C 152/124
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
6.4.2022
3.2.
The proposal contains a very large number of commitments, references to other initiatives, budgets, and policy areas.
In most respects, this is welcome.
This also reflects the cross-sectoral nature of the policy area and the EU Youth Strategy.
However, it is also important to have clarity and focus in the proposal.
Sometimes less is more and there may be a fear that a long list of policy areas and shared responsibilities can obscure a clear focus on outcomes, responsibility, and results.
3.3.
It is clear from the proposal that the Year of Youth is primarily about promotional activities and events.
It is important to be clear on this.
While it may be envisaged that these will influence policy or highlight the opportunities for policy input, the proposal does not contain, in and of itself, any policy commitments.
3.4.
The proposal is clear that any major funding for initiatives will effectively come from existing sources and the Erasmus+ programme seems to be the main area of focus.
Once more, if this is the case, it is important to be clear about it.
Similarly, if national agencies for Erasmus+ are to prioritise activities relating to the Year of Youth, they will need clarity, support, and direction.
The new youth participation initiatives in the Erasmus+ programme may be well suited to such activities, but, again, proper preparation and information will be needed for applicants in the Member States.
Again, it must be clear in all promotional material and other activities that the Year of Youth largely involves existing resources.
Such honesty is critical when working with young people.
3.5.
It would also be important to ensure that other funding lines from other DGs are fully available for relevant activities and that this is similarly publicised and highlighted by these budget holders.
This is particularly apposite given the cross-sectoral nature of youth as an issue and the prominence given to this in the EU Youth Strategy.
It would of course also provide more resources for activities, connect other policy areas, and reach out to new groups of young people and possibly those harder-to-reach groups.
3.6.
The coordination activity will be critically important for the success of the Year.
There is a need for greater involvement of civic society here and a greater role for youth organisations nationally, locally and at European level.
National youth councils and other major youth organisations should be equal partners in the National Coordinators Group involved in both co-creating and implementing the Year and should be supported in fulfilling this function.
The role of the European Youth Forum should also be recognised as a key partner in the Stakeholder Group.
3.7.
The European Youth Strategy is the leading policy commitment by the EU in the field of youth.
It too has a significant and welcome commitment to the cross-sectoral dimension of youth as a policy issue.
This is critical to making progress on a whole range of policies for young people, such as employment, the environment, education and training.
It is vital then that the Year of Youth closely relates to the EU Youth Strategy, particularly the cross-sectoral dimension of youth policy.
The proposal does make this clear, but it will also be important that all sectors contribute and play their part when it comes to monitoring and oversight.
3.8.
Work must continue in all areas of youth policy and related cross-sectoral fields to ensure there is maximum engagement with the hardest to reach.
This should be part the monitoring of the Year and there may be methods to prioritise certain groups or even disadvantaged areas to ensure there are sufficient activities drawn from these.
Reference to the ALMA initiative is also welcome here, as is an emphasis on NEETs, although more information is still needed on this.
3.9.
The focus on activities and events must be connected to outcomes.
For this to be the case, indicators will be required which go beyond the activities.
If the outcome is for young people’s voices to be heard, this must be reflected in the indicators.
As the concepts of ‘honour, support and engage’ are common in the proposal, they may well provide a good framework for indicators.
The most important thing is that these go beyond just the output of activities and events and focus on the outcomes of these.
3.10.
Much of the prospects of the Year of Youth will depend on action at national level, but time has been extremely tight for national authorities.
Similarly, funding will be an issue so late in the day, national authorities inevitably have busy agendas, and there are also considerable differentials in youth policies, as noted by DG EAC’s own work.
All these factors will present challenges to the implementation of the Year.