At the EU Youth Conference held in Luxembourg from 21 to 24 September 2015, more than 200 young people and decision-makers from across Europe convened to agree on a series of joint recommendations and their implementation with a view to empowering young people in political participation.

The Conference, centred around the theme of 'empowering youth for their political participation in democratic life in Europe', was concluded with joint recommendations and the publication of an 'Implementation Manual', due to be presented to the Council of Youth Ministers.

The Manual represents the culmination of an eighteen-month-long political process, which considered suggestions made by more than 40,000 young Europeans who participated in the so-called Structured Dialogue, a framework adopted in 2009 to facilitate European cooperation with regards to youth policy. The Latvia, Italy and Luxembourg Presidencies decided to strengthen the link between the Structured Dialogue and the processes taking place at the Council.

The concrete recommendations and their implementation to achieve political participation among young people, decided upon at the Conference, are as follows:

 - Implement youth projects at a local level to lower the voting age to 16;
 - Foster a culture of participation in schools, especially through the inclusion of educational courses on citizenship
 - Encourage open and inclusive political culture through politicians at all levels, based on communication tailored to young people
 - Establish initiatives and long-term partnerships with youth workers and NGOs in order to tranfer knowledge and develop the political participation of young people.

"I will submit these recommendations to the Council of Youth Ministers which I will convene shortly," pledged Claude Meisch, Luxembourg Minister for Education, Children and Youth. "I think the improvement of youth participation in Europe is a shared respnsiblity. All of the participants at the conference can and must add their own contribution. But beyong these contributions, we must also make participation a reality for all the young people in Europe."

Johann Nyman, President of the European Youth Forum, the platform for 99 national youth councils and international youth organisations across Europe, added: "Far from being apathetic or disinterested, young people simply reject outdated political structures which do not meet our needs and do not lead to what we want. We need new structures which involve youth and their representatives in order to create a policy which gives priotity to the rights of young people and helps them become properly integrated into society. Political leaders must listen to the voices of young people who have made themselves heard here in Luxembourg and through the Structured Dialogue".

"We need a strong young generation, ready to build the future with everyone," concluded Maurice Losch, President of the General Youth Conference of Luxembourg (CGJL). "This can only be done through the full political participation of young people and youth organisations closely involved in political processes. The youth delegates and politicians who met in Luxembourg this week have made solid recommendations and concrete ways in which to implement them. We are asking for long-term vision and monitoring to guarantee that the result of 18 months of work and consultations with thousands of young people is effectively implemented".

The Implementation Manual will be finalised and distributed to all stakeholders before the end of the Luxembourg Presidency to better enable politicians to implement the recommendations.

The Conference also feature high-level speakers including Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and the European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Tibor Navracsics.

 

Photo by EU Youth Conference