'Nothing about us without us': A new era for policy-making at the Youth Ministerial Conference in Malta
Under the Maltese sun, Youth Ministers from across Europe gathered in Valletta for the 10th Conference of Ministers responsible for youth. After months of negotiations, they agreed on a Declaration, showing their commitment to support youth organisations, youth work, and to strengthen youth policy.
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‘Nothing about us without us’
This was the message that Malta proudly turned into action! Thirteen years after the last conference took place in St Petersburg, Russia, the Maltese organisers were determined to make this gathering count. With the previous conference ending without an agreed Declaration, the stakes were high, but Malta turned the pressure into progress through meaningful youth participation.
For the first time, youth representatives were not just invited, but had their own youth event and a seat at the centre table alongside the Ministers from their country. Ministers and State Secretaries from 45 countries came to Malta ready to share their views on what’s going well in youth policy and what can still be improved. Almost every Minister chose to share their speaking time with their youth delegate - a powerful statement that young people’s views belong firmly in the debate.
What’s our take? We hope this sets a new standard for future conferences, where all countries decide to give the floor to their democratically-elected, internationally-recognised National Youth Councils.
Anchoring a ‘Youth Perspective’ in all policies
How can we include young people’s views more systematically in policy-making? How can we make better quality public policy, and improve people’s trust in institutions? The Council of Europe took on these questions by proposing to embed a ‘Youth Perspective’ across the organisation’s work, creating genuine spaces for open dialogue and participation.
Partly inspired by the Youth Test and other mainstreaming instruments, Ministers adopted a Reference Framework on a Youth Perspective. Co-developed with us, this set of guidelines offers policymakers concrete steps to systematically include young people’s needs when creating new policies and instruments.
The Framework is built around four key elements:
Attitude: Think with young people
Experience: Learn from and with young people
Skills: Participate with young people
Action: Act with and for young people
Together, these encourage policymakers to see young people not as beneficiaries, but as partners in shaping better decisions. And that’s just the foundation, as the framework also introduces a clear 3-step method for including young people’s perspectives in policy design.
From preparation, to design and implementation, and finally to monitoring and evaluation, you can check the concrete steps below:
And guess what? Implementing the Youth Perspective is already on the way! The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has already appointed new ‘Youth Rapporteurs’ who sit in every committee and bring youth perspectives into their policies.
Youth spaces for all
Across Europe, both civic and physical spaces for young people to come together are under pressure. Many youth organisations face barriers, ranging from restrictive civil society laws, limited or short-term funding and attacks on freedom of expression and assembly. These struggles were acknowledged by Ministers who committed to support youth structures and national, regional and local youth councils in increasing the participation of young people in democratic life. They will also explore the idea of establishing a new European Youth Centre in the Black Sea Region, to complement those in Strasbourg and Budapest. Words are a starting point, but we need concrete actions to follow these promises, to create spaces where all young people are free to shape their own lives and the societies around them.
Lowering the voting age to 16
The Declaration stresses that young people’s democratic rights in electoral processes must be respected. It paves the way to reform for lowering the voting age in countries across Europe, starting by examining the experience of countries who have already lowered the voting age. This is a result of our campaign to lower the voting age and make young people’s voices visible in politics!
The National Youth Council of Malta (KNZ) hosted a side-event asking: “is voting at 16 no longer a choice but a right?”. Together with youth representatives and civil servants from Austria and Belgium, participants shared how the reform was introduced in their countries. Their experiences showed why voting whilst still at schools allows access to more information about elections and leads to a long-term increase in youth voter turnout.
A new legal instrument on Youth Rights?
The Council of Europe’ work focuses on three pillars: democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. Back in 2006, the Council of Europe already paved the way for recognising the specific rights that young people have through their Recommendation on Young People’s Access to Rights.
We strive to ensure that all young people, regardless of who they are, have full and equal access to their rights. That’s why we call for a binding International Convention on the Rights of Young People. In Malta, Ministers took the first step towards this by agreeing to explore the need for a “new instrument to consolidate and update the Council of Europe’s acquis in the youth field”. In addition, they committed to moving forward work from a human rights perspective on the “right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment”. These rights need to become a reality in law.
A New Democratic Pact for Europe
Youth organisations are often the first places where young people get to vote, contribute to shaping their communities, and learn how democracy works in practice. That’s why they should be the key partners for the Council of Europe’s New Democratic Pact. Rather than redefining democracy, we need to go back to its roots ensuring it works for all citizens. That includes learning about democracy from a young age, supporting civil society organisations, and creating a strong narrative around democracy.
What’s next?
On the road to the next Ministerial Conference in Luxembourg in 2028 we expect to see tangible progress on youth rights, youth perspectives and ensuring youth spaces for all.
Huge congrats for all the hard work!
To the Advisory Council on Youth, youth delegates from National Youth Councils, International Youth NGOs, the Youth Department of the Council of Europe, the Maltese Presidency and everyone who was part of the conference.
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