  and  determinants 
through (1) update and boost of the ‘European Code against Cancer’ (Commission initiative 
to  inform  people  about  actions  they  can  take  to  reduce  their  risk  of  cancer);  and  (2)  the 
development of an ‘EU Mobile App for Cancer Prevention’.  

Especially for young people, the Cancer Plan plans the establishment of the ‘EU Network of 
Youth  Cancer  Survivors’  which  will  connect  young  cancer  survivors,  their  families  and 
(in)formal  carers,  and  will  help  strengthen  long-term  follow-up  in  cancer  care  plans  at 
national and regional level. 

With  dedicated  funds  under  the  EU4Health  programme  and  other  funding  instruments,  the 
Cancer  Plan  will  support  Member  States’  efforts  to  extend  routine  vaccination  against 
human papillomaviruses of girls and boys – in order to eliminate cervical cancer and other 
cancers caused by human papillomaviruses. The objective is to vaccinate at least 90% of the 
EU  target  population  of  girls  and  to  significantly  increase  the  vaccination  of  boys  by  2030. 
Member States will play a critical role in meeting this target.  

The  Commission  plans  a  Council  Recommendation  on  vaccine-preventable  cancers  to  help 
address  cancer 
risks  associated  with  Hepatitis  B  and  Human  papilloma  virus 
infections.https://ec.europa.eu/health/sites/default/files/non_communicable_diseases/docs/eu_
cancer-plan_en.pdf 

  Mental health 

Under  the  third  Health  Programme’s  2020  Annual  Work  Plan56,  the  Commission  supports 
actions  with  direct  relevance  to  young  people’s  mental  health.  The  Joint  Action  on  Mental 
Health (ImpleMENTAL), expected to kick off in October 202157 will implement a multi-level 
national  suicide  prevention  programme  and  a  system  reform  to  strengthen  client-centered 

56   Annual work plan 2020 | Public Health (europa.eu) 

57   With participation from 21 European countries and an EU fund of EUR 5 million. 

61 

 
 
                                                 
community-based  services.  This  new  action  will  include  a  specific  focus  on  services  for 
children and young people. 

On  10  May  2021,  the  Commission  hosted  a  high-level  conference58  on  the  mental  health 
impact  of  the  pandemic.  The  needs  of  children,  young  people  and  their  teachers  were 
addressed in a dedicated session that included a contribution from student representatives, and 
several testimonials highlighted the impact of the pandemic on the daily lives of children and 
young people.  

To support stakeholders’ efforts, the Commission set up a group on COVID-19 mental health 
support’ within its  EU Health Policy Platform59. Organisations working on child well-being 
are represented among the more than fifty participating stakeholders.  

The  EU  Drugs  Strategy  2021-202560,  adopted  in  December  2020,  prioritizes  measures 
relevant  to  children  and  young  people.  As  prevention  is  an  important  aspect  in  tackling  the 
drugs situation, the Strategy  highlights  the necessity to  prevent  and  counter the exploitation 
by organised crime groups of vulnerable groups, including children and young people. At the 
same  time,  one  of  the  objectives  of  the  Strategy  is  to  contribute  to  the  healthy  and  safe 
development  of children and  young people through  a variety of interventions.  For example, 
increasing  the  availability  of  evidence-based  targeted  prevention  of  drug  use  as  well  as 
counselling and treatment for young drug users.  

3.1.4.  Education and Training 

Disruption of education due to COVID-19 and the effect it has on young people  

The  COVID-19  pandemic  has  affected  and  put  unprecedented  pressure  on  education  and 
training  systems  worldwide  and  across  the  Union.  The  societal  restrictions  brought  major 
changes  to  teaching  and  learning  and  to  communication  and  collaboration  within  education 
communities. They had an impact on learners, their families, teachers, trainers, and institution 
leaders, as well as community professionals  who support education, such as social workers, 
cultural educators, and vocational trainers. 

For learners, the learning process was often slower and less in-depth, sometimes delayed, and 
generally  made  more  difficult  due  to  the  absence  of  the  systematic  classroom  rhythm  and 
close  interaction  with  educators  and  fellow  pupils.  Physical  and  emotional  well-being  was 
also  compromised  as  schools  could  not  offer  structured  activities  or  access  to  facilities:  the 
socialising  dimension  and  of  the  learning  processes  were  heavily  affected  and  many  young 
people  experienced  sense  of  isolation  and  anxiety.  Those  from  more  disadvantaged 
backgrounds  were  more  likely  to  be  exposed  to  more  stressful  home  environments  and 

58   Mental health and the pandemic: living, caring, acting! | Public Health (europa.eu) 

59   EU Health Policy Platform (europa.eu) 
60   OJ C 102I , 24.3.2021, p. 1–14 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52021XG0324%2801%29 

62 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
overall,  an  increase  in  mental  health  difficulties  was  observed,  particularly  amongst  those 
already at risk, with a strong impact on motivation.  

The  COVID-19  pandemic  has  exacerbated  already  existing  socio-economic  inequalities  in 
children’s  learning  opportunities  at  home.  Many  learners  with  limited  or  no  access  to  well-
functioning digital devices and good internet connection were at a disadvantage; entire groups 
of  learners,  including  those  from  remote  areas,  migrant  and  refugee  children  and  other 
learners  from  disadvantaged  backgrounds,  risked  being  excluded  from  distance  and  online 
teaching  and  learning.  Many  families  and  learners  lacked  the  necessary  competence  and 
resources  to  cope  with  learning  at  home;  this  led  to  a  major  concern  for  those  who  would 
normally receive targeted learning support, subsidised meals, or access to a variety of extra-
curricular activities.  

In short, while closures  of educational  institutions have affected the learning progress  of all 
learners to some extent, the switch to remote learning had disproportional negative impact on 
those  who  were  already  at  a  disadvantage,  increasing  the  likelihood  for  learners  at  risk  to 
disconnect and drop out. After having steadily decreased in previous years, in the third quarter 
of  2020  the  share  of  young  people  not  in  employment,  education  or  training  (NEETs)  has 
returned to the level of 2016 (14.2%). A first evaluation of available evidence also points at a 
rise in the level of social exclusion over the past year. Young people and children emerge as 
those most at risk, especially when already disadvantaged. 

Member  States  were  able  to  rapidly  mobilise  options  and  support  for  distance  learning,  in 
particular digital solutions and the Commission has taken several actions to support Member 
States  in  their  efforts.  During  the  first  period  of  school  closure,  the  Commission  hosted  a 
Distance  Learning  Network  (April-June  2020)  for  ministry  representatives  to  exchange 
approaches to various challenges; in June 2020 the Commission published “Blended learning 
in  school  education:  guidelines  for  the  start  of  the  academic  year”.  In  August  2020,  two 
extraordinary  Erasmus+  calls  were  launched  to  support  “digital  education  readiness”  and 
“creativity”,  each  providing  EUR  100  million  to  respond  to  educational  COVID-19 
challenges through collaborative projects. 

The  COVID-19  pandemic  has  had  a  heavy  impact  on  Vocational  education  and  training 
(VET), especially on its work-based learning element. Many VET schools remained closed, at 
least temporarily, and some companies reduced the number of apprenticeship placements due 
to  the  difficult  economic  situation61.  86%  of  respondents  to  the  ILO  Global  survey  on  the 
impact  of  COVID-19  on  staff  development  and  training62  indicated  that  the  training  of 
apprentices  had  either  been  suspended  completely  or  been  partially  interrupted.  The 
challenges  most  frequently  mentioned  by  enterprises  and  organisations  in  continuing 
apprenticeship training were (i) difficulties in delivering hands-on training, (ii) infrastructure 

61   See  for  example:  OECD  (2021).  Implications  of  the  COVID-19  pandemic  for  Vocational  Education  and 

Training. 

62   ILO (2021). Skilling, upskilling and reskilling of employees, apprentices and interns during the COVID-19 

pandemic: Findings from a global survey of enterprises. 

63 

 
 
                                                 
issues  (e.g.  limited  or  no  digital  equipment  or  internet  connection)  and  (iii)  lack  of  adapted 
training programmes and resources. 

According to an online survey that the European Commission conducted in 2020 on how VET 
ensured  continuity  of  the  learning  and  teaching  through  COVID-1963,  all  countries  set  up 
online  environments  to  adapt  VET  provision  to  the  COVID-19  pandemic.  However,  the 
survey also found that the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the digital divide, the inequality 
and  disadvantages  this  created  for  households  and  learners  that  do  not  have  access  to 
computers and the internet. Respondents to the European Alliance for Apprenticeships Pledge 
Monitoring Survey64, conducted between February and April 2021, reported that the pandemic 
led  to  a  decrease  in  the  supply  of  apprenticeships,  in  particular  in  those  sectors,  like 
hospitality, hit by months of full or partial lockdown. Apprentices who remained in training 
also faced severed disruptions in the normal provision of education and training, which raised 
concerns  about  student  motivation  and  the  overall  quality  of  apprenticeships.  Mobility  of 
apprentices was also strongly affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Finally, several organisations 
reported that the crisis also impacted their promotional activities, making it harder for them to 
connect with students, parents, and other organisations. 37% of the respondents declared that 
they  had  moved  to  only  training  or  supported  organisations  in  moving  to  online  training  to 
respond to the crisis.   

Addressing the impact of COVID-19 on children and young people has been on the agenda of 
the  Commission  since  the  start  of  the  pandemic  and  that  lessons  learned  inform  new 
initiatives. For example:  

  The  Commission  will  propose  a  Council  Recommendation  on  blended  learning  for 
high  quality  and  inclusive  primary  and  secondary  education.  The  proposed 
Recommendation  is  part  of  the  immediate  response  to  lessons  learned  from  the 
COVID-19  pandemic,  with  shorter-term  measures  to  address  the  most  pressing  gaps 
evidenced  so  far,  striving  to  overcome  the  effects  on  the  younger  generation.  At  the 
same time, it outlines a way forward for blending learning environments65 and tools66 
in  primary  and  secondary  education  that  can  help  building  more  resilient  education 
systems, to prepare the ground to deliver on the Digital Decade objectives. The aim is 
to  increase  the  inclusiveness  and  quality  of  school  education  and  improve  the  broad 
competence development of all learners. The proposed Recommendation will: 

o  Facilitate  a  common  approach  towards  short-term  solutions  to  problems 

encountered during the pandemic that led to gaps in learning outcomes; 

63   https://ec.europa.eu/social/vocational-skills-week/fight-against-covid-19_en. 

64   Apprenticeship  Support  Services  (2021).  European  Alliance  for  Apprenticeship  Monitoring  Survey  2019-

2020. 

65   School  site  and  distance  environments.  The  distance  learning  environment  may  include:  the  home;  public 
libraries, museums and galleries; farms, factories, and other places of work; parks, forests and waterways; 
hospitals (in the case of sick or injured children), or sports centres  and film studios (in the case of children 
on professional contracts). 

66   Tools can be digital (including online) and non-digital. 

64 

 
 
 
                                                 
o  Promote  a  common  European  understanding  of  the  opportunities  created  by 
blending learning, including improving the inclusiveness of school education, 
and the broad competence development and well-being of learners; 

o  Facilitate  the  sharing  of  policy  maker,  researcher  and  educator  expertise  and  

practices at system and school levels; 

o  Support initiatives at EU level to foster competence development of educators 

and learners in blending learning environments and tools; 

o  Encourage investment in this area.  

  The  new  initiative  ‘Pathways  to  School  Success’,  foreseen  by  the  Commission 
Communication  on  achieving  a  European  Education  Area  by  2025,  and  addressing 
underachievement  in  basic  skills  and  early  leaving  from  education  and  training,  will 
also take account of the new challenges created by the COVID-19 crisis, in particular 
as regards more vulnerable pupils.  The Commission will put forward a proposal for a 
Council Recommendation on Pathways to School Success in the first semester 2022. 
The  proposed  Recommendation  will  outline  policy  guidance  for  Member  States  on 
concrete  strategies  and  actions  that  the  European  Union  can  take  to  reduce  early 
leaving  from  education  and  training,  complete  upper  secondary  education  and  help 
pupils reach a certain level of proficiency in basic skills. It will incorporate proposals 
and good practices on how to promote conducive and inclusive learning environments, 
supported by a strong culture of wellbeing.   

Drawing  on  lessons  from  the  2011  Council  Recommendation  on  Policies  to  Reduce  Early 
School  Leaving,  the  Recommendation  will  propose  a  framework  for  action  at  school  and 
education  system  level,  structured  around  the  four  pillars  (monitoring,  prevention, 
intervention and compensation). It will encompass recommendations for combining universal 
and more targeted measures, based on a whole-system and whole-school vision. 

European Education Area and European Research Area 

In September 2020 the European Commission adopted three Communications –on achieving 
the European Education Area by 202567, on a New ERA for Research and Innovation68, 
and  on  the  Digital  Education  Action  Plan69.  These  Communications  set  out  a  long-term 
vision in the area of education and research and they list concrete milestones for the coming 
years.  The  achievement  and  further  development  of  the  European  Education  Area  as  an 
overarching  objective  until  2030  was  endorsed  in  the  Council  Resolution  on  a  strategic 
framework for European cooperation in education and training towards the European 
Education Area and beyond (2021-2030)70 adopted in February. 

Through more than 40 concrete actions and initiatives, the European Commission will support 
mutual  learning  and  cooperation  at  all  levels,  sharing  of  good  practices  and  their 

67   https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1601687240311&uri=CELEX:52020DC0625 

68    https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2020%3A628%3AFIN 
69   https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1602778451601&uri=CELEX%3A52020DC0624 
70   http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=uriserv:OJ.C_.2021.066.01.0001.01.ENG 

65 

 
 
                                                 
dissemination,  development  of  new  teaching  methods  and  innovation  in  the  area  of 
education.  

To guide and monitor progress towards the European Education Area the Communication and 
the Council Resolution identify targets to be reached by 2030. For example the share of low-
achieving 15-year-olds in reading, mathematics and science should be less than 15% and 
the share of low-achieving eight-graders in computer and information literacy should be 
less  than  15%.  The  time  scale  provides  Member  States  with  the  time  needed  for  the 
introduction  and  implementation  of  the  necessary  policy  reforms  and  investments,  and  for 
their impact to become visible. 

The  Council  Conclusions  on  the  New  European  Research  Area71,  adopted  in  December 
2020  are  also  key  milestones  for  the  efforts  to  build  a  common  research  area  that  is  more 
tangible and impactful for researchers, innovators and citizens throughout Europe. They stress 
the importance of developing synergies and interactions between the European Research Area 
and  the  higher  education  related  elements  of  the  European  Education  Area,  and  call  for  the 
enhancement  of  research  careers.  The  latter  has  been  further  taken  forward  by  the  Council 
Conclusions  on  Deepening  the  European  Research  Area:  Providing  researchers  with 
attractive and sustainable careers and working conditions and making brain circulation 
a 
European Universities initiative  

in  May 

Portuguese 

reality72, 

adopted 

under 

the 

Presidency.                                                                                 

One of the key actions under the Erasmus+ programme with a complementary support from 
the  Horizon  2020/Europe  programmes,  implementing  the  European  Education  Area  and  the 
European  Research  Area  in  the  field  of  higher  education  is  the  European  Universities 
initiative.  European  Universities  are  ambitious  transnational  alliances  of  higher  education 
institutions  developing  long-term  structural  and  strategic  cooperation.  In  2019  and  2020,  in 
total 41 European Universities alliances were selected.  

One of their objectives is to create inter-university campuses where young people - students, 
staff and researchers - enjoy seamless mobility (physically or blended with virtual mobility) to 
study,  train,  teach,  do  research,  work  or  share  services  in  any  of  the  cooperating  partner 
institutions. The European Universities will also offer student-centred and flexible curricula, 
which  will  allow  students  to  customise  their  choice  of  where  and  what  to  study  within  the 
alliance, through for instance more flexible and modular programmes. These new flexibility 
will be complemented with micro-credentials to allow anyone, including young professionals, 
to  update  their  skills,  including  digital  skills,  when  they  need  it  most.  Next  to  flexibility, 
innovative  pedagogies  supported  by  digitisation  will  be  a  key  component  of  the  European 
Universities alliances.  

Students  will also  be  trained on how to  act  on climate change  and any other big  challenges 
that require students from different disciplines and different countries to work together as well 
as  with  academics,  researchers,  businesses  and  social  society.  They  will  develop  an 

71    https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-13567-2020-INIT/en/pdf 

72    https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/49980/st09138-en21.pdf 

66 

 
 
                                                 
entrepreneurial  and  civic  mindset.  This  will  help  equipping  students  with  relevant  skills  to 
tackle the big societal challenges. 

This  ambitious  European  Universities  initiative  cannot  be  achieved  without  the  thorough 
involvement of students at all level of the institutions. This is why European Universities are 
invited  to  put  in  place  systems  for  structured  student  involvement  in  their  alliance.  The 
Commission encourages European Universities to actively engage and empower their students 
in  the  initiative,  including  in  its  governance,  strategy  and  assessment.  It  organises  regular 
consultations  and  meetings  with  the  students  of  the  alliances,  as  well  as  with  student 
organisations  such  as  the  European  Students’  Union  and  the  Erasmus  Student  Network,  in 
order to take stock of their experiences and vision for the initiative.  

Building a more resilient Europe means ensuring that all citizens are enabled and empowered 
through the digital  transition. At political  level,  this  is  supported by the  EU  Skills  Agenda, 
that  foresees  a  set  of  actions  to  support  skills  development  for  all  for  a  fair  transition, 
including digital skills; by the Digital Compass, that calls for ”universal digital education” by 
2030, and by the Digital Education Action Plan, that proposes a vision for digital education.  

The  Plan  focuses  on  two  priorities.  First,  how  to  support  the  deployment  of  the  vast  and 
growing  array  of  digital  technologies  (apps,  platforms,  software)  to  improve  and  extend 
education and training while properly addressing risks that may come from digital exclusion, 
inappropriate use, or fast technological developments. Second, how to equip all citizens with 
digital competences to live, work, learn and thrive in a world increasingly mediated by digital 
technologies.  The  second  priority  is  aligned  with  the  EU  Skills  Agenda,  which  sets  the 
objective of 70% of adults of adults aged 16-74 having at least basic digital skills by 202573. 
The  Digital  Education  Action  Plan  is  moreover  aligned  to  the  Digital  Compass,  that  puts 
forward a target of at least 80% of all adults with basic digital skills by 2030, and 20 million 
employed  ICT  specialists  in  the  EU  (while  increasing  the  participation  of  women).  The 
Action Plan and the Digital Compass have moreover commonalities in tackling connectivity.  

Digital Education is central for the Future of Europe: it can support the recovery to ensure 
that  citizens  can  seizes  the  benefits  of  digital  transformation  while  mitigating  its  risks.  The 
Action  Plan  can  benefit  from  an  array  of  funding  mechanisms  (Erasmus  programme,  the 
European  Social  Fund,  the  European  Regional  Development  Fund  and  smart  specialisation 
policies, the Connecting Europe Facility, the Digital Europe Programme, and Horizon Europe. 
In addition, the Action Plan forms part of the EU’s response to the COVID-19 crisis, to guide 
the Member States in prioritising funding for digital education in the Recovery and Resilience 
Facility,  where  re-  and  upskilling  as  well  as  boosting  very  high-capacity  broadband 
connectivity are flagship investments.  

Throughout  the  process  of  preparation  of  the  Recovery  and  Resilience  Plans,  the 
Commission strongly encouraged Member States to include investments and reforms in seven 
flagship  areas.  One  of  those  flagships,  ‘Reskill  and  upskill’,  promotes  the  adaptation  of 
education and training systems to enhance digital skills. Furthermore, the Member States have 

73   The European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan in 2021 set a target of 80 % by 2030. 

67 

 
 
                                                 
to ensure that 20% of the total allocation of the plans is directed to measures that effectively 
contribute to the digital transition or to addressing the challenges resulting therefrom.  

European Social Fund Plus investment in education and training 

In the 2014-2020 period approximately one-third of the ESF’s total EU budget is allocated to 
education  and  training  investments  amounting  to  over  EUR  26  billion  with  young  people 
likely  being  the  main  beneficiaries  of  this  funding.  The  ESF+  will  continue  to  support  the 
entire  education  and  training  cycle  from  early  childhood  education  to  life-long  learning, 
higher education and VET to make sure that people get the right knowledge and skills at all 
stages of life.  

In this, the ESF+ places a particular focus on equal access to quality education and training 
for disadvantaged groups. As such, the Fund is a key instrument for the implementation of 
EU education and training policy, including the European Skills Agenda. 

European Regional Development Fund investments in education and training  

 In  the  2014-2020  programming  period,  nearly  EUR  7  billion  of  European  Regional 
Development  Fund  (ERDF)  investments  have  been  allocated  to  education,  training  and 
lifelong learning. Among other groups, youth also benefitted from these investments. Among 
others,  ERDF  invests  in  education  and  creating  incentives  for  educational  reforms  in  the 
Member  States.  ERDF  also  aims  to  address  inequalities  in  accessing  education,  also  taking 
into account territorial disparities, with a particular focus on deprived areas. When looking at 
programmes  investing  in  education  and  training,  the  following  areas  have  been  covered: 
upgrading infrastructure for quality and inclusive education and training, fighting early school 
leaving, promoting participation  in  education and training, enhancing the quality and labour 
market relevance of education, and alleviating education segregation74.  

Examples of projects co-funded by ERDF:  

The e-Schools  pilot project, which provided  ICT equipment  and digital  education tools  for 
151 primary and secondary schools in Croatia, received the award for  “Skills & education 
for  a  digital  Europe”  at  the  2020  Regiostars  awards.  Through  ERDF  support,  the 
innovative  projects  has  helped  10%  of  Croatian  schools  and  around  50,000  teachers  and 
500,000  students  to  switch  to  a  new  level  of  education.  Teachers,  principals  and 
administration  staff  received  tablets  or  laptop  computers,  digital  content  for  teaching  and 
learning, and a system to manage their schools’ administration. The additional support of the 
European Social Fund reinforced teacher’s professional development  to  ensure the systemic 
introduction of ICT in the selected schools. Given the success of the project, a framework was 
developed to extend the program to 50% of schools in the country by 2022.  

74   European Union, Analysis of ERDF support for inclusive growth in the 2014-2020 programming period – 

Final Report, 2018, p.79. Available at 
https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/studies/pdf/erdf_support_inclusive_growth_en.pdf  

68 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Along  the  year  2019-2020,  Interreg  Atlantic  Area  programme  deployed  the  Atlantic  Youth 
Creative Hub (AYCH) project, which aims to create entrepreneurial work synergies between 
youth  from  France,  Spain,  Portugal  and  the  UK  in  the  cultural  and  creative  industries. 
Through a network of interconnected and multidisciplinary hubs, the project stimulates idea 
generation,  pre-start-up  and  early  stage  business  start-ups 
the  creative 
entrepreneurial  potential  of  young  people.  To  date,  3 626  young  people  have  received 
training,  377  young  people  have  been  in  effective  incubation  (more  than  3  months). 
Furthermore, the project has helped create and support 184 jobs, 171 business ideas and 108 
young  companies  through  the  introduction  of  new  services,  products  and  events.  The 
Ambassadors team is composed of 124 young people and 195 Experts are available to support 
young people. 

to  unlock 

Structural Reform Support Programme - Technical Support Instrument75  

Through  technical  support  from  the  Structural  Reform  Support  Programme  (SRSP)  and  the 
Technical  Support  Instrument  which  replaced  the  SRSP,  the  Commission  is  supporting  EU 
Member  States  in  undertaking  reforms  aimed  at  improving  recognition  of  non-formal 
learning,  educational  outcomes  for  young  people,  their  access  to  the  labour  market  and  the 
friendliness of the justice system for youth. 

The  European  Commission  is  supporting  Estonia  in  designing  and  preparing  the 
implementation of a reform to better integrate non-formal and formal learning.  Based 
on a request from the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research, a 2-year project funded 
by the EU through the SRSP [to be launched in autumn 2021]. The principal aim is to address 
and overcome the current fragmentation between formal education (general school education, 
vocational  education  and  training)  and  the  non-formal  learning  sector,  including  activities 
supported through youth work. The project will, in particular, seek to facilitate the recognition 
of learning achieved in one or the other. 

As  a  result  of  the  technical  support  it  is  expected  that  the  Estonian  authorities  are  aware  of 
policy options to  achieve better integration of non-formal and formal  learning, including on 
legislation, funding schemes and modes of governance. The project will enable the authorities 
to  co-create  and  validate  a  set  of  guidelines  for  the  integration  of  formal  and  non-formal 
learning  together  with  relevant  stakeholders  (providers)  from  formal  and  non-formal 
education and local governments. 

The  technical  support  will  be  delivered,  inter  alia,  through  an  analysis  of  both  the  current 
situation  in  Estonia  and  good  practice  from  other  countries,  an  assessment  of  the  impact  of 
changes in legislation, policy and funding models, and the joint work on new guidelines with 
the  stakeholders  concerned.  The  project  will  aim  at  recommendations  for  a  comprehensive 
strategy to implement the reform. 

The Commission is also supporting Spain with the implementation of action plans aiming 
to  tackle  youth  and  long-term  unemployment  respectively.  Technical  support  is  being 
provided to the Spanish  Public Employment Service (SEPE) on monitoring the policies and 
programmes  on  youth  activation  across  all  autonomous  communities.  In  addition,  the 

75   Regulation 2021/240 of 10 February 2021 establishing a Technical Support Instrument 

69 

 
 
                                                 
Commission  is  supporting  SEPE  with  organising  a  ‘community  of  practice’  among  the 
regional public employment services around the exchange of good practices on tackling youth 
unemployment  in  Spain  and  internationally.  Over  the  long-term,  this  support  is  expected  to 
contribute to the design of better, more targeted active labour market policies (ALMPs) and 
other programmes, thereby boosting labour market participation rates among youth in Spain.  

The  Commission  is  working  with  Portugal  to  address  the  problem  of  school  failure, 
leading  to  high  dropout  rates  in  schools  located  in  vulnerable  socio-economic  areas.  This 
action aims at implementing a comprehensive, innovative and tested approach to learning in a 
limited number of schools located in Territories of Priority Intervention (TEIP schools), based 
on activities involving local authorities and students’ parents (known as ‘Schools as Learning 
Communities’  approach).  The  outcome  of  such  pilots  will  give  the  Portuguese  authorities 
elements  from  which  they  can  draw  concrete  policy  conclusions  and  upgrade  the  national 
strategy to address education gaps linked to social and economic causes.  

The  Commission  is  working  with  Romania  and  Cyprus  to  tackle  early  drop  out  from 
school, or with Finland and Slovenia to improve the friendliness of their justice systems. 
In Slovenia, the Commission has  supported the authorities to  design the house for Children 
(Barnahus) to ensure that cases of children victim of crimes are processed in a child-friendly 
judicial  setting.  The  Commission  has  also  helped  set  up  an  inter-ministerial  framework  to 
ensure  that  experts  can  intervene  in  a  coordinated  manner  for  the  benefit  of  children.  The 
support provided led to the adoption of a law on Barnahus in Spring 2021. Further support is 
planned to be provided to Slovenia in modernizing the juvenile justice system of Slovenia so 
that  it  answers  to  the  challenges  of  modern  society  including  measures  and  sanctions 
especially adjusted to the needs of minors in accordance with the provisions of EU law and 
international  standards.  In  Finland,  the  Commission  supports  the  authorities  to  assess  and 
improve the quality of their five existing  ‘Houses for Children’ (Barnahus). These technical 
support projects will enable both countries to continue developing their Barnahus model, i.e. a 
child-friendly, multi-disciplinary and inter-agency model for responding to child violence and 
witnesses  of  violence  in  judicial  settings.  Over  the  long-term,  the  support  is  expected  to 
improve  the  quality  and  child-friendliness  of  the  Slovenian  and  Finnish  judicial  systems, 
thereby enhancing child welfare and protection. 

https://ec.europa.eu/info/overview-funding-programmes/technical-support-instrument-tsi_en 

Horizon 2020 - Framework Programme for Research and Innovation 

Horizon  2020  (2014-2020)  research  projects  funded  under  Societal  Challenge  1  (Health) 
and  Societal  Challenge  6  (Inclusive,  innovative  and  reflective  societies)  have  been 
supporting  research  on  youth  during  the  period  2019-2021  in  many  different  areas,  such  as 
inequalities,  education,  migration,  inclusion  and  mental  health.  Please  find  below  some 
examples of projects funded under Horizon 2020. 

ENLIVEN - Encouraging Lifelong Learning for an Inclusive and Vibrant Europe 

Project Duration: 01/10/2016 - 30/09/2019 - EU funding: € 2,499,788 

PROMISE - PROMoting youth Involvement and Social Engagement: Opportunities and 
challenges for 'conflicted' young people across Europe  

Project Duration: 01/05/2016 - 30/04/2019 - EU funding: € 2,499,107 

70 

 
 
EduMAP - Adult Education as a Means for Active Participatory Citizenship 

Project Duration: 01/02/2016 - 31/01/2019 - EU funding: € 2,498,112 

YOUNG_ADULLLT  -  Policies  Supporting  Young  People  in  their  Life  Course.  A 
Comparative Perspective of Lifelong Learning and Inclusion in Education and Work in 
Europe  

Project Duration: 01/03/2016 - 28/02/2019 - EU funding: € 2,499,075 

DigiGen – The impact of technological transformations on the digital generation 

Project Duration: 01/12/2019 - 30/11/2022 - EU funding: € 2,995,805 

SMOOTH  -  Educational  Common  Spaces.  Passing  through  enclosures  and  reversing 
inequalities 

Project Duration: 01/03/2021 – 29/02/2024 - EU funding: € 2,987,750 

PIONEERED  -  Pioneering  policies  and  practices  tackling  educational  inequalities  in 
Europe 

Project Duration: 01/03/2021 – 29/02/2024 - EU funding: € 3,500,000  

RefugeesWellSchool - Preventive school-based interventions to promote the mental well-
being of refugee and migrant adolescents 

Project Duration: 01/01/2018 - 31/03/2022 - EU funding: € 3,390,575 

NEW  ABC  -  Networking  the  Educational  World:  Across  Boundaries  for  Community-
building 

Project duration: 01/01/2021 – 31/8/2024 – EU funding: € 3,036,657 

KIDS4ALLL  - Key Inclusive Development Strategies for LifeLongLearning 

Project Duration: 01/04/2021 – 31/03/2024 - EU funding: € 3,039,903 

STRENGTHS – Fostering responsive mental health systems in the Syrian refugee crisis  

Project Duration: 01/01/2017 - 31/12/2021 - EU funding: € 6,018,758.50 

Equal-Life - Early Environmental quality and life-course mental health effects 

Project Duration: 01/01/2020 - 31/12/2024 - EU funding: € 11,994,426.25 

ME-WE  -  Psychosocial  Support  for  Promoting  Mental  Health  and  Well-being  among 
Adolescent Young Carers in Europe 

Project Duration: 01/01/2018 - 31/03/2021 - EU funding: € 3,999,885 

UPRIGHT  -  Universal  Preventive  Resilience  Intervention  Globally  implemented  in 
schools to improve and promote mental Health for Teenagers 

Project Duration: 01/01/2018 - 31/12/2021 - EU funding: € 3,874,215 

ECoWeB  -  Assessing  and  Enhancing  Emotional  Competence  for  Well-Being  in  the 
Young:  A  principled,  evidence-based,  mobile-health  approach  to  prevent  mental 
disorders and promote mental well-being 

71 

 
 
Project Duration: 01/01/2018 - 31/12/2021 - EU funding: € 3,999,980 

BOOST  -  Building  social  and  emotional  skills  to  BOOST  mental  health  resilience  in 
children and young people in Europe  

Project Duration: 01/01/2018 - 31/12/2021 - EU funding: € 3,461,907 

RESPOND – Improving the Preparedness of Health Systems to Reduce Mental Health 
and Psychosocial Concerns resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic 

Project Duration: 01/12/2020 - 30/11/2023 - EU funding: € 6,172,028   

3.1.5.  Culture 

Promoting  access  to  cultural  opportunities,  development  of  cultural  participation  and  of 
intercultural competences among young people are among the aims of the EU Youth Strategy. 

The  objective  of  the  Creative  Europe  programme  is  to  promote  cultural  and  linguistic 
diversity and to enlarge the audience for European artists and content. Each year, the Creative 
Europe  Programme  provided  on  average  over  1 900  grants,  co-financing  training  for  over 
2 300  professionals  and  around  90  cultural  cooperation  projects  between  540  organisations 
across  Europe.  In  addition,  it  helped  to  finance  the  development  and/or  distribution  of 
approximately  720  films,  the  operation  of  1144  cinemas,  and  the  translation  of  around  500 
books  each  year.  The  new  Programme  has  seen  its  budget  increased  by  50%  to  invest  in 
actions that reinforce cultural diversity and respond to the needs and challenges of the cultural 
and creative sectors.  

Many  of  the  projects  funded  by  Creative  Europe  include  actions  to  engage  younger 
audiences  and  facilitate  their  participation  directly  in  the  development  and  production  of 
content.  For  example,  BUZZ  Network,  a  3-year  project  coordinated  by  Youth  Theatre  Arts 
Scotland, enables five European partners to share and develop best practices in Youth Theatre 
across Europe, leading to the creation of a new website portal which will increase awareness 
of  cross-border  opportunities  and  solidarity  for  over  28 500  European  Youth  Theatre 
participants and professionals. Furthermore, the PLAYGROUND project aims to improve the 
quality of music projects with underprivileged children and youngsters. Music workshops will 
be organized for children and youngsters in underprivileged communities, so they can explore 
their  own  creativity,  develop  broader  social  and  cultural  skills,  and  so  they  can  feel 
empowered in a society that often has them feeling left out. An international platform will be 
created where methodological and academic expertise can be gathered, evaluated and shared, 
and public conferences will be organized to share this expertise and best practice. 

In  addition,  Creative  Europe  has  supported  the  translation  of  267  Children’s  Fiction  and 
Youth Literature titles over 2019 and 2020. 

Culture and gender equality 

Since 2018, the European Union’s  New European Agenda for Culture provides the strategic 
framework for cooperation at the EU level. In this context, the EU Member States define, in 
cooperation with the European Commission, the main topics and working methods for policy 

72 

 
 
cooperation at EU level through multi-annual Work Plans for Culture adopted by the Council 
of  the  EU.  The  EU  Member  States  identified  gender  equality  as  a  priority  for  action  in  the 
Work Plan for Culture 2019-202276. In this context, experts from 22 Member States worked 
between  September  2019  and  April  2021  to  exchange  experience  and  good  practices  on 
advancing  gender equality in  the cultural  and creative sectors. Published in June 202177, the 
report of this Open Method of Coordination Working Group highlights the role of culture and 
arts for promoting gender equality and positive role models. Some of its recommendations are 
very  relevant  for  youth  policy;  several  focus  on  the  need  to  eradicate  harmful  gender 
stereotypes,  especially  through  education  starting  at  the  early  childhood  stage.  This  is 
particularly important for young people who wish to thrive as artists or cultural professionals 
in  careers  traditionally  perceived  as  reserved  for  a  certain  gender.  The  report  also  identifies 
over  250  good  practices  within  the  EU  that  aim  to  promote  gender  equality  and  diversity, 
including by engaging youth. 

The  workshop  “Harnessing  the  power  of  culture  and  cultural  diversity  for  social 
cohesion and wellbeing”: On 26-27 November 2020, the European Commission organised a 
workshop  for  experts  from  the  Member  States  on  “Harnessing  the  power  of  culture  and 
cultural diversity for social cohesion and wellbeing”. One of the topics discussed focussed on 
the role of culture in building self-confidence and empowerment in order to (re-)enter the job 
market, in particular amongst young people.  

The  New  European  Bauhaus  (NEB)  initiative  connects  the  European  Green  Deal  to  our 
living  spaces.  It  calls  on  all  Europeans  to  imagine  and  build  together  a  sustainable  and 
inclusive future that is beautiful for our eyes, minds, and souls. The Council conclusions on 
youth  participation  in  decision  making  processes,  adopted  by  the  Council  in  May  2021, 
invite  Member  States  and  Commission  to  foster  the  EU  Youth  Dialogue  and  “to  take 
advantage  of  this  framework  in  other  consultative  processes,  such  as  those  related  to  the 
Conference on the Future of Europe and the New European Bauhaus initiative.”  

Joint  UNESCO/EU  project  to  strengthen  the  connections  between  heritage,  youth  and 
education in Europe78 

2018  was  the  European  Year  of  Cultural  Heritage,  a  year  dedicated  to  celebrating  Europe’s 
heritage as a rich and diverse mosaic of cultural and creative expressions. Some 12.8 million 
people  took  part  in  more  than  23 000  events  organised  across  the  European  Union  and 
beyond, with the aim of strengthening their connection with European heritage and fostering a 
sense of belonging to a common European space. To build on the success of the Year and to 
ensure that its legacy will be long lasting, the Commission’s European Framework for Action 
on Cultural Heritage proposed more than 60 actions to promote and protect cultural heritage. 

The  European  Year  focussed  on  four  main  pillars:  engagement  for  heritage,  sustainability, 
protection  and  innovation.  These  pillars  highlighted  the  positive  impact  of  the  Year  on  the 

76   Adopted  by  the  Council  of  the  EU  in  December  2018:  EUR-Lex  -  52018XG1221(01)  -  EN  -  EUR-Lex 

(europa.eu) 

77   https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/36e9028b-c73b-11eb-a925-01aa75ed71a1/language-

en  

78   https://ich.unesco.org/en/engaging-youth-for-an-inclusive-and-sustainable-europe-01051 

73 

 
 
                                                 
perception of Europe’s cultural heritage as a fundamental important resource for Europe. The 
joint  UNESCO–EU  project  “Engaging  Youth  for  an  Inclusive  and  Sustainable  Europe” 
represented  a  significant  milestone  in  this  process.  It  is  also  the  first  time  that  the  two 
organisations  came  together  to  address  their  common  priorities  in  education  and  culture 
through a joint project. The project aims to encourage and stimulate young people to explore 
their cultural heritage and actively participate in its safeguarding and transmission in new and 
innovative ways. A resource kit was developed and it builds on the knowledge and expertise 
gained from the bottom-up approach  with  teachers and learners  from  the UNESCO ASPnet 
schools across the EU.  

3.2.  Policy priorities and cooperation needs at national level 

Comparing  the  results  from  the  first  and  second  FNAPS  exercises  when  it  comes  to  the 
important topics for cooperation under the core area EMPOWER, it seems that the Member 
States priorities did not change: 

From  the  replies  provided  by  the  21  Member  States  in  2019,  the  need  to  support  quality 
youth  work  development  on  local,  regional,  national  and  European  level,  including 
development  in  the field, training for  youth  workers, the establishment of legal frameworks 
and sufficient allocation of resources was ranked as the highest one.  

With  around  two  thirds  of  the  total  replies  from  FNAPS  exercise  in  2021,  quality  youth 
work  development  confirmed  its  status  as  the  most  relevant  topic  for  cooperation  among 
responding Member States.  

Another topic for cooperation of great concern for the Member States, both in 2019 and 2021, 
is  the  need  to  develop  and  implement  a  European  Youth  Work  Agenda  for  quality, 
innovation and recognition of youth work.  

EU Cooperation tools  

The most popular EU cooperation tools under the core area EMPOWER in 2019 were: 

  Peer learning focussed on policy development  

  Transnational cooperation activities under the programme  

  Evidence building/research  

A slight change in cooperation tool preferences can be noted in the second FNAPS exercise 
with the following results: 

  Peer learning focused on policy development, confirming its status as  a preferred tool 

chosen by more than a half of the Member States  

  Expert  group  at  EU  level  and  Transnational  cooperation  activities  under  the 

programme  

  Evidence building/research. 

Moreover, under this section of FNAPS 2021 exercise, some examples of good practices for 
empowerment of young people provided by Member States arise:  

  Organization of  online activities during COVID-19 pandemic for youth workers and  

debates on quality youth work in the youth sector (Slovenia); 

74 

 
 
  Range of measures aiming at  the inclusion of  youth  such as the  National Youth  Policy 
Council, chaired by the Minister responsible for Youth Affairs, conveying approximately 
two  times  per  year  to  discuss  and  debate  youth  policy  with  a  cross-sectoral  approach 
(Sweden); 

  Youth policy addressing two very  specific target groups, notably children and young 

people (Belgium – Flemish-speaking community); 

  Funding  of  youth  information  centres  whose  role  is  to  support  young  people  by 
providing them with reliable information (Belgium - French-speaking Community)    

3.3.  Youth-led initiatives and actions 

Youth organisations have been over the years at the forefront of the promotion and support of 
quality  non-formal  education  and  youth  work  across  Europe.  Besides  regularly  contributing  
to  the  discussions  at  EU  level  on  youth  work  and  youth  work  policy,  through  testimonies, 
policy  papers,  expert  groups  and  consultations  processes,  they  play  a  more  direct  role  in 
training  and  innovation  in  youth  work.  They  also  pay  a  pivotal  role  in  facilitating 
opportunities  for non-formal and informal  learning  and any  subsequent  validation processes 
as  indicated  in  the  Council  Recommendation  of  December  2012  on  the  validation  of  non-
formal and informal learning.  

  Contribution from World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) 

Youth Goal 2 Equality of All Genders  

●  The Gender and Diversity Mainstreaming toolkit 

●  Following  WAGGGS  support  with  “Stop  the  Violence”  educational  programme  and 
as  part  of  their  Social  Activism  Strategic  Target,  the  Hebrew  Scouts  Movement  in 
Israel participated in the Women Parade about violence against women. 

Youth Goal 3 Inclusive Societies 

● 

In the Shoes of the Migrants – Human Rights and Refugees group 

●  TIFAKE: project run by the Turkish federation to help Syrian Refugees. Pictures here 

and there is an article on WOSM website here. 

Youth Goal 5 Mental Health & Wellbeing 

●  The  Slovene  Catholic  Girl  Guides  and  Boy  Scouts  Association  has  developed  a 
website to understand how their members are coping with the COVID-19 situation. 

●  Every year, GGUK produces a Girl Attitudes Survey on what girls and young women 

think on a number of issues. 

Youth Goal 8 Quality Learning  

●  Scouting Nederland built a website offering fun and challenging programs that can be 

done from home. The activities are available also to “non-members”. 

●  The Israel Federation has produced Virtual Program guidelines for Leaders of Scouts 

with Special Needs.  

75 

 
 
 
  Contribution from YMCA Europe 

In  the  context  of  our  Roots  for  Peace  Programme,  the  Local  Capacities  for  Peace  (LCP) 
concept has also been developed based on the best practices of the previous project phases. It 
aims  at  strengthening  the  local  capacities  for  peace  at  grassroots  level,  through  structured 
follow-up  of  the  Roots  PWI  alumni  and  continued  cross-border  and  regional  cooperation 
further opening up the capacities built and benefits created by the Roots so far, both human 
resources and assets considered. The LCP Award projects are estimated to enrol at least 100 
participants as direct beneficiaries, with 3 possible cross-border or regional activity scenarios, 
such as youth peace camps and reunions, summer academies and day schools, exchange and 
study visits, refugee or IDP rehabilitation initiatives, etc.  

https://rfr.ymcaeurope.com/peace-award/   

  Contribution from the Network of European Youth Capitals  

Through  our  work  regarding  urban  level  youth  planning,  our  work  continued  in  the 
framework of the LAYOUTH (Local Action for Youth) project involving the cities of Braga, 
Maribor,  Thessaloniki,  Cluj-Napoca,  Varna,  Novi  Sad,  Amiens  and  Klaipeda.  Since  the 
pandemic unfolded, we focus our work on how short-term local action planning can serve the 
collective action of local actors in serving the needs of youth.  

We  developed  the  first  guidelines  and  forms  on  how  to  develop  local  annual  action  plans. 
This modular tool aims to provide a simple way for cities to plan their short-term action for 
the  future  which  became  extremely  important  in  the  wake  of  the  pandemic  as  short  term 
urgent  solutions  needed  to  be  considered  in  parallel  with  medium  and  long-term  strategic 
approaches.  

 Even if the need for increasing the ability of cities to have in-depth planning was identified 
before  the  COVID-19  crisis  unfolded,  its  relevance  increased  as  it  became  clear  that  young 
people are one of the most affected segments of society while attention might avoid them as 
young  people  are  much  less  affected  physical  health-wise  and  as  they  are  not  a  key 
component of economic output. 

76 

 
 
 
 
4. 

IMPACT  OF  THE  COVID-19  PANDEMIC  ON  THE  YOUTH 
SECTOR  

The COVID-19 pandemic had a severe impact on the youth sector. It resulted in discontinuity 
in  learning  activities,  loss  of  employment,  loss  of  career  opportunities,  social  isolation  and 
mental  health  issues79.  The  pandemic  has  had  a  range  of  implications  and  consequences  for 
the youth sector, youth work and non-formal learning in Europe, presenting significant threats 
to  the  standard  methodologies  of  youth  work.  The  fact  that  youth  work  organisations  were 
strongly affected is confirmed by the key findings in the Policy brief from the RAY-COR80, 
research  project  on  the  impact  of  the  COVID-19  pandemic  on  youth  work  in  Europe 
conducted  in  2020.  In  this  context,  47%  of  all  online  survey  respondents  stated  that  their 
youth  work  structure  has  been  affected  majorly  by  the  pandemic,  while  33%  state  their 
structural  environment  has experienced moderate effects.  On 15% of  youth  work structures, 
the pandemic has had slight effects and just 5% of respondents state there has been no effects 
at all so far.  

The severity of the impact of the pandemic is also confirmed by the findings of the analysis 
conducted  by  the  Knowledge  hub  of  the  EU-Council  of  Europe  youth  partnership81  It 
highlighted  that  70%  of  the  organisations  were  unable  to  maintain  more  than  20%  of  their 
activities, almost 60% of them had to rethink how they operated and moved to digitalisation 
and over 85% of them were forced to cancel one or more events.  

The impact of the lockdown and other measures on the NGO sector can be summarized 
in four main fields:  

1. Operative obstacles  leading to  the suspension of many  activities and  projects  as well as 
cancellation  of  summer  camps  in  many  countries.  In  some  cases,  youth  centres  were  kept 
open with certain regulations (small groups, open air activities).  

2.  Funding:  Referring  to  the  Knowledge  Hub  findings,  in  most  countries,  state  funding  for 
the youth sector appears to have remained consistent during the lockdown with some variation 
at national, regional and local level. There is also evidence of funding being cut, particularly 
at local level, or redirected, delayed, cancelled or postponed.  

In addition to that, the severe economic effects of the pandemic on the youth organisations are 
detected in the RAY study results, in terms of:  

  Budget  cuts  and  office  closures:  46%  of  respondents  say  that,  at  the  time  of 
conducting  the  survey  (RAY,  June  2020),  two  thirds  or  more  of  their  youth  work 
activities  had  been  delayed  or  interrupted.  For  49%  of  organisations,  this  led  to  a 
decrease  in  their  budget,  while  for  half  of  these  organisations,  the  budget  shrank  by 
40%  or  more.  74%  of  responding  youth  workers  and  youth  leaders  had  to  close 
physical spaces temporarily, while 3% of them were forced to close permanently.   

79   European  Youth  Forum.  (2020).  Youth  and  Covid-19:  impacts  on  jobs,  education,  rights  and  mental 

wellbeing. https://www.coe.int/en/web/youth/-/youth-andcovid-19-survey-report  

80   https://www.researchyouth.net/events/open-online-panel-youth-and-covid-19/ 

81   https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/youth-partnership/covid-19-impact-on-the-youth-sector 

77 

 
 
                                                 
  Work  time  and  volunteering  time  reductions:  In  many  countries,  youth  workers 
experienced reduced working hours, changes in working conditions, adoption of new 
practices, uncertain employment, etc. As stated in the Knowledge hub report, in those 
countries where youth work is more professionalised, youth workers appeared to have 
greater job security and conditions of employment during the lockdown.   

38% of responding organisations to RAY survey reported a reduction of work time of 
paid staff members, 25% of them expected that further work time reductions would be 
necessary, while 11% expected additional job  cuts.  65% of respondents  said  that the 
overall volunteering time has been reduced as well, 63% of respondents claimed that 
some volunteers suspended their engagement temporarily, while 26% said that some 
of their volunteers resigned permanently.  

  Rare crisis beneficiaries: 2% of RAY survey respondents claimed that the budget of 
their  organisation  increased  during  the  pandemic,  8%  had  new  staff  hired,  while  for 
20% of them new volunteers joined their team. Although the impact of the pandemic 
on  NGOs  was  very  negative  in  terms  of  financial  support  and  planning  of  future 
activities, there were positive examples of funding allocation in Estonia, Sweden and 
Germany.  

3.  Alternatives:  Reflecting  the  Knowledge  Hub  findings,  in  many  cases  there  were  neither 
enough  digital  resources  nor  digital  skills  available  for  youth  organisations  transferring  to 
alternative work models. Some umbrella organisations developed online support structures for 
NGOs and youth workers (e.g. training courses on how to use digital tools).  

4. New activities: Some youth NGOs started new online activities as alternatives to those that 
were  no  longer  available  due  to  the  lockdown.  There  was  a  significant  increase  in  the 
voluntary activities run by youth NGOs (e.g. support for the elderly). 

https://www.coe.int/en/web/youth/-/youth-partnership-launches-knowledge-hub 

COVID-19 impact on the youth sector: Youth Partnership launches Knowledge HUB 

78 

 
 
 
4.1.  Youth  organisations  and  their  role  in  mitigating  the  disruptions  of  the 

crisis 

  Challenges  and  good  practices  in  the  first  wave  (EP  Study  on  impact  on 

education and youth, 2020):  

o  Collaboration  between  youth  and  governments  was  considered  low  as  the 
interaction  between  the  two  was  mostly  one-directional,  through  providing 
information.  Youth  voices  were  included  to  a  limited  extent  when  designing 
COVID-19 mitigation responses.  

o  According  to  a  research  conducted  by  the  European  Youth  Forum82,  about  three 
quarters  of  youth  organisations  felt  they  were  never  or  rarely  consulted  in 
decision-making  processes.  Furthermore,  the  European  Youth  Forum  found  out 
that  one  in  three  youth  organisations  experienced  difficulties  in  accessing 
information from the government; almost a half of them had difficulties expressing 
themselves because of fear of retribution from the government; and one in ten was 
not even able to freely use the internet. Example of good practice: the Norwegian 
Ministry  of  Children  and  Families  appointed  a  national  coordination  group  to 
assess the services offered to children and young people during the lockdown.  

  Challenges  and  good  practices  in  the  second  wave  (EP  Study  on  impact  on 

education and youth, 2020):  

82   https://www.youthforum.org/civic-space-for-young-people-europe 

79 

 
 
 
                                                 
o  According  to  the  interviews  with  umbrella  youth  organisations,  the  national 
responses to support the youth sector during the second wave did not improve;  

o  While  governments  were  debating  recovery  plans,  youth  policies  were  not  key 

priorities; 

o  The digital space for youth work accelerated and expanded during the this period; 

o  There  was  a  visible  increase  in  youth  organisations  at  local  and  national  levels 

managing to find suitable responses to the pandemic and lockdown.  

  Based  on  survey  findings  with  a  participation  of  90  youth  organisations  from  48 
countries run by OECD between 7-20 April 202083, mobilising young volunteers and 
youth  workers  was  crucial  to  mitigate  the  impact  of  the  COVID-19  crisis.  Youth 
organisations  swiftly  stepped  in  to  contribute  to  societal  resilience  in  various  ways: 
creating  online  campaigns  to  keep  young  members  informed  on  the  measures  to 
protect  themselves  and  others,  turning  to  digital  tools  to  provide  practical  advice  to 
young  people,  launching  initiatives  to  support  the  elderly  during  the  crisis  through 
volunteering campaigns, etc. 

4.2. 

Impact on youth work practice 

The  RAY  survey84  indicates  that  most  youth  organisations  adapted  quickly  to  the  new 
circumstances  imposed  by  the  crisis  with  84%  of  respondents  claiming  to  address  the 
pandemic and its effects in their own youth work, despite the challenging times.  

o  Experimenting  with  new  work  methods:  44%  of  responding  youth  workers  and 
youth  leaders  offered  online  group  activities  frequently,  while  another  38%  were 
doing  it  occasionally.  48%  of  responding  young  people  said  that  they  are  joining 
digital  activities  more  than  before,  while  35%  said  they  were  suggesting  changes  to 
digital  youth  work  and  28%  said  they  were  helping  to  improve  digital  youth  work 
more than before (RAY, 2020).  

o  Outreach to vulnerable groups: Obstacles for young people with fewer opportunities 
to reach for youth work across Europe and the lack of support for young people with 
disabilities  have  been  mentioned  frequently  as  a  source  of  disappointment  by  the 
respondents of the RAY survey.  

o  Digital opportunities: Despite huge potential of digital tools, due to non-equal access 
to  digital  opportunities,  around  70%  of  responding  youth  workers  claimed  that  they 
had lost access to more than one third of the young people they normally work with. 
For 37%, it is more than two thirds.  

83   https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/youth-and-covid-19-response-recovery-and-resilience-

c40e61c6/ 

84   https://www.researchyouth.net/news/first-findings-corona-research-project/ and 

https://www.researchyouth.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/RAY-COR_Policy-Brief-
September_20200915.pdf and https://www.researchyouth.net/news/first-findings-corona-research-project/ 
and https://www.researchyouth.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/RAY-COR_Policy-Brief-
September_20200915.pdf 

80 

 
 
                                                 
o  A return of face-to face activities: Preliminary results of the RAY study suggest that 
young  people  previously  involved  in  youth  work  offers  are  not  being  reached  any 
more.  

4.3.  Support provided to the youth work sector  

Overall, the pandemic revealed that the youth sector lacked support from the public sector and 
according to the RAY survey findings: 

o  A total of 58 % of youth organisations was not eligible for the programmes set up 

in their context;  

o  The  EU  funding  programmes  were  not  always  considered  helpful  by  youth 

workers, especially due to the inflexibility of the EU funding rules;  

o  There  is  a  very  strong  wish  for  a  different  approach  in  supporting  youth  work 
organisations  through  European  funding,  and  a  strong  demand  to  recognise  that 
quality digital youth work needs to be adequately resourced; 

o  Lack of professional support systems for youth workers: 17% of the respondents to 
online  survey  received  all  the  professional  support  they  need.  More  than  half  of 
them  stated  that  they  received  only  some  (38%)  or  even  none  (16%)  of  the 
professional support that they need. 

  Similar  calls  for  support  were  detected  from  the  findings  of  the  Preliminary  key 
results of the study on Youth work in EU85 conducted by Ecorys in 2020, focused 
on the six dimensions: funding, quality, recognition, digitalisation, innovation and 
social inclusion.  

o  Based  on  the  results  of  the  study,  the  main  needs  of  the  youth  workers  before 
COVID-19  were identified:  Needs for funding (2/3 of  youth  workers wanted to 
have  increased  structural  funding,  and  Recognition  –  60%  of  youth  workers 
expressed their wish to have more recognition for their work.  

o  Since the start of the pandemic, the need for funding remained relevant followed 
by the need of building relationships with stakeholders and other youth workers as 
well as empowerment of their digital competences. 

o  Perception of policy gaps: there is a general agreement that national policies do 
not meet the needs of the youth workers. Main policy options that youth workers 
would  like  to  see  are  structural  funding  (especially  in  innovation  and 
digitalisation field) and exchange of best practices with other youth workers.  

o  Recommendations  for  future  initiatives:  promote  vision  for  Youth  work, 
recognition  of  Youth  work,  sustainable  and  continuous  funding,  human  capital 
development in terms of the exchange of practices, online platforms development, 
etc. 

85   Add link when published 

81 

 
 
                                                 
  The  European  Federation  for  Intercultural  Learning  reported  some  common 
challenges raised by the  pandemic such as  staff  redundancy, reduced  capacity of the 
organisations,  a  huge  loss  of  the  accumulated  knowledge  and  future  mobility.  The 
Federation  highlights  the  need  to  invest  in  the  European  NGOs  and  ensure 
structural  funding  of  the  organisations  to  consolidate  their  resilence,  especially  in 
the recovery phase.  

  Examples of good practice (EP Study on impact on education and youth, 2020):  

o  The  European  Youth  Forum,  as  the  biggest  platform  of  youth  organisations  in 
Europe,  plays  a  significant  role  in  continuing  to  support  youth  organisations,  is 
prompt to provide information for its member organisations and provides tools and 
resources to help youth workers operate online.  

o  The  European  Commission  and  the  European  Youth  Foundation  cooperated  to 
offer specific funding opportunities to youth organisations in to the context of the 
crisis. 

 EU Youth programmes  

Addressing the impact of COVID-19 on children and young people has been on the agenda of 
the  Commission  since  the  start  of  the  pandemic.  The  Commission  gave  priority  to  assist 
organisations  and  individuals  participating  in  the  Erasmus+  and  the  European  Solidarity 
Corps programmes in addressing adverse effects of the pandemic such as serious restrictions 
to  physical  mobility86.  In  order  to  support  beneficiary  organisations  and  participants,  the 
Commission  has  set  up  mitigating  measures,  such  as  the  possibility  to  replace  planned 
physical activities by virtual ones or the possibility to postpone projects, with the safety and 
protection  of  participants  as  key  objective.  The  Commission  also  launched  a  dedicated 
Erasmus+ call to support the youth, education and training sectors impacted by the pandemic.  

All  youth mobility activities have been impacted in 2020 by the outbreak of the COVID-19 
pandemic.  A  number  of  measures  and  flexibility  rules  have  been  introduced  in  EU  Youth 
programmes  in  order  to  limit  the  impact  of  the  pandemic  on  the  programmes  and  their 
beneficiaries. Youth organisations have been given the possibility to postpone their mobilities 
by extending the projects, adapting the project activities or replacing them by online versions. 
Maximum  flexibility  has  been  applied  both  in  the  implementation  and  in  the  eligibility  of 
costs within the applicable legal frameworks in order to support the sector.  

In  the  context  of  the  European  Solidarity  Corps,  participants  and  activities  showed  that  the 
Corps  adapted  and  activated  to  address  immediate  needs  to  those  hit  by  the  pandemic. 
Opportunities offered by the programme further energised solidarity between Europeans and 
helped  to  prioritise  the  issues  that  people  face  during  and  after  the  pandemic.  The  Corps 
mobilised young Europeans to support their local communities, fighting the immediate impact 
of the crisis by bringing relief to one another during isolation or confinement, including on-
line volunteering, helping older generations gain digital skills to stay connected, offering care 
to those hardest hit by the crisis.  

86   https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/resources/coronavirus-impact_en 

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84 

 
 
 
85 

 
 
 
 
 
 
5.   BEYOND THE EU87 

Young people  are key actors for  change and  essential  partners in  the implementation  of the 
Agenda  2030  on  sustainable  development.  The  EU  engages  for  and  with  young  people  and 
youth  policy  stakeholders  from  non  EU  countries  through  multiple  policy  processes, 
programmes and initiatives, taking the EU Youth Strategy and other youth related EU policies 
and  initiatives  –  such  as  the  Youth  Guarantee  –  as  inspiration.  The  June  2020  Council 
Conclusions on Youth in External Action confirm and specify the EU’s commitment in this 
field88.  The  Youth  Action  Plan  will  ensure  a  long-term  approach  to  youth  inclusion  and 
empowerment  across  all  the  relevant  policies,  instruments  and  programmes  “to  ensure  that 
EU's external action contributes to the meaningful global engagement of youth at all levels in 
all regions”. 

The meaningful involvement of young people in decision-making at global and EU level and 
in  partner  countries  is  one  of  the  Commission’s  priorities.  Youth  participation  and 
empowerment  are,  in  fact,  essential  to  foster  democracy  and  build  stable  and  peaceful 
societies.  Youth  is  mainstreamed  across  the  EU’s  foreign  policy  and  external  action:  from 
fostering  the  creation  of  education  and  employment  opportunities  to  promoting  sexual 
reproductive  health  and  rights  (SRHR),  from  recognizing  and  supporting  the  role  of  young 
people  in  peacebuilding  to  promoting  gender  equality  and  young  women  and  girls’ 
empowerment. 

The  Commission  has  several  mechanisms  in  place  to  ensure  that  young  people’s  voices  are 
taken  into  account:  from  the  special  adviser  on  youth  for  International  partnerships  to  the 
establishment  of  youth  sounding  boards  for  International  Partnerships,  from  strengthening 
regular dialogue with youth organisations to existing youth programmes such as the European 
Development Days young leaders, Eastern Partnership Youth Fora and the African Union-EU 
Youth Cooperation Hub. 

Education is a major area of EU cooperation with youth globally. The value of education is 
multifaceted, reducing poverty, advancing job creation, contributing to inclusion and stability 
and strengthening relations between the EU and partner countries. 

The  EU  has  several  programmes  for  young  people  in  partner  countries.  The  Erasmus+ 
programme,  in  particular,  has  an  important  international  dimension,  as  it  contributes  to 
bringing  people  closer  and  internationalizing  higher  education  institutions  by  supporting 
cooperation and exchanges. Each year, Europe’s universities exchange some 50 000 students 
and staff with universities in other parts of the world.89 

87   The following chapter aims to illustrate EU youth engagement around the world with examples from several 
geographic areas, and does not provide for a comprehensive overview of all international EU cooperation on 
youth. 

88   https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-8629-2020-INIT/en/pdf 
89   Today’s  130  Erasmus  Mundus  Joint  Master  Degree  programmes  provide  over  2 500  EU-funded 
scholarships  per  year  for  students  worldwide  to  study  an  integrated  master  programme  at  two  or  more 
European  universities.  At  the  institutional  level,  Capacity-Building  for  Higher  Education  partnerships 
develop  new  teaching,  boost  skills  and  improve  higher  education  governance  in  the  EU’s  neighbouring 
countries and in developing or emerging economies further afield. The 150 projects selected each year lever 

86 

 
 
                                                 
 
Through capacity building activities, Erasmus+ also contributes to addressing key challenges 
of  partner  countries,  including  the  quality  and  inclusiveness  of  all  levels  of  education,  the 
professional development and training of teachers and the governance of education systems. 
The new Erasmus+ 2021-27 increases inclusiveness of all activities, improves flexibility and 
better balances geographic and individual support. The European Solidarity Corps Programme 
remains is also open to third countries associated to the programme. 

Youth employment and entrepreneurship are other key dimensions of EU engagement with 
partner countries. For instance, the European Training Foundation (ETF) provides support in 
all 23 NEAR countries (plus Russia and Central Asia), focusing inter alia on, human capital 
development and lifelong learning. ETF helps promote employability and skills development 
through  support  to  partner  governments  in  the  design,  implementation  and  evaluation  of 
policies and programmes in these areas. 

The EU also actively promotes youth participation in policymaking globally. Young people 
have a vital role to play in strengthening democracy. Taking into account the experience from 
the EU Youth Dialogue, initiatives have been set up to fuel exchange with policy makers and 
intercultural  dialogue  between  young  people  in  the  European  Union  and  partner  countries. 
Through the innovative  use of digital  technology, Virtual  Exchanges allowed to  reach more 
diverse youth segments. 

In  June  2021  the  European  Commissioner  for  International  Partnerships  appointed  Bitania 
Lulu  Berhanu  as  Special  Adviser  on  Youth  to  advise  on  the  best  ways  to  promote  youth 
participation and empowerment through international partnerships, with a particular focus on 
youth in Africa. 

Following the June 2020 Council Conclusions on Youth in External Action, a Youth Action 
Plan  will  be  developed  to  ensure  that  EU's  external  action  contributes  to  the  meaningful 
global  engagement  of  youth  at  all  levels  in  all  regions.  It  will  constitute  the  external 
dimension of the EU Youth Strategy and strengthen links with the rest of the world, reflecting 
the objectives of the EU Global Strategy. 

5.1.  Western Balkans 

The  Western  Balkans  have  one  of  the  youngest  populations  in  Europe,  but  face 
comparatively high rates of youth not in employment, education or training (NEET). In 2019, 
on  average  22%  of  the  youth  population  (age  group  15-24)  fell  in  the  NEET  category, 
compared to the EU-27 average of 10.1%. While Kosovo and Albania still enjoy a window of 
opportunity  with  higher  proportions  of  younger  cohorts  in  the  working  age  population,  the 
remaining four economies face potential shrinking of their workforces because of an ageing 
population.  Emigration  and  brain  drain  constitute  a  particular  concern.  In  line  with  EU 
accession  requirements,  youth  policies  and  action  plans  have  been  developed,  or  are  in  the 
process of being finalised, and institutions been set up. Implementation and monitoring of the 

higher education as a driver for wider societal and economic development, and dovetail effectively with the 
EU’s development and cooperation policy.   

* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ 
Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence. 

87 

 
 
                                                                                                                                                         
youth  public  policies  still  needs  to  be  enforced.  The  main  issues  tackled  are  youth 
unemployment, poverty, job insecurity and, recently, emigration. A priority goal is to involve 
young people in developing, implementation and monitoring of cross sectoral policy. 

In response to these important challenges, which are aggravated by the COVID-19 crisis, the 
Commission announced an Economic and Investment Plan (EIP) for the Western Balkans in 
October  2020  to  inter  alia  promote  human  capital  development  in  the  region.  The  EIP 
proposes as flagship initiative #10 that Youth Guarantee schemes inspired by the EU Youth 
Guarantee,  which  will  be  implemented  by  Western  Balkan  governments  during  2021-2027. 
By implementing Youth Guarantees, partner countries will realize principles of the European 
Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) and further align with the EU social acquis and policies. The 
initial   steps towards establishing and implementing the scheme in  the region  were taken in 
the  first  semester  of  2021.  The  Western  Balkans  six  committed  to  establishing  Youth 
Guarantee schemes based on the EU model at the second EU-WB ministerial on employment 
and  social  affairs  Second  EU  –  Western  Balkans  Ministerial  Meeting  on  Employment  and 
Social  Affairs  -  Slovenian  Presidency  of  the  Council  of  the  EU  2021  (europa.eu).  This  is  a 
flagship of the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans of October 2020.  

During 2019-2021, the Commission supported a range of programmes and projects supporting 
the  labour  market  integration  of  young  people,  for  example  through  funding  VET 
exchanges  in  various  industry  fields,  supporting  young  entrepreneurs  through  access  to 
financing,  strengthening  civil  society  organisations  (CSOs)  active  in  promoting  youth 
entrepreneurship, investing in skills development programs.  

In the area of youth participation, steps were taken towards strengthening the capacities of 
National Youth Councils. The ongoing Western Balkan Youth Lab Project, implemented by 
the Regional Cooperation Council, provides a forum for young people and other stakeholders 
to  participate  in  the  decision-making  of  youth-relevant  policies  in  the  six  Western  Balkan 
countries. 

The  Young  European  Ambassadors  (YEA),  a  creative  network  of  future  young  game 
changers  from  across  the  Western  Balkans  was  launched  in  September  2020.  YEAs  come 
from  different  backgrounds  but  all  of  them  share  an  interest  in  learning  about  the  EU  and 
promoting  opportunities  that  the  EU  offers  to  young  people  from  the  region.  Most 
importantly,  YEAs  share  ideas  and  develop  their  talents  –  towards  inspiring  change  within 
their  communities  and  the  Western  Balkan  region.  There  are  currently  60  YEAs  and  a 
doubling to 120 is expected in September 2021. Young European Ambassadors will continue 
to communicate to their peers about the EU, and its main priorities such as the EU green deal 
and digital transformation, and the various opportunities offered through online and in person 
events. 

Progress  was  made  in  associating  the  Western  Balkans  to  the  European  Education  Area 
cooperation framework. North Macedonia and Serbia are fully associated to  Erasmus+, and 
hence enjoy full participation in all the actions of the programme on equal footing with EU 
Member States. As for the non-associated partners in the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia 

88 

 
 
90 and Montenegro), the EU has increased its funding for key actions 
and Herzegovina, Kosovo
in the field of youth, such as capacity building and mobility. Altogether, around 17 000 young 
people  and  around  50 000  higher  education  students  and  staff  participated  in  exchanges 
between  the  EU  and  the  region  between  2014  and  2020.  Around  40 000  individuals 
participated  in  youth  projects.  The  Commission  has  also  supported  five  pilot  projects  for 
mobility in vocational education and training with partners from the region. 

The  European  Training  Foundation  is  facilitating  the  engagement  of  countries  from  the 
Western Balkans in the European Alliance for Apprenticeship (EAfA), which is also relevant 
for the Youth Employment Package at EU level. 

At  country  and  at  regional  levels,  EU  youth  programmes  have  been  complemented  by 
initiatives  of  UN  institutions,  including  UNICEF.  In  2020,  an  UNICEF  ETF  study 
documented the needs and challenges of youth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, 
international  donors and financing institutions have invested in  youth  engagement. A recent 
example  is  the  initiative  of  KfW  Development  Bank  together  with  the  Western  Balkans  6 
Chamber  Investment  Forum  and the Regional Challenge Fund to  increase the employability 
of vocational education and training students.  

Examples of EU Youth action in the Western Balkans 

Support to RYCO  

The Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO) is a joint inter-governmental initiative of the Western 
Balkans  (6  participants:  Albania,  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  Kosovo*,  Montenegro,  North  Macedonia 
and Serbia) aiming to promote the spirit of reconciliation and understanding between the youth in the 
region through intra-regional youth exchanges and cooperation. 

The first action supporting RYCO (EU contribution: EUR 0.5 million) aimed at: 

 

Increasing the level of youth participation in informing priorities of RYCO’s work, increasing 
awareness  of  young  people  about  opportunities  for  youth  cooperation  across  the  region,  and 
strengthening capacities of CSOs in the Western Balkans to implement regional youth projects. 

The  second  action  supporting  RYCO  (EU  contribution:  EUR  4.5  million)  is  partly  implemented  by 
Gesellschaft  für  Internationale  Zusammenarbeit  (GIZ)  and  partly  by  RYCO.  The  project  started  in 
December  2020  and  lasts  for  36  months.  GIZ,  in  close  cooperation  with  RYCO,  will  implement  the 
action aiming to contribute to:  

 

Increasing  skills  and  knowledge  of  young  people  in  the  Western  Balkans  by  enhancing 
education  systems  and  promoting  cooperation  in  the  region  through  1)  improving  the 
institutional and organisational capacities of RYCO to manage regional cooperation projects, 2) 
improving the capacity of schools and other formal education structures to actively participate 
and  develop  quality  projects,  and  3)  designing  and  implementing  regional  School  Exchange 
Schemes. 

 This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ 
Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence. 

89 

 
 
                                                 
 
https://www.rycowb.org/  

Western Balkan Youth Lab (implemented by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)) 

The Western Balkan Youth Lab (WBYL) is a three-year project funded by the EU (EUR 1.5 million) 
and implemented by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC). It kicked off in January 2020 aiming to 
engage young people in the Western Balkans to participate in decision-making. 

The  action consists of four components: 

1.  Mapping of the current youth policies, identification of existing support and gaps; 

2.  WBYL,  a  forum  of  policy  dialogue  between  governments,  parliaments  and  young  people  in 

order to develop and monitor the implementation of youth-relevant policies; 

3.  Strengthening of national youth councils through technical assistance; 

4.  Participation of the Western Balkans youth in regional and international events. 

Two  thematic  regional  labs  will  be  organised  in  the  course  of  the  action,  in  order  to  stimulate  open 
conversation and active engagement between young people and policy-makers in the Western Balkans. 
Each  lab  will  consist  of  three  regional  events  and  a  series  of  local  activities  (e.g.  workshops, 
conferences,  field  visits).  Participants’  interaction  will  be  facilitated  in  a  continuous  process  between 
and beyond the meetings to create a dynamic of trust. 

https://www.rcc.int/priority_areas/48/western-balkans-youth-lab-project 

Bilateral cooperation between Greece and North Macedonia in the youth field 

The “Prespa Agreement” between the governments of Greece and North Macedonia was signed on 17 
June 2018. The Agreement creates a new cooperation framework between the two countries and hereby 
supporting  stability,  cooperation  and  European  integration,  including  for  the  whole  Western  Balkans 
area.   

On  1st  April  2019  the  governments  of  Greece  and  North  Macedonia  signed  the  “Action  Plan  on  the 
intensification and enrichment of cooperation between the Hellenic Republic and the Republic of North 
Macedonia, as provided for in the Prespa Agreement”. Article 6 (Cooperation in the fields of education, 
science,  culture,  research,  technology  and  innovation,  youth  health  and  sports)  focuses  on  youth  and 
provides for cooperation both at the governmental and civil society level. 

High Specialized Technicians in Kets project 

The  Interreg  IPA  Italy-Albania-Montenegro  financed  the  HISTEK  project  (High  Specialized 
Technicians in Kets) which aims to create a new cross border cluster in the field of Education, in order 
to  promote  an  innovative  network  able  to  implement  effective  synergies  between  educational 
institutions  and  enterprises,  and  train  young  people  on  Key  Enabling  Technologies.  The  project 
cluster  includes  SMEs/Training  Institutions/Public  Institutions  belonging  to  the  three  countries,  and 
extends  the  students’  chances  to  learn  new  advanced  skills  and  acquire  experience  in  a  working 
environment, before entering the labour market. 

5.2.  The Eastern Partnership 

The  Eastern  Partnership,  a  joint  initiative  of  the  EU,  its  Member  States  and  Armenia, 
Azerbaijan,  Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of  Moldova and Ukraine, launched in  2009, has 
put  young  people  at  its  heart.  The  region  is  confronted  by  common  challenges,  including 

90 

 
 
deceasing youth populations and strong outward migration, particularly of educated youth. In 
November 2017, the Eastern Partnership endorsed an agenda of “20 deliverables for 2020”, 
setting jointly agreed goals and with a focus in providing tangible benefits for citizens. These 
included  a  youth  and  education  package  focused  on  strengthening  investment  in  young 
people’s  skills,  entrepreneurship  and  employability.  Support  was  also  induced  for  the 
development of youth engagement roadmaps and youth action plans.  

On 18 March 2020, a Joint Communication on the ‘Eastern Partnership policy beyond 2020 - 
Reinforcing Resilience - an Eastern Partnership that delivers for all’ was published. Under the 
policy objective “Investing in people”, the EU proposed a New Deal for Youth focusing on 
youth  employability,  entrepreneurship  and  participation,  and  education  reform.  During  the 
Eastern  Partnership  Youth  Engagement  Summit  in  July  2020,  the  Commission  presented 
several  strategic  priorities  under  the  New  Deal  for  Youth.  First,  the  EU  will  promote  more 
structured participation of youth in policymaking at  various levels  (learning from the EU 
Youth  Dialogue),  second,  a  stronger  engagement  on  youth  employment  issues,  including 
with  Public  Employment  Services  and  partnership  building  support  with  other  key 
stakeholders (learning from the EU Youth Guarantee), and third, continued support to youth 
entrepreneurship, and social entrepreneurship in particular. 

Youth  participation  in  the  region  has  also  been  enhanced  through  the  Eastern  Partnership 
Youth Fora, a major event organised every two years. To make young people work together 
for  a  better  future  and  raise  citizens’  awareness  of  the  EU’s  cooperation  in  the  EaP  region, 
around  1000  Young  European  Ambassadors  became  active  until  end  2020  under  this 
successful public diplomacy programme. 

Moreover, Eastern partner countries participate in Erasmus+ youth actions and the European 
Solidarity  Corps  which  in  addition  to  the  EU4Youth  programmes  aim  at  improving  the 
quality of formal and non-formal education and supporting youth mobility, participation and 
skills  development.  Erasmus+  enables  mobility  projects  and  exchanges,  youth  capacity 
building and  actions supporting the modernization and internationalization of education and 
training in Eastern partnership countries. Close to 30 000 students and academic staff from the 
EaP  region  participated  in  Erasmus+  academic  exchanges  or  have  received  a  full  degree 
Erasmus  Mundus  scholarship  since  2014.  Under  the  Youth  strand  of  Erasmus+,  around 
60 000  youth  people  and  youth  workers  benefited  from  non-formal  learning  and  exchange 
activities.  

Between  2017  and  2020,  under  the  EU4Youth  Erasmus+  capacity  building  scheme,  101 
projects  engaging  267  partnership  organisations  received  funding  to  develop  actions 
supporting  youth  civic  engagement  and  entrepreneurship  including  social  entrepreneurship. 
The  EU4Youth  grants  component  supported  10  large-scale  projects  for  youth  employment, 
employability and transition to work, benefiting up to 25 000 young people in the region.  

91 

 
 
 
Example of EU Youth action in the Eastern Partnership 

EU4Youth initiative 

Launched  in  2017,  the  EU4Youth  initiative  aims  to  increase  the  employability  and  the 
active participation of young people in the six partner countries of the Eastern Partnership. 
It  supports  youth  to  become  active  citizens,  entrepreneurs  and  leaders  by  developing  the 
skills required on the labour market, by enabling them to participate in policy dialogues and 
bringing  together  relevant  stakeholders  on  youth  issues.  Disadvantaged  youth  and  women 
receive  particular  attention.  Currently  in  its  third  phase  (2020-21),  the  regional  EU4Youth 
initiative has provided a total budget of EUR 42.6 million for the Eastern Partnership so far. 
Since the launch of the initiative, 18 000 young people have benefited from targeted support 
enhancing their employment opportunities. 

The regional Eastern Partnership EU4Youth initiative consists of three main components: 

  Supporting  youth  associations  and  youth  workers  in  becoming  active  policy 
developers,  through  mobility  offers,  working  possibilities  in  European  hosting 
organizations  and  promoting  education  and  social  entrepreneurship  (100 
projects). 

 

Improving  employment  perspectives  of  disadvantaged  young  people,  supporting 
entrepreneurial  ideas  of  young  people  and  encouraging  youth  policy  dialogue  to 
promote cross-sectorial approaches (10 projects). 

  Targeted capacity building support to partner countries to develop and implement 
policy responses to youth challenges, among other linked to the experience of the EU 
Youth Guarantee and National Youth Councils inspired on the EU Youth Dialogue. 

5.3.  Southern Neighbourhood  

Countries in the Southern Neighbourhood  (Algeria, Egypt,  Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, 
Morocco,  Palestine,  Syria  and  Tunisia)  are  overwhelmingly  young.  More  than  half  of  the 
people living in the region are under 25 years of age. Almost 30% of the population of these 
countries are between the ages of 15 and 30, and this ratio will be maintained for at least the 
next  two  decades.  In  a  context  of  high  youth  unemployment,  the  EU  has  put  investing  in 
young people at the heart of its cooperation with the region. 

The  Joint  Communication  of  February  2021  on  a  ‘Renewed  Partnership  with  the  Southern 
Neighbourhood  –  a  new  Agenda  for  the  Mediterranean’  stresses  the  need  to  support  the 
mainstreaming of youth in national policies. It also calls at helping our partners in the region 
to  improve their education systems  governance,  and to give priority to  addressing structural 
causes  of  school  dropouts.  Overcoming  skills  mismatches,  lack  of  opportunities,  youth 
unemployment and brain drain are other causes of concern.  

 This designation shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine and is  without prejudice  to the 
individual positions of the Member States on this issue. 

92 

 
 
 
                                                 
 
In  the  field  of  higher  education,  over  50 000  students  and  staff  (roughly  32 000  from  the 
Southern Neighbourhood and 18 000 from Europe) have been able to participate in Erasmus+ 
exchanges between 2014 and 2020. The programme also supported projects providing skills 
outside formal education to almost 14 000 young people from the Southern Mediterranean. In 
addition,  530  participants  from  the  Southern  Mediterranean  have  benefitted  from  Erasmus 
Mundus  grants  for  pursuing  full  Erasmus  Mundus  Joint  Master  Degrees  in  Europe.  In 
addition,  the EU has  also  supported over 200 capacity-building projects  in  higher education 
since  2015.  A  number  of  these  are  structural  projects,  which  helped  modernise  the  higher 
education  systems  and  strengthen  relations  between  universities  and  the  wider  socio-
economic environment.  

The Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange project, which ran between 2018 and 2020, allowed young 
people  from  Europe  and  the  Southern  Neighbourhood  to  connect  in  safe,  online,  facilitated 
dialogues,  discussing  current  issues  that  matter  to  them.  This  contributed  to  breaking  down 
cultural barriers, allowing young participants to build meaningful relationships across borders 
and  cultures,  and  practicing  skills  that  are  important  for  their  employability.  The  project 
reached over 30,000 participants with an allocation of EUR 2 million. As from 2021, the EU 
will fund more virtual exchanges projects not just with the Southern Neighbourhood, but also 
with other priority regions. 

Since  2018,  regional  programmes  have  allocated  a  total  of  EUR  19  million  aimed  at 
empowering youth along the Southern shore of the Mediterranean. The first strand of support 
focused  on  amplifying  youth  participation  and  increasing  their  media  literacy  with  three 
programmes: Young Mediterranean Voices, Youthroom and Shabab Live (EUR 8.8 million in 
total). The second strand focused on building resilience and promoting inclusive development 
of  youth  through  social  entrepreneurship  and  culture  with  the  projects  Safir  and  Thaqafa 
(EUR 10.2 million in total). In this context, the EU kept supporting the Med4Jobs initiative of 
the  Union  for  the  Mediterranean,  which  aims  to  increase  the  employability  of  youth  and 
women,  close  the  gap  between  labour  demand  and  supply,  and  foster  a  culture  of 
entrepreneurship and private sector development. 

Examples of EU Youth action in the Southern Neighbourhood 

Young Mediterranean Voices (implemented by the Anna Lindh Foundation) 

Young  Mediterranean  Voices  (YMV)  serves  to  promote  intercultural  dialogue  and  amplify 
youth  voices  across  the  European  and  the  Southern  Mediterranean  region.  Activities  for  young 
men  and  women  include  debate  training,  dialogue  on  global  issues  and  developing  joint 
narratives  to  address  issues  of  common  concern.  By  connecting  civil  society,  educational 
institutions  and  policy  makers  across  the  Euro-Med  region  it  promotes  mutual understanding 
and fosters youth engagement and leadership. More than 6 800 young people have been trained 
in debate skills and engaged in intercultural dialogue across the two Mediterranean shores. More 
than 300 debate societies have been set up within universities, youth centres and NGOs through 
national cascade training. 82 cities across the Euro-Mediterranean offered capacity building and 
dialogue  opportunities  to  their  young  residents.    The  action  is  supported  with  a  EUR  3.786 
million grant. 

https://youngmedvoices.org/  

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Shabab Live (implemented by Deutsche Welle) 

Active  in  6  MENA  countries,  Shabab  Live  aims  to  empower  youth  by  representing  young 
voices  in  media  and  sparking  plural  debates.  Young  people  get  the  opportunity  to  develop 
media skills, produce media content and to create their own youth formats on both radio and 
television.  A  total  of  18  projects  are  supported  with  a  total  of  EUR  2  million  of  grant 
opportunities  for  NGOs  and  broadcasters.  More  than  900  young  people  gained  skills  in  media 
literacy and production, leading to more than 1300 youth media productions. 

https://shabablive.com/en/  

Hiwarouna (implemented by Danmission) 

The  project  supports  intercultural  and  interfaith  dialogue  initiatives  by  young  people  in 
Lebanon,  Syria  and  Iraq,  with  EUR  1.5  million  between  2018  and  2022.  So  far,  67  youth-led 
initiatives  have  been  supported,  touching  thousands  of  young  people  though  activities  such  as 
storytelling  and  theatre,  music  festivals,  painting,  community  dialogues,  among  others.  The 
project  also  supported  interfaith  and  intercultural  understanding  for  peacebuilding  through  the 
development of an academic module for Iraqi universities. 

https://www.dialoguetoolbox.com/hiwarouna/ 

Youth Employment in Ports of the Mediterranean 

The  Youth  Employment  in  Ports  of  the  Mediterranean  (YEP  MED)  is  a  project  launched  in 
August  2019  by  the  Interreg  ENI  CBC  Mediterranean  programme  with  an  EU  contribution  of 
EUR  2.6  million.  It  covers  7  countries  (Spain,  Italy,  Lebanon,  Egypt,  Tunisia,  France,  Jordan) 
and  aims  at  better  matching  the  labour  market  skills  needs  and  dual  TVET  offers  in  the 
Mediterranean  port  industry  in  order  to  contribute  to  jobs  creation,  especially  for  NEETs  and 
women. YEP MED activities will allow upgrading dual TVET curricula oriented to port industry, 
increasing  job  placement  and  employment  opportunities  with  adequate  and  diverse  profiles  for 
NEETs and women. As a result, the project will help increase employment rates of young people 
and  women  by  offering  real  possibilities  to  work  through  personalised  mentoring  (training 
centers) and tutoring programmes (SMEs staff).  

http://www.enicbcmed.eu/projects/yep-med 

5.4.  Sub-Saharan Africa  

By  2050  Africa’s  population  will  be  2.1  billion  of  predominantly  young  people,  while 
Europe’s population will have dropped to an aging 700 million. Demographic projections in 
Africa leave little doubt about the crucial need for the continent to generate millions of new 
jobs, invest in education and skills and ensure political and democratic inclusion of its youth. 

Despite  the  many  challenges  linked,  among  others,  to  inequalities,  lack  of  decent 
employment,  globalisation,  conflict  and  instability,  young  people  in  Africa  are  agents  of 
change with an important creative and innovation potential and essential partners to contribute 
to  sustainable  and  peaceful  development  of  the  continent  and  to  bring  solutions  to  global 
challenges such as climate change and the democratic deficit. 

The  European  Commission,  has  numerous  programmes  involving  directly  young  people  in 
Africa. 

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Several  EU-funded  actions,  for  example,  contribute  to  strengthen  networks  and  exchanges 
programmes  of  African  and  European  universities  and  improve  the  overall  quality  of  and 
access to higher education in Africa. Under the DCI Pan African programme (2018-2020) , 
an amount of EUR 63 million has been dedicated to support higher education with a view to 
modernise higher education institutions in Africa and improve the employability of students 
and their mobility across the continent and with Europe. 

The  programmes  funded  under  the  EU  Emergency  Trust  Fund  for  Africa  (EUTF  for 
Africa)91 are another example of EU action with a strong focus on increasing the opportunities 
for women and youth, taking into account their specific situation and needs. By 30 June 2020, 
2 889 90116  young  beneficiaries  had  been  supported  by  the  EUTF  for  Africa.  The  EUTF 
implements activities across three regions of Africa (3 windows) – the Sahel and Lake Chad, 
the  Horn  of  Africa  and  North  Africa,  in  twenty-six  partner  countries.  Projects  range  from 
investment in VET to entrepreneurship, from targeted actions to address youth and vulnerable 
groups' employability to youth civic engagement. 

Examples of EU action in Sub-Saharan Africa 

African Students and Alumni Forum (ASAF)  

The  African  Students  and  Alumni  Forum  (ASAF)  was  created  in  2019  following  the 
Structured Dialogue with Students and Alumni in Africa, held in Abidjan in 2017, in the run-
up to the 5th Summit between the European Union and the African Union.  

ASAF  brings  together  the  current  and  former  African  beneficiaries  of  different  academic 
mobility programmes  (Erasmus+ short-term  International  Credit Mobility, Erasmus Mundus 
Joint  Master  Degrees,  Intra-ACP  Academic  Mobility  Scheme,  Intra  Africa  Academic 
Mobility  Scheme  and  the  African  Union’s  Nyerere  Scholarship  and  Academic  Mobility 
Programme). 

It has around 2900 members and national "Co-Ambassadors" in 16 African countries.  

ASAF’s aims are promoting young people's insights into educational processes; enhance their 
participation  in  such  processes,  policies  and  innovative  practices;  enhance  the  quality  and 
relevance  of  African  higher  education  programmes;  and  promote  synergies  with  other 
students and alumni networks and activities.  

The AU-EU Youth Cooperation Hub 

The AU-EU Youth Cooperation Hub is a multi-stakeholder platform with 50 Young Experts 
from Africa, Europe and the Diaspora at its core seeking to test new approaches in the African 
Union (AU)-European Union partnership. 

Within  the  Hub,  Youth,  AU  and  EU,  Civil  Society  Organisations  and  private  sector 
companies are prototyping ideas in reality; piloting them on a small scale but with maximum 
impact,  visibility  and  result-evidence.  Hundreds  of  Youth  are  involved  locally  in  7  pilot 
projects,  unfolding  in  17  countries  of  Africa  and  Europe  for  the  benefit  of  an  estimated 
150.000  young  people.  Since  most  pilot  projects  have  a  strong  Digital  component,  in  May 

91   https://ec.europa.eu/trustfundforafrica/index_en 

95 

 
 
                                                 
2020  the  Hub  formed  the  Digital  where  young  developers  from  both  continents  working 
together to bring expertise to the CSOs. 

Additionally, in 2020, in the run up to the later postponed AU-EU Summit, the AU-EU Youth 
Hub organized the virtual event “Youth Meet-Up”. In partnership with the UNICEF U-report, 
a public Youth Consultation gathered ideas and solutions on key themes and  following this, 
the “Meet-Up” event consisted of thematic debates involving high-level political and celebrity 
figures. The conclusions were presented to EU and AU leadership. 

The AU-EU Youth Cooperation Hub was awarded at the 2018 Paris Peace Forum as one of 
the 10 most innovative approaches.  www.aueuyouthhub.org 

#YourVoiceYourFuture  

The  #YourVoiceYourFuture  campaign  is  an  initiative  launched  by  the  African  Union, 
European Union and UNICEF to hear directly from young people about their opinions on key 
topics affecting their future and relevant to the partnership between the two continents. 

About 450,000 children and young people across Africa and Europe aged between 14 and 35 
raised their voices on topics ranging from climate change to digitalisation, education, jobs and 
governance. 

Participation in decision-making, quality education, internet access and the climate crisis were 
among the main concerns for children and young people in Africa and Europe, according to 
the results. 

Almost  half  of  all  young  people  polled  feel  excluded  from  political  decision-making 
processes that affect their lives. The main obstacle they cite is lack of access to policymakers.  

With the #YourVoiceYourFuture campaign and the four U-Report polls, the European Union 
and  the  African  Union  joined  forces  to  explore  new  ways  to  engage  with  young  people,  to 
inform  policy  making,  create  interest  around  youth  issues,  and  bring  young  people  and 
decision makers closer together on both continents.  

Download #YourVoiceYourFuture Report  

About U-Report 

U-Report is a messaging tool that empowers young people around the world to engage with 
and speak out on issues that matter to them. U-Report is now active in 68 countries, benefiting 
over 11 million users all over the world. Country U-Reports are run by UNICEF and partners 
on  the  ground,  including  local  government,  non-governmental  organizations  and  young 
people  themselves.  U-Report  is  available  via  numerous  messaging,  social  media  and  SMS 
channels, and even works on a basic mobile phone. It is free, anonymous and easy to use. EU 
delegations  in  partner  countries  are  also  using  the  U-Report  to  consult  young  people  at 
national level. 

https://ureport.in/ 

The voice of youth in the Sahel 

Since  2017,  1250  representatives  from  youth  organisations,  in  collaboration  with  the 
governments of G5 Sahel countries (Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad), have 
defined priorities and solutions with regard to economic opportunities and worked jointly to 

96 

 
 
enhance young people's voice in the decision making processes at local, national and regional 
levels.  The  dialogues  five 
thematic  areas  covered  education  and  VET,  economic 
opportunities,  citizen  participation  and  peace  and  security  (including  prevention  of 
radicalisation).  The  conclusions  and  recommendations  of  these  dialogues  have  served  to 
support the elaboration of the G5 Sahel Youth Strategy. After the implementation of a second 
phase  of  the  project,  youth  organisations  are  better  integrated  in  the  local  and  national 
decision-making process. Young people, particularly women, have acquired skills to improve 
associative governance, and to manage and evaluate projects implemented by their respective 
organisations.  Importantly,  the  knowledge  gained  about  the  functioning  of  decision-making 
bodies is enabling young people to influence them in their favour. 

Culture @ Work Africa 

The  project  Culture  @  Work  Africa92  supported  youth  participation  and  empowerment 
through  33  local  cultural  initiatives  in  15  African  countries  between  2018  and  2021.93  Its 
actions  aimed  at,  among  others:  provide  support  and  opportunities  for  reintegration  of 
children  and  young  people  living  in  the  street  through  cultural  and  artistic  activities;  give 
voice  and  boost  social  participation  of  young  refugees  through  spoken  word  practices  or 
through  dance  and  movement;  promote  the  inclusion  of  young  people  with  disabilities 
through cultural initiatives; create spaces for expressions of young people living in informal 
settlements; and empowering young artists to rethink the use of public and urban spaces. 

5.5.  Latin America and the Caribbean 

Latin  America  and  the  Caribbean  (LAC)  are  currently  faced  with  the  largest  proportion  of 
youth in their history, with around 20% of the total population aged between 15 and 24 years. 
Young people are often marginalised and/or disadvantaged. They are both the primary victims 
and  perpetrators  of  crime  in  LAC  countries.  Youth  unemployment  rates  are  up  to  double 
those  of  adults  and  youth  are  more  likely  than  their  adult  counterpart  to  work  in  informal 
employment.  The  COVID-19  pandemic  has  further  exacerbated  these  challenges  and 
widened  inequalities  both  among  young  people  and  between  different  age  cohorts.  This  is 
fuelling social dissatisfaction and weakening youth trust in democratic institutions in the 
region. However,  young people also have a transformative potential that could make lasting 
change happen. Although many  young people have distanced themselves from conventional 
political  and  electoral  systems,  they  are  opting  for  new  ways  of  participating  in  political 
affairs in which technological tools play a key role.  

Examples of EU action in Latin America and the Caribbean 

The EU has developed a number of initiatives with the aim of supporting youth engagement 
and  participation  at  national  or  regional  levels.  For  example,  the  creation  of  the  National 
Rural Youth Network in Colombia as an opportunity to improve livelihoods in rural areas 
in  the  country  and  peer-exchanges  in  Latin  America.  In  Uruguay,  the  project  “Más 
conocimiento, más participación, más derechos” aims to empower children and adolescents 

92   https://www.cultureatworkafrica.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Culture-at-work-africa_en-1.pdf 
93   Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, 

Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zimbabwe. 

97 

 
 
                                                 
in  the  knowledge  of  their  rights  and  their  involvement  in  policy-making.  Horizonte  de 
Libertades  is  another  project  in  Uruguay  contributing  to  the  social,  economic,  cultural  and 
political  integration  of  youth  and  promotes  their  participation  as  citizens.  “Promoting 
Accountability and Good Governance of Youth Development Programmes through Civil 
Society  Engagement  in  Belize  (PAGE)”  promotes  youth  participation  and  integration  into 
civil society and government programmes and decision-making processes at community level.  

In  Central  America,  “SICA  Joven”  is  a  space  where  young  leaders  from  the  eight  SICA 
member countries can build and coordinate actions at the level of their organisations with  a 
regional  focus,  in  order  to  link  them  with  the  regional  vision  and  the  Central  American 
integration process. 

facilitated 

The  EU´s  Euroclima+  programme  has 
the  participation  of  young 
representatives  of  the  Conference  of  Youth  (COY)  Chile  in  a  number  of  international 
climate change fora as part of its support to the Chilean presidency of COP 25. Such fora have 
included the LAC Climate Week, the Summit on Climate Action, the COP25, and the COY15 
(the  latter  two  both  held  in  Madrid).  In  this  regard,  the  EU´s  support  has  consisted  of 
strengthening  the  capacities  of  COY  representatives  to  take  part  in  the  climate 
negotiations and expanding global networks of engaged youth.  

Culture is an important sector of social and human development in the region. An example of 
EU-funded  initiative  involving  young  people  is  Transcultura:  Integrating  Cuba,  the 
Caribbean and the European Union through Culture and Creativity Programme (2019-
2024).  The  programme  aims  to  empower  young  women  and  men  as  agents  for  sustainable 
development  through  capacity  building.  Regional  Cultural  Training  Hub  in  Cuba  will  be  a 
central  point for activities that will include 17 countries  in  the region,  with  the contribution 
from the EU of 15 million EUR.  

More information: https://en.unesco.org/fieldoffice/havana/transcultura  

5.6.  Asia and Pacific region 

More than half of the world’s young people live in Asia and the Pacific. 

While the region has witnessed enormous progress in recent years, young people continue to 
face  challenges,  from  the  inequitable  access  to  services  and  employment  opportunities,  to 
social  and  political  exclusion,  and  persistent  gaps  in  gender  equality.  Growing  youth 
populations, poor labour markets and climate change and increasing urbanization are some of 
the complex and interconnected challenges that are placing enormous pressure on the youth in 
the region. 

Examples of EU action in the Asia and Pacific region 

In  2020,  in  partnership  with  the  ASEAN  Youth  Organization  (AYO),  the  EU  for  ASEAN 
Youth  project  ran  a  social  media  campaign  to  commemorate  Europe  Day.  Selected  youth 
representatives  from  10  ASEAN  countries  researched  the  EU-ASEAN  relations  and  each 
spoke out on what the EU means for them in the #EU4AY campaign. This project was carried 
out via the EU Policy and Outreach Partnership. 

In Mongolia the project “All for YOUth, YOUth for All” has the objective to increase NGO 
capacities  to  empower  youth  to  better  integrate  them  in  the  society  (increase  youth 

98 

 
 
employment and entrepreneurship, promote youth civic participation, promote volunteerism). 
The project Youth Sustainability Corps (YSC) aims to empower young people in Mongolia 
by  educating  them  about  their  citizen  rights,  and  by  developing  their  skills  to  monitor, 
collaborate,  and  advocate  for  the  use  of  best  practices  in  effectively  managing  and  utilising 
Mongolia’s natural and cultural resources. 

In  Iraq,  throughout  INTPA’s  consultation  processes,  youth  are  comprehensively  associated 
and consulted. “Yanhad: Youth entrepreneurship and civic engagement” strengthens national 
and  local  institutional  capacity  to  support  essential  public-services  delivery  and  economic 
empowerment  for  local  populations  and  IDPs.  The  specific  objective  is  that  youth  actively 
participate in stabilisation efforts in Iraq, particularly in Ninewa province, through increased 
civic  engagement  in  local  civil  society,  stronger  capacities  of  Mosul  University’s  career 
centers and improved access to employment and entrepreneurship opportunities. 

In Indonesia, the “Women-led Advocacy and Social Audit Networks” (SPEAK) project aims 
at encouraging active citizen participation, including women and youth, to ensure their needs 
are reflected in the planning and implementation of local budgets. 

In Vietnam, the project “Empowered CSOs and ethnic minority youth for active participation 
in decision making in Yen Bai, Vietnam” aims to ensure that target CSOs in Yen Bai province 
have the capacity to support social and economic empowerment of vulnerable minority youth, 
their engagement and active participation in decision making and in the promotion of gender 
equality. The action contributes to redress the limited role that minority youth currently play 
in decision-making processes at all levels in Vietnam. 

5.7.  The Youth Sounding Board for International Partnerships 

The  European  Commission  is  working  together  with  partner  countries  across  the  world  to 
achieve sustainable development and reduce poverty, promote democracy, human rights, and 
the  rule  of  law  across  the  world.  In  2021,  the  European  Commission  launched  a  call  to 
establish  a  Youth  Sounding  Board  (YSB)  to  create  a  space  for  meaningful  involvement  of 
young people in the EU’s international cooperation policy. 

The YSB will consist of a group of 25 motivated young people from Africa, the Middle East, 
Asia, the Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as Europe. The selected board 
members  will  contribute  to  make  EU  action  more  participatory,  relevant  and  effective  for 
young  people  in  EU  partner  countries.  The  YSB  will  advise  the  Commissioner  for 
International Partnerships and DG INTPA on youth participation and empowerment as well as 
on  topics  such  as  employment,  education,  training  and  entrepreneurship,  environment  and 
climate  change,  human  rights  and  democracy,  peace  and  security,  digitalisation  and 
technology,  gender  social  inclusion  and  health,  peace  and  security,  culture,  arts,  media  and 
journalism. 

Several  EU  Delegations  in  partner  countries  are  also  in  the  process  of  establishing  national 
Youth Sounding Boards. Zimbabwe announced its YSB in April 2021. 

https://ec.europa.eu/international-partnerships/youth-sounding-board_en 

https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/97075/%E2%80%9Cmore-
participatory-relevant-and-effective%E2%80%9D-eu-launches-team-europe-youth-sounding-
board_en 

99 

 
 
Spotlight initiative 

The European Union and the United Nations launched the Spotlight Initiative, a multi-year 
partnership to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG) in September 
2017. An initial  investment  in  the order of EUR 500 million was  made, with  the EU as the 
main contributor. 

The  Initiative  is  so  named  as  it  brings  focused  attention  to  this  issue,  moving  it  into  the 
spotlight  and  placing  it  at  the  centre  of  efforts  to  achieve  gender  equality  and  women's 
empowerment, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.  

In  Africa,  Spotlight  aims  to  eliminate  sexual  and  gender-based  violence,  including  harmful 
practices.  The  programme  worth  €250  million  is  under  implementation  across  Liberia, 
Malawi,  Mali  Mozambique,  Niger,  Nigeria,  Uganda  and  Zimbabwe.  It  will  also  include  a 
regional component to scale up existing initiatives on fighting female genital mutilation and 
child marriage and joint activities with the Africa Union. 

In  Asia,  the  Spotlight  Initiative  is  focussing  on  ending  female  trafficking  and  labour 
exploitation.  The  "Safe  and  Fair"  programme,  worth  €25  million  and  implemented  through 
the International Labour Organization and UN Women, aims at ensuring that labour migration 
is safe and fair for all women in the ASEAN region. 

Further,  €32  million  are  devoted  to  projects  addressing  gender-based  violence  in  "forgotten 
crises". The initiative is now rolling out and includes activities in Yemen, Iraq and Palestine, 
Bangladesh, Cameroon, Sudan, Mali and Chad; Ghana, Liberia and Mali. 

In  Latin  America,  the  €50  million  initiative  focuses  on  ending  femicide,  with  targeted 
programmes  in  Argentina,  El  Salvador,  Guatemala,  Honduras  and  Mexico,  and  on 
empowering regional networks. 

The  Pacific  regional  Spotlight  programme  with  a  budget  of  €50  million  focuses  on  ending 
domestic violence in the region. 

In  in  the  Caribbean  region  an  envelope  of  €50  million  supports  actions  to  tackle  family 
violence;  the  countries  selected  are  Haiti,  Jamaica,  Grenada,  Belize,  Guyana,  and  Trinidad 
and Tobago. In Haiti, for example, the SASA framework (Start, Awareness, Support, Action) 
for girls and young women was developed. In Jamaica, important efforts are made to engage 
men and boys and address toxic masculinity. 

Identity Building and Sharing Business Initiative 

The  project  Identity  Building  and  Sharing  Business  Initiative,  implemented  by  the 
International Trade Council (ITC)’s Ethical Fashion Initiative aims to create jobs, promote 
sustainable  sources  of  income  and  secure  access  to  trade  for  artisans,  micro-producers  and 
creatives  from  developing  countries,  focusing  on  fashion,  design  and  lifestyle  industries.  A 

 This designation shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine and is  without prejudice  to the 
individual positions of the Member States on this issue. 

100 

 
 
 
                                                 
major  component  of  the  project  is  Opportunities  Are  Here  -  Project  X  (OAH-X),  an 
innovative  project  designed  to  engage  and  empower  young  women  and  men,  opening  their 
eyes  to  potential  economic  opportunities  in  the  creative  industries.  It  supports  youth 
entrepreneurship providing exposure, networking and entrepreneurship training, and adopting 
a fun, “reality TV” approach to reach millions with its inspirational message. 

OAH-X  uses  multiple  media  platforms,  traditional  and  online,  to  engage  with  the  young 
people in  their preferred space. Millennials  who  grew up with  shows like X-Factor find the 
talent  competition  format  particularly  engaging and it is  followed up with the skill  building 
programmes.  The  Uganda  edition  attracted  over  800  applications  in  2020,  while  the  virtual 
trainings  and  masterclasses  organized  in  Cote  d’Ivoire  edition  were  viewed  by  263,393 
people.  

More details: https://ethicalfashioninitiative.org/opportunitiesarehere  

101 

 
 
 
 
6.  

INSIGHT INTO EU SPENDING ON YOUTH 

6.1.  Revised Dashboard of EU indicators in the field of youth: proposed Policy 

indicators for EU spending on youth  

An Expert Group on 'EU indicators in the field of youth was established in framework of the 
EU  Youth  Strategy  2019-202794.  It  has  provided  a  review  of  the  existing  Dashboard  of  EU 
indicators  in  the  field  of  youth,  and  proposals  for  new  quantitative  and  qualitative  policy 
indicators  tailored  to  the  needs  of  Member  States  and  sectors  concerned  to  help  monitoring 
the implementation of the EU Youth Strategy. 

The  policy  indicators  are  organised  around  13  instruments  of  the  EU  Youth  Strategy  2019-
2027, including mobilisation of EU programmes and funds, and monitoring of EU funding. 

Table 1. Policy indicators for EU spending on youth  

Mobilising EU Programmes and Funds 

o  How  are  EU  funds  mobilised?  Are  there  synergies  between  EU  funding  streams in 

place?    

o  Share of eligible participants (18-30) taking part in the European Solidarity Corps.   

o  Share of eligible participants (13-30) taking part in the Erasmus+ programme.  

o  Accessibility of EU programmes and funds to young people and youth organisations. 

o  The share of projects dedicated to youth work topic in the Erasmus+ programme. 

o  Number of young people  participating  in  youth  exchanges  under  the  Erasmus+ 

programme. 

o  Number  of  youth  workers  directly  involved  in  the  Erasmus+  programme  at  national 

level. 

o  Number of young people and youth workers having received a Youthpass certificate.   

o  How are youth policies funded, also through the use of EU funds?95 

o  Are  EU  funds  (other  than  Erasmus+  and  the  European  Solidarity  Corps)  used  for 

projects that are in line with the EU Youth Strategy? 

o  Are measures put in place to provide synergies between the EU programmes and funds 
and youth policy developments in Member States in line with the EU Youth Strategy 
priorities/goals? 

Monitoring of EU Funding 

o  What funding systems and schemes are in place and how they can be identified (e.g. 
through monitoring of a single entry point to EU funding opportunities hosted on the 

94   See: https://europa.eu/youth/strategy_en 
95   Source: Youth Wiki Chapter 1.7. 

102 

 
 
                                                 
European Youth Portal)? 

o  Are  there  mechanisms  in  place  to  monitor  and  evaluate  the  implementation  of 
measures and actions that target young people at European, national, and local level? 

o  Are  the  specific  indicators  in  Erasmus+  and  the  European  Solidarity  Corps 

programmes to identify activities exclusively dedicated to young people? 

o  What  is  the  overall  EU  spending  on  youth  across  multiple  EU  funds,  including 

structural funds (youth mainstreaming across the EU funding schemes)? 

o  How  many  applications  targeting  youth  are  there  for  funding?  What  is  the  ratio  of 

supply (available funds) and demand (needs) for the EU funds targeting youth? 

6.2.  EU spending on youth main sources under the new Multiannual financial 

framework 2021-2027 

In  July  2020,  the  European  Council  adopted  the  package  consisting  of  the  EU  long-term 
budget  for  2021-2027  (the  Multiannual  Financial  Framework,  MFF)  of  €1.074  trillion, 
combined with  the temporary  recovery instrument,  NextGeneration, of €750 billion, to  help 
repair  the  economic  and  social  damage  caused  by  the  coronavirus  pandemic  and  steer  the 
transition towards a modern and more sustainable Europe96. It will be a greener, more digital 
and more resilient Europe:  

  The NextGenerationEU97 funds are raised to kick-start the recovery in a limited period 
of time. They are included in (overall allocation for programmes in total €billion with 
MFF  with  NGEU):  Recovery  and  Resilience  Facility  (€673.3  billion);  REACT-EU 
(€47.5  billion);  Rural  development  (€85.4  billion);  Just  Transition  Fund  (€17.5 
billion); InvestEU (€9.4 billion); rescue (€3 billion); Horizon Europe (€84.9 billion). 

  The  expenditure  categories  (‘headings’)98  of  the  2021-2027  long-term  EU  budget 
reflect  the  sectoral  policy  areas  in  which  it  intervenes  (total  €billion  with  NGEU), 
including:  1.  Single  Market,  Innovation  and  Digital  (€161  billion),  2.  Cohesion, 
Resilience  and  Values  (€1  203.2  billion),  3.  Natural  Resources  and  Environment 
(€419.9 billion), 4. Migration and Border Management (€25.7 billion), 5. Security and 
Defence  (€14.9  billion),  6.  Neighbourhood  and  the  World  (€110.6  billion),  and 
7.European Public Administration (€82.5 billion). 

Although  the  aforementioned  expenditure  categories  more  or  less  directly  refer  to  young 
people,  various  programmes  and  initiatives  should  be  taken  into  consideration  while 
monitoring the EU spending on youth in the future, as elaborated below.  

96   See: 2021-2027 long-term EU budget & NextGenerationEU | European Commission (europa.eu) 
97   See:  EU’s  next  long-term  budget  &  NextgenerationEU  -  Key  facts  and  figures  |  European  Commission 

(europa.eu) 

98   See: Headings: expenditure categories | European Commission (europa.eu) 

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6.2.1.   Single Market, Innovation and Digital 

This heading will aim to step up investment in areas such as research and innovation, digital 
transformation, strategic infrastructure, and the Single Market. Youth-related spending will be 
found in particular in the Horizon Europe programme. 

Horizon Europe - Framework Programme for Research and Innovation  

Horizon  Europe  (2021-2027)  will  be  supporting  research  on  youth.  Thus,  topics  related  to 
youth  have  been  included  in  the  2021-2022  Work  Programmes  of  Cluster  1  (Health),  and 
Cluster 2 (Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society). Research related to youth will focus 
on  inclusive  education  and  training,  tackling  inequalities,  social  fairness,  social  inclusion, 
migration, health, democracy, cultural heritage, etc.  

Examples of research topics related to youth 

  The impact of inequalities on democracy 

  Education for democracy 

  Providing support in a changing world of work and social protection 

  Determining key drivers of inequality trends 

  Addressing poor learning outcomes in basic skills and early school leaving in Europe 

 

Integration of emerging new technologies into education and training 

  Games and culture shaping our society 

  Overcoming discrimination for an inclusive labour market 

  Conditions for the successful development of skills matched to needs 

  Non-communicable diseases risk reduction in adolescence and youth 

6.2.2.   Cohesion, Resilience and Values  

The main programmes under this expenditure category aim to strengthen the cohesion among 
EU Member States, reduce disparities in EU regions, within and across Member States, and 
promote  sustainable  territorial  development.  Through  investment  in  young  people,  health 
and  actions  to  protect  EU’s  values,  the  programmes  seek  to  make  Europe  more  resilient, 
cohesive, and inclusive in response to the various challenges that our continent is and will be 
facing in the future. 

The  most  relevant  examples  under  this  heading  refer  to  the  European  Social  Fund  Plus 
(ESF+)  that  will  support  youth  employment,  up-  and  re-skilling  of  workers,  and  poverty 
reduction,  the  European  Regional  Development  Fund  (ERDF)  and  the  new  Erasmus+ 
programme that will continue to create opportunities for the education, training, and mobility 
of young people. The Recovery and Resilience Facility and REACT-EU (under the ERDF 
and the ESF+), the two main programmes under NextGenerationEU, are also included in this 

104 

 
 
heading. Besides, there are other relevant programmes and funding schemes presented below 
that need to be taken in consideration. 

The European Social Fund Plus (ESF+)99 

The  ESF+  will  be  a  key  financial  instrument  to  implement  the  European  Pillar  of  Social 
Rights,  to  support  jobs  and  create  a  fair  and  socially  inclusive  society.  It  will  also  provide 
much  needed  resources  to  Member  States  for  the  recovery  of  our  societies  and  economies 
after  the  coronavirus  pandemic.  The  ESF+  has  a  total  budget  of  over  EUR  99  billion  (in 
current prices). It will invest in people, creating and protecting job opportunities, promoting 
social inclusion, fighting poverty, and developing the skills needed for the digital and green 
transition. 

It  will  also  include  a  more  ambitious  requirement  for  investing  in  young  people  and 
addressing child poverty, as proposed by the Commission.  In short,  the  ESF+ will invest  in 
young people who have  been  one  of the  groups  particularly hard hit by the  socio-economic 
crisis following the coronavirus outbreak. Member States which have above the EU average 
rate of young people not in employment, education or training (the so-called ‘NEETs’, aged 
between 15-29 years) should devote at least 12.5% of their ESF+ resources to targeted actions 
and  structural  reforms  to  support  youth  employment,  helping  these  young  people  find  a 
qualification, or a good quality job in line with the Youth Guarantee. All other Member States 
must allocate an appropriate amount of their ESF+ resources to this aim. The Commission is 
urging Member States to use this and other existing funding opportunities to further increase 
investments in youth employment measures. 

Youth Guarantee100 

Since  2013,  the  Youth  Guarantee  ensures  that  all  young  people  receive  a  quality  offer  of 
employment,  continued  education,  traineeship,  or  apprenticeship  within  a  period  of  four 
months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal education. Until 2020, the programme has 
been mostly funded through the Youth Employment Initiative with €9 billion and additionally 
supported through the European Social Fund. Since 2020, the reinforced Youth Guarantee has 
extended its support to 15 to 29 year-olds and will be funded through the NextGenerationEU 
and  the  long-term  EU  budget.  The  EU  supports  mutual  learning  activities  and  monitors  the 
progress of the implementation of Youth Guarantee annually.  

EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation101 

The  EU  Programme  for  Employment  and  Social  Innovation  (EaSI)  aims  to  promote  a  high 
level of quality and sustainable employment, guarantee adequate and decent social protection, 
combat social exclusion and poverty, and improve working conditions. With a total budget of 
around  €919  million  for  the  2014-2020  period,  EaSI  supports  a  vast  range  of  actions  in  the 
employment,  social  affairs  and  inclusion  policy  area.  In  the  field  of  youth,  the  programme 
funded  outreach  activities  to  young  people  about  Youth  Guarantee  offers,  cross-border  and 
labour mobility (EURES).  In the next financial period 2021–2027 the EaSI programme will 

99   See: https://ec.europa.eu/european-social-fund-plus/en  
100   See: https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1079&langId=en 
101   See: https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1081 

105 

 
 
                                                 
be  included  under  the  European  Social  Fund  Plus  (ESF+).  The  EaSI  Programme  has  a 
comprehensive  performance  monitoring  system  with  biannual  performance  monitoring 
reports.  

Erasmus+: the Union Programme for Education, Training, Youth and Sport102  

The  general  objective  of  the  2021-2027  EU  programme  for  education,  training,  youth  and 
sport (the Programme) is to  support, through lifelong learning, the educational,  professional 
and personal development of people in education, training, youth and sport, in the European 
Union  and  beyond,  thereby  contributing  to  sustainable  growth,  quality  jobs  and  social 
cohesion, to driving innovation, and to strengthening European identity and active citizenship. 

The Programme has an overall indicative financial envelope of more than €26 billion of the 
EU Budget for the seven years (2021-2027)103.The threshold of total budget allocation under 
Erasmus+ 2021-2027 for Youth is 10.3%.According to the 2021 Annual Work programme104, 
the annual Youth budget line includes: KEY ACTION 1: Learning mobility (Sub-total KA1: 
€9.4 million); KEY ACTION 2: Cooperation among organisations and institutions (Sub-total 
KA  2  (Heading  2):  €147.225.115,  and  Sub-total  KA2  (Heading  6):  €16.917.200);  KEY 
ACTION  3:  Support  to  policy  development  and  cooperation  (Sub-total  KA3:  €41.373.659, 
and Sub-total KA2 (Heading 6): €622.800).  

Overview of country allocation helps in tracking EU spending on youth at the Member State 
level, by e.g. balancing the monitoring of the centralised and decentralised part of the budget 
and  improving  ex-post  monitoring  of  Member  State  expenditure.  Total  youth  allocation  for 
EU30 is €225.149.900, while for EU-33 (TR, MK, RS) is €236.675.115. 

European Solidarity Corps105 

The European Solidarity Corps (ESC) initiative was launched in December 2016. In 2018, the 
first  European  Solidarity  Corps  Regulation106  created  a  new,  coherent  framework  for 
solidarity-related activities, with a dedicated budget of €375.6 million for 2018-2020. 

The  overall  indicative  financial  envelope  of  the  new  European  Solidarity  Corps,  is  €1.009 
billion of the EU Budget for the period 2021-2027 in current prices and activities that include 
volunteering in the area of humanitarian aid. The activities of the ESC support the objectives 
of  the  EU  Youth  Strategy  for  2019-2027  which  encourage  young  people  to  become  active 

102   See: https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-

plus/node_en#:~:text=Erasmus%2B%20is%20the%20EU's%20programme,youth%20and%20sport%20in%
20Europe.&text=Erasmus%2B%20is%20open%20to%20individuals,Commission%2C%20along%20with%
20other%20organisations. 

103   Source:  Regulation  (EU)  2021/817  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  of  20  May  2021 
establishing  Erasmus+:  the  Union  Programme  for  education,  training,  youth  and  sport  and  repealing 
Regulation No 1288/2013, available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/817/ 

104   Source:  ANNEX  The  2021  annual  work  programme  for  the  implementation  of  "Erasmus+":  the  Union 
Programme for Education, Training, Youth and Sport, Table 8  –Budget line 07 03 02 (Youth), Heading 6: 
14  02  01  50,  (p.  101),  available  at  https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/sites/default/files/2021-
erasmus-annual-work-programme-c2021-1939_1.pdf 

105   See: https://europa.eu/youth/solidarity_en 
106   O J L 250, 4.10.2018, p. 1. 

106 

 
 
                                                 
citizens, agents of solidarity and positive change for communities across Europe and beyond 
with the new humanitarian action, inspired by EU values and a European identity. 

The 2021  annual  work programme  covers the  annual  budget  of the ESC, which amounts to 
€138.873.000 for 2021107. On the basis of the objectives set  out  in  the ESC Regulation,  the 
2021  work  programme  is  being  implemented  through  various  methods  (i.e.  actions 
implemented through indirect management; grants; procurements; experts and other actions). 
The distribution of available appropriations among the ESC actions is presented in Annex of 
the 2021 work programme. Overview of country allocation helps in tracking EU spending on 
youth at the Member State level. Country allocation for EU30 is €99.985.080, and for EU32 
(+MK, TR) is an additional €4.514.920.  

Recovery  Assistance  for  Cohesion  and  the  Territories  of  Europe  package  (REACT-
EU)108 

The Commission welcomed the political agreement between the European Parliament and EU 
Member States in the Council on the Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories 
of Europe package (REACT-EU). With a dedicated amount of €47.5 billion (€50.5 billion 
in current prices), REACT-EU will continue and extend the crisis response and crisis repair 
measures  delivered  through  the  two Coronavirus  Response  Investment  Initiative  (CRII  and 
CRII+)109 packages, thus ensuring that the economic and social recovery in the context of the 
coronavirus  pandemic    will  continue  smoothly  and  without  interruption.  REACT-EU  will 
contribute to a green, digital, and resilient recovery of the economy by adding fresh additional 
resources  to  existing  cohesion  policy  programmes  and  deliver  tangible  results  in  the  last  3 
years of the 2014-2020 programming period.  

For  the  ERDF,  the  REACT-EU  resources  shall  be  used  primarily  to  support  investments  in 
products and services for health services or in social infrastructure, to provide support in the 
form  of working  capital  or investment  support to  SMEs’ investments  in  sectors with  a high 
job  creation potential, to  support investments  contributing to  the transition towards a digital 
and  green  economy,  to  support  investments  in  infrastructure  providing  basic  services  to 
citizens, and to support economic support measures in the regions which are most dependent 
on sectors most affected by the COVID-19 crisis.  

Common Provisions Regulation (CPR) for shared management funds110 

The Common  Provisions  Regulation  (CPR)  for  eight  shared  management  funds,  including  for 
the EU cohesion policy funds, provides the policy framework necessary to ensure that shared 
management  funds  continue  to  fulfil  the  Treaty  objective  of  promoting  convergence  and 
supporting the least developed parts of the EU. As the main legal basis for cohesion policy, 
the CPR ensures the means to address the emerging economic and social challenges through 
higher  flexibility  in  terms  of  transferring  resources  and  extended  capacity  to  address  future 

107   Source:  Brussels,  13.4.2021  C(2021)  2390  final  COMMISSION  IMPLEMENTING  DECISION  of 
13.4.2021  on  the  adoption  of  the  2021  annual  work  programme  for  the  implementation  of  the  European 
Solidarity Corps. https://europa.eu/youth/sites/default/files/c20212390_-_13_04_2021.pdf 

108   See: Commission welcomes the political agreement on REACT-EU (europa.eu) 
109   See: Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative (CRII and CRII+) 
110   See: Common Provisions Regulation for shared management funds (europa.eu) 

107 

 
 
                                                 
crises.  The  CPR  provides  a  joint  legal  framework  for  eight  shared  management  funds:  the 
European Regional Development Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, 
the European Maritime  Fisheries and  Aquaculture  Fund,  and, as new elements  compared to 
2014-2020,  the  Just  Transition  Fund,  and  financial  rules  for  the  Asylum,  Migration  and 
Integration  Fund,  the  Border  Management  and  Visa  Instrument,  and  the  Internal  Security 
Fund. 

European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund (CF) 

With a budget of close to €234 billion (in 2018 prices), the European Regional Development 
Fund  (ERDF)  and  the  Cohesion  Fund  (CF)  regulation  will  enable  investments  in  a  smarter, 
greener, more connected, more social Europe that is closer to its citizens. This legislation will 
allow  the  EU  to  respond  to  current  challenges  by  boosting  sustainable  and  inclusive 
development and resilience in European regions and communities.  

Under the Policy objective 4 of 2021-2027 cohesion policy, ERDF will be made available for 
enhancing  the  effectiveness  and  inclusiveness  of  labour  markets  and  access  to  quality 
employment  through  social  infrastructure  and  promoting  social  economy.  ERDF  support  in 
the  field  of  education,  training  and  lifelong  learning  will  aim  at  improving  equal  access  to 
inclusive and quality mainstream services goal through supporting investments in accessible 
education  and  training  infrastructure  and  services  and  relevant  equipment  at  all  education 
stages. Youth will also benefit from investments in integrated actions including housing and 
social services that promote the socioeconomic inclusion of marginalised communities, low-
income  households  and  disadvantaged  groups.  In  the  field  of  health,  the  Fund  will  ensure 
equal access to health care, foster the resilience of health systems and promote the transition 
from institutional to family- and community-based care. In addition, ERDF investments can 
contribute  to  enhance  the  role  of  culture  and  sustainable  tourism  in  economic  development, 
social inclusion, and social innovation.  

European Territorial Cooperation programmes (‘Interreg’)111  

The Commission's  proposal 
for  post-2020  European  Territorial  Cooperation 
programmes (‘Interreg’) is the sixth generation of Interreg, which will support cooperation 
between regions, citizens and economic stakeholders over their respective land and maritime 
borders  with  a  budget  of  EUR  8.05  bn.  Interreg  is  one  of  the  key  instruments  of  the  EU 
supporting  cooperation  across  borders  through  project  funding.  Its  aim  is  to  jointly  tackle 
common challenges and find shared solutions in fields such as health, environment, research, 
education,  transport,  sustainable  energy  and  more.   The  2021-2027  period  makes  the  Policy 
Objective  4  ‘a  more  social  and  inclusive  Europe’  compulsory  for  internal  cross-border 
Interreg programmes and therefore, it is offering the possibility to implement projects related 
to  youth  along  the  7  years.  In  addition,  the  Interreg  transnational  programmes  linked 
geographically to Macro Regional Strategy will give the full support to the implementation of 
the Strategies where the youth involvement is a priority.  

111   See: Political agreement on the Interreg Regulation (europa.eu) 

108 

 
 
 
                                                 
Rights and Values programme112 

The  new  €1.55  billion  ‘Citizens,  Equality,  Rights  and  Values’  (CERV)  programme113  is  the 
biggest-ever EU fund for promoting and protecting fundamental rights inside the EU. Its main 
objective  is  to  protect  and  promote  the  rights  and  values  as  enshrined  in  the  Treaties,  the 
Charter and in the applicable international human rights conventions. This will be achieved by 
supporting civil society organisations and other stakeholders active at local, regional, national 
and  transnational  level.  The  programme  will  replace  the  previous  Rights,  Equality  and 
Citizenship programme and the Europe for Citizens programme. The CERV programme will 
be based on 4 strands:  

1.  Equality,  Rights  and  Gender  Equality -  promote  rights,  non-discrimination, 
equality,  including  gender  equality,  and  advance  gender  and  non-discrimination 
mainstreaming;  

2.  Citizens’  engagement  and  participation -  promote  citizens  engagement  and 
participation in the democratic life of the Union and exchanges between citizens of 
different Member States and to raise awareness of the common European history; 

3.  Daphne - fight violence, including gender-based violence. One of the objectives of 
Daphne  programme  refers  to  young  people,  among  other  vulnerable  groups,  by 
aiming to prevent and combat all forms of violence against children, young people, 
as  well  as  violence  against  other  groups  at  risk,  such  as  LGBTIQ  people  and 
people with disabilities114; 

4.  Union values - protect and promote Union values.   

Fund for Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD)115 

During 2014-2020, around €4.5 billion (EU contribution and national co-financing) have been 
allocated to combat extreme poverty in the EU, particularly, food deprivation, child poverty 
and  homelessness.  Through  food  and  basic  material  assistance  including  social  inclusion 
measures, FEAD reached more than 13 million people. For the 2021-2027 MFF, the FEAD is 
merged  with  the  European  Social  Fund  Plus  (ESF+)  to  improve  synergies  between  the 
funds).116 

6.2.3.  Natural Resources and Environment 

The EU budget is  and will continue  to be a driver of sustainability:  investing in sustainable 
agriculture  and  maritime  sectors,  alongside  with  climate  action,  environmental  protection, 
food security and rural development. Part of the programmes under this expenditure category 
support  Europe’s  farming,  agricultural  and  fisheries  sectors  and  seek  to  make  them  more 
competitive.  Other  programmes  are  dedicated  exclusively  to  the  EU’s  environmental  and 
climate objectives. Although this heading does not make direct reference to young people, the 

112   See: JUST - Item (europa.eu) 
113   See: Funding & tenders (europa.eu) 
114   Source: call-fiche_cerv-2021-daphne_en.pdf (europa.eu) 
115   See: https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=1089&furtherNews=yes&newsId=9700 
116   See: https://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=22742&langId=en 

109 

 
 
                                                 
following funding schemes could be relevant and included in monitoring the EU spending on 
youth in the future. 

Just Transition Fund (JTF) 

To address the social and economic consequences coming from the objective to reach climate 
neutrality in the EU by 2050, a Just Transition Fund will help the most vulnerable coal- and 
carbon-intensive regions address the economic and social costs of the climate transition. Rural 
the  Just  Transition  Fund  will  receive  additional  funding  from 
development  and 
NextGenerationEU,  respectively  €7.5  billion  and  €10  billion  (in  2018  prices).  A  toolkit  for 
youth participation in the just transition fund117 has also been developed. 

Young farmers initiative118 

The young farmers initiative provides EU income support measures in the form of the young 
farmer  payment  (YFP)  and  provides  grants,  loans  or  guarantees  through  additional  rural 
development  funds.  In  2019,  the  European  Commission  and  the  European  Investment  Bank 
(EIB) have launched a EUR 1 billion Euros loan facility to young farmers. It is expected that 
through the co-financing intermediaries the amount will reach close to €2 billion of long-term 
financing for the sector.119 

The EU school fruit, vegetables and milk scheme120 

The  main  aim  of  the  scheme  is  to  distribute  vegetables,  milk  and  certain  milk  products  to 
school age children and to help them in following a healthy diet.  The scheme also provides 
education  and  information  measures  which  aim  to  educate  children  about  agriculture  and 
supply chains and communicate about the benefits of the scheme overall. Currently, the total 
EU budget for the scheme amounts to EUR 220.8 million per school  year (for the period of 
2017-2023). Annual monitoring reports are available for each participating country.  

6.2.4.  Migration and Border Management 

Programmes under this heading tackle the challenges linked to migration and the management 
of  borders.  Support  to  strengthen  our  external  borders  will  be  increased  to  safeguard  the 
asylum system within  the EU, and support to  Member States will be boosted to step up  the 
management  and  integration  of  migrants.  For  example,  a  reinforced  Asylum  and  Migration 
Fund will help national authorities with receiving asylum seekers and migrants in the period 
immediately  after  their  arrival  on  EU  territory.  Moreover,  it  will  help  develop  a  common 
asylum  and  migration  policy,  and  ensure  effective  returns.  Youth  is  directly  impacted  in 
migration  policies  and  the  Asylum,  Migration  and  Integration  Fund  will  continue  to  target 

117   Youth for a just transition  - A toolkit for youth participation in the just transition fund  - Regional Policy - 

European Commission (europa.eu) 

118   See: https://ec.europa.eu/info/news/euro1-billion-europes-next-generation-farmers-2019-may-10_en 
119   See:https://www.fi-

compass.eu/sites/default/files/publications/Joint_initiative_for_improving_access_to_funding_for_European
_Union_Young_Farmers.pdf 

120   See:https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-policies/common-agricultural-policy/market-

measures/school-fruit-vegetables-and-milk-scheme_en 

110 

 
 
                                                 
young migrants in the diversity of their situation, asylum applicants, refugees, beneficiaries of 
integration policies, returnees as well as unaccompanied minors.  

6.2.5.  Neighbourhood and the World 

Programmes  under  this  heading  invest  in  the  EU’s  external  action  in  its  neighbourhood,  in 
developing countries and the rest of the world. The Commission has aimed to make the EU's 
external  action  budget  simpler  and  more  flexible,  to  enable  the  EU  to  engage  more 
strategically with partner countries throughout the financing period starting in 2021. The new 
MMF streamlines and simplifies EU external action financing instruments for international 
and  development  cooperation,  crisis  response  or  peace-building  actions  by merging  several 
existing  external  financing  instruments -  as  well  as  the European  Development  Fund - 
into  one  single  financing  tool  -  The  Neighbourhood,  Development  and  International 
Cooperation Instrument (NDICI).  It will promote multilateralism, strategic priorities and the 
achievement  of  key  international  commitments  and  objectives,  including  the  Sustainable 
Development Goals, the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement. NDICI will be granted a total 
financial envelope of €79. 462 million in current prices (€70. 800 million in 2018 prices) for 
the period 2021-2027, providing funding through three key pillars: Geographical, Thematic, 
and Rapid Response.  

The EU4Youth Programme121 

Youth  is  at  the  heart  of  EU  cooperation  with  its  Eastern  Partners  through  the  EU4YOUTH 
Programme funded by the European Union. The EU promotes youth skills development and 
employability,  education  and  training,  and  supports  youth  engagement  in  civic,  cultural, 
academic  and  professional  exchanges.  Investing  in  young  people  is  investing  in  the  future. 
Greater and better opportunities for  young  generations must be provided within the EU and 
outside  its  borders  with  a  view  to  supporting  effective  and  responsible  citizenship,  and 
prosperous, stable and democratic societies.  

DEAR Programme122 

The  Development  Education  and  Awareness  Raising  (DEAR)  Programme  supports 
projects  that  engage  Europeans,  especially  youth,  in  global  issues  of  social,  economic  and 
environmental  development.  Through  European  civil  society  organisations  and  local 
authorities, the aim is to raise awareness and support active engagement, especially of young 
people,  in  addressing  global  challenges,  such  as  climate  change  and  inequalities,  and  to 
promote global justice, human rights, sustainable development and democratic participation. 

121   See: EU4Youth Days - EU4Youth Days 
122   See: https://dearprogramme.eu/   

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Annexes  

List of main policy documents adopted in the youth field 2019-2021  

  EU Council Resolutions and Conclusions on youth 2019-2021 

  Council conclusions on Young People and the Future of Work, 29 April 2019 
  Council  Resolution  establishing  guidelines  on  the  governance  of  the  EU  Youth 

Dialogue, 3 May 2019 

  Council conclusions on digital youth work, 3 October 2019 
  Council conclusion on Education and training of youth workers, 6 November 2019 
  Council conclusions on Raising Opportunities for Young People in Rural and Remote 

areas, 19 May 202 

  Council  conclusions  on  fostering  democratic  awareness  and  democratic  engagement 

among young people in Europe, 20 November 2020 

  Council  resolution  on  the  framework  for  establishing  a  European  Youth  Work 

Agenda, 20 November 2020 

  Conclusions  of  the  Council  and  of  the  Representatives  of  the  Governments  of  the 
Member  States  meeting  within  the  Council  on  Strengthening  the  multilevel 
governance  when  promoting  the  participation  of  young  people  in  decision-making 
processes, 17 May 2021 

112 

 
 
 
 
List of main mutual learning and knowledge gathering activities 2019-2021 

Expert group on ‘Mobility of young volunteers and cross-border solidarity’ 

Expert group on ‘EU indicators in the youth field’ 

Sub  group  on  youth  work  under  the  Expert  group  in  the  youth  policy  field  (to  be 
launched in October 2021) 

 Peer-learning activity on non-vocational qualifications for youth work, 7-8 June 2021; 

Peer-learning activity on a rights-based approach to youth policies, 22-23 June 2021; 

to  develop  a  solidarity, 
Peer-learning  activities  supporting  Member  States 
volunteering,  civic  service  and  mobility  scheme  for  young  people  at  a  national, 
regional or local level (planned for Autumn 2021); 

The 2019 ‘Study on the landscape of youth representation in the EU’ 

The 2020 ‘study on removing obstacles to cross-border solidarity activities’ 

The 2021 ‘study on youth work in the EU’ 

Revised dashboard of EU youth indicators 

113