BYC - British Youth Council

Youth Organisations across Europe are facing an increasingly challenging situation. Political and economic circumstances are leading to shrinking civic spaces and therefore a shrinking chance of youth organisations to fulfil their purpose and represent the voice of young people. Read the motion to find out which of the European Youth Forum's members have been impacted and how, as well as what we commit to internally as part of our Strategic Plan and what we call for externally.

The British Youth Council is one of the longest standing National Youth Councils in the world. Its would leave the UK as one of the few countries in Europe without a representative and youth-led National Youth Council. We therefore call upon the British government to do whatever is necessary to guarantee the UK does not lose its National Youth Council structure.

The European Youth Forum member organisations are troubled by recent developments surrounding the withdrawal of funds for United Nations Youth Delegate programmes across various European countries, denounces the efforts to challenge the legitimacy of several of these programmes and calls on governments to integrate National Youth Councils and not sideline them into irrelevance.

The British Youth Council, together with over 100 youth organisations from all over Europe, is deeply concerned by the British Government's recent rhetoric on refugees and expresses alarm at the British Government’s so-called ‘Rwanda deportation policy’ and its efforts to undermine the right to asylum.

The General Assembly of the European Youth Forum approved a motion calling the European Union to support the re-association of Switzerland to the Erasmus+ programme and ensure that all European countries are granted access to the programme.