The young people may affect the decision-making for policies in the field of youth since the November of 2009 after a decision taken by the Council of the European Union (Council of Ministers). The European Commission is asking the opinion of the youngsters for the youth topics through the structured dialogue since the young people are the ones who are directly affected by the youth policies. The structured dialogue is part of the sub-action of the action 5 ,”Support for European Cooperation in the Youth Field”, of the European programme “Youth in Action”.
The main goals are to enhance the participation and the active citizenship of the young people, two branches of the “EU Youth Strategy” of the European Commission. The youngsters become actors in the process of decision-making, as a result, is improved the communication between the young people with the youth organization , national and European Institutions. The process of the structured dialogue has a really important contribution to the development of the European citizenship, since, the young people realize that the situation in a another European Country may affect their one reality.
The thematic priorities are set every 18 months by the Council of Ministers.The EU Youth Conferences are organized by each of the 3 Member States holding the Trio Presidency of the Council, firstly in a national level and then in a European level. The country that has the Presidency of the Council of Europe set its one priorities for their Presidency, so, the member-state that has the Presidency sets the topic for the Youth Conference.The opinions of the young people firstly, are collected in a national level through national conferences or through email and then are collected in a European level.Finally, the European Commission takes into account the outcome of the Youth Conferences in the process of decision-making.
Participating in an EU Youth Conference is a really very interesting experience for the young people, due to the fact that they have the opportunity to regard many aspects in a specific topic. The structured dialogue also promotes the multicultural aspect of Europe since each EU Youth Conference takes place in the member-state that holds the Presidency.
Now, the Trio Presidency is:
- Poland 1 July 2011-31 December 2011
- Denmark 1 January 2012-30 June 2012
- Cyprus 1 July 2012-31 December 2013
The topic set by the Polish Presidency was “Youth and the World”, the topic of the Danish Presidency is ” Creativity and innovation” and the topic of the Cyprus Presidency is “Participation and social inclusion”.
In the following video you may get an idea about the EU Youth Conference, that took place in Poland:
In a European level the structured dialogue is also supported by the Eurodesk and the European Youth Forum.
In Cyprus is supported by the National Agency of the programme “Youth in Action” ,the Cyprus Youth Council and the Ministry of Education and Culture .You may also find information through the Eurodesk Cyprus by email at eurodeskcy@eurodesk.eu,FACEBOOK and by phone at +357-22402613.
For documents concerning the structured dialogue click HERE.
Maria Strati 