Partners/Our main institutional partners
European Union
The European Youth Forum maintains close relations with most of the institutions of the European Union, namely the Commission, the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.
Most of our work would not be possible without the support from the General Budget of the EU, which comes in the form of a yearly grant. This grant is given to the European Youth Forum because the institutions would like to have the interests of young people represented at European level, so they can be taken into account when policies and programmes are formulated.
Within the European Commission
our main interlocutor is the Directorate
General (DG) for Education and Culture under the responsibility
of Ján
Figel'.
The Youth Unit within DG is responsible for youth policy and
for
the implementation of the EU
YOUTH programme . The European Youth Forum is regularly invited
by the Commission to take part as an observer in the programme
committee, in selection panels and in ad-hoc working groups and
evaluations. It has also pro-actively accompanied the consultation
process which lead to the adoption of the Commission's
White Paper on Youth . From time to time, the European Youth
Forum also deals with other Commission services such as DG
Employment and Social Affairs , the EuropeAid
Co-operation Office , the Secretariat
General etc.
The European Youth Forum also
maintains close links with Members of the European Parliament
(MEPs) who are interested in issues of concern to young people.
The Youth Forum closely follows the work of the Committee
on Culture, Youth, Education, Media and Sports , as well as the work of other committees insofar as they are of concern to our advocacy work . The European Youth Forum is also in regular contact with the Council of Youth Ministers, in particular with its so-called youth affairs working group, and through the rotating Council Presidency .
Furthermore we have direct working relations with the Members
of the European Economic and
Social Committee (ESC) and the Committee
of the Regions on youth policy issues. The European Youth Forum has also been cooperating with the ESC in organising Hearings and youth conventions in recent years.
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international governmental organisation promoting democracy, human rights and the rule of law. It consists of more than 40 Member States from
across Europe. The Council of Europe's Youth Directorate is an
important partner for youth organisations. The European
Youth Foundation within the Youth Directorate supports transnational youth work aimed at promoting youth citizenship, youth mobility, human rights, democracy and cultural pluralism. It also elaborates guidelines and legal instruments for the development of coherent and effective youth policies at the local, national and European levels. It runs the European Youth Centres (EYCs) in Strasbourg and Budapest where a team of educational advisors provide educational and technical assistance in the preparation, running and follow-up of youth activities.
What is unique about the Council
of Europe's youth work is that its programmes and policy orientations
are co-managed, which means that young people from youth organisations
are equal partners in decision-making. The members of the European
Youth Forum nominate a majority of the members of the so-called
Advisory Council, which together with representatives of member
state governments forms the Joint Council. The Joint Council
defines the priorities for the youth activities and policy of
the Council of Europe. In the field of youth training, the Council
of Europe co-operates with the European Commission on the basis
of a partnership agreement.
The European Youth Forum is represented in many of the working
groups of the partnership. Some of the results of the partnership
are, for example, the youth trainer magazine Coyote or
the so-called T-Kits (see also the Training section).
The European Youth Forum also maintains contacts with the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe and with the Education
Directorate.
United Nations
As part of our global work, which
aims to link the European youth movement with the youth movement
around the world and to improve the living conditions and participation
of young people around the globe, we cooperate closely with the
UN Youth Unit . The youth unit is the focal point in the UN. It aims to enhance awareness of the global situation of youth and of the rights and aspirations of young people. It works towards greater participation of youth in decision-making for peace and development. Currently the interaction between the UN system and the youth organisations is primarily organised through the World Youth Forum of the UN system for which the Youth unit plays a facilitating role.
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