National Youth Council of Malta (KNZ) prepares for Maltese Presidency

Earlier this week (6-7 March 2016), the Youth Forum met with the National Youth Council of Malta (KNŻ) to support planning for youth input in the direction of Malta’s Presidency of the Council of the EU.

Malta’s six-month tenure in the rotating presidency will run from 1 January 2017 to 30 June 2017. The European Youth Forum liaised with the KNŻ in a support capacity, to get youth issues in a prominent position on the agenda for what promises to be a period of intense political focus on various issues in Malta and Europe. Moreover, the Presidency is an occasion for the Maltese Youth Council to grow stronger, and build their capacities.

Further to this goal, Youth Forum also met with the Parliamentary Secretary Dr. Ian Borg in charge of EU funds and the 2017 Presidency. They sought more Governmental support for KNŻ, and highlighted the youth council’s right to play a strong role in the country’s presidency. The 29 years old Mr. Borg, who had already been elected as Mayor at the age of 19, addressed KNŻ’s claims and facilitated a dialogue for independent and sustainable funding.

During the visit, KNŻ discussed some of the challenges involved in youth work and non-formal education (Maltese priorities for the Presidency) more generally, including the tendency for involvement in youth work to wane after young people finish their studies and get full time jobs. Despite this, KNŻ have seen important successes- including lowering the voting age to 16, which was implemented legally the way it was proposed at KNŻ’s National Youth Parliament event.

Read more about the presidency of the Council of the EU.