Coherent EU policy making cannot ignore youth civil society

Brussels, 16th May 2012 // In light of the Education Youth Culture and Sports Council’s conclusions on the contribution of quality youth work to the development, well-being and social inclusion of young people today, the European Youth Forum welcomes the steps taken toward the stronger recognition of young peoples contribution to their communities and the wider society. The Forum is especially pleased to see the added value of youth work, informal and non-formal education is stressed. The Forum regrets however, that youth organisations were not informed, consulted, nor even mentioned in the Council conclusions on maximising the potential of youth policy in addressing the goals of the Europe 2020 Strategy.

The European Youth Forum welcomes the Council conclusions on the contribution of quality youth work to the development, well-being and social inclusion of young people adopted today. The Forum agrees with the Council that quality frameworks should be implemented, supported and communicated appropriately and involve all stakeholders including young people. To continue this process, the Forum calls on the Council of the EU to involve youth organisations in the development and implementation of such quality assurance process in youth work. “Assessing the quality of youth work only through the lense of outcomes and youth services and provisions is problematic and tends to turn (youth) Civil Society into services providers”, Peter Matjašič, European Youth Forum President stated, “and that's why it is so important to involve youth organisations in the process. Youth-led organisations play a vital role in both the educational and participation aspects of youth work”.

Regarding the Council conclusions on maximising the potential of youth policy in addressing the goals of the Europe2020 Strategy, Matjašič commented that “Though the process towards the Council conclusions is not satisfactory, and youth organisations are ignored as key actors contrary to the discourse of member states in those conclusions, the text itself is promising for the future of youth policy in Europe”. The conclusions reinforce the coherence of EU policy making while leading towards a genuine cross sectoral youth policy. It should ensure the cooperation between the different processes in the different fields such as employment, education, training and youth. The Forum looks forward to contributing for the first time to the European Semester together with youth ministers and counts on the future presidencies to work with youth organisations and ensure that the voice of young people is heard when implementing Europe 2020.

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