The 8th Cycle of EU Youth Dialogue ended yesterday, with the 3rd and final EU Youth Conference held online in Maribor, Slovenia, that took place between 26 – 30 September 2021.
The conference focused on the EU Youth Goal 9 (Space and Participation for All).
It specifically addressed the need to strengthen young people’s democratic participation and autonomy as well as provide dedicated youth spaces in all areas of society.
The aim of the conference was to provide the space and opportunity for discussion about concrete ways of implementing this Youth Goal into Youth Actions at different levels. The conference looked at the whole Cycle and evaluated what intermediate results did the 8th Cycle of the EU Youth Dialogue have and most important what is still missing in order to create “Spaces and Participation for all”. The purpose of the conference in Slovenia was also to evaluate the entire process of the 8th Cycle of EU Youth Dialogue.
Participants at the Conference created recommendations for the implementation of the Youth Goal #9, based on the reporting of the implementation phase and the Central EU Youth Dialogue Survey for the 8th cycle as background documents. Based on this overview and analysis where participants gained an insight on what young people think across the EU, provided conference recommendations. Among other issues highlighted, during the 8th cycle were:
- The need to access to digital tools and ensure safe virtual youth spaces.
- The need to increase youth participation and thus equal representation in the electoral process as well as in elected bodies and other decision-making organs at all levels of society.
- The need to ensure young people can adequately influence all areas of society and all parts of the decision-making processes, from agenda setting to implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
- The need to provide youth-led physical facilities and infrastructures called youth spaces defined by being autonomous, open and safe, accessible to all.
- The need to ensure sustainable funding, common recognition and development of quality youth work in order to strengthen youth organizations and their role in inclusion, participation and non-formal education.
The conference (as well as the whole process) will feed into the EU Youth Dialogue Council Resolution adopted by the EU Council of Ministers in November 2021.
Cyprus Youth Council was represented at the conference by our Policy and Project Officer as well as 2 members of our EU Youth Dialogue Ambassadors!
For more information regarding EU Youth Goals please visit: https://sdcyprus.eu/eu-youth-goals.
