News

New study on the uses of youth indicators in EU member states released

2011-03-29

On behalf of the European Commission DG Education and Culture, the consultancy company ECORYS has conducted a study on how indicators are being used in policy fields related to youth in EU Member States.

The study is a reaction to the European Commission's 2009 communication 'An EU strategy for Youth - Investing and Empowering: a renewed open method of coordination to address youth challenges and opportunities'. In particular, the communication emphasised the need for a cross-sectoral approach, which involves all key policy areas that affect Europe's young people and encourages a more research and evidence-based youth policy.

The general objective of the new study is to provide inputs, based on experiences and practices from member states, that will support the Commission in developing youth policy guided by concrete statistical data. According to the study, most member states recognise the added value of applying indicators in the youth field - but such data is still far from widespread. To resolve this problem, the study for example advises making better use of existing information in order to avoid unnecessary duplication and ensure cost effectiveness, a continuity and regular update of indicators, as well as widespread accessibility.

To investigate possible indicators in the eight different fields of action designated by the youth strategy, the Commission set up a working group bringing together various youth stakeholders. The European Youth Forum was actively involved in this process, contributing to discussions on indicators in areas such as education, employment, social inclusion and health. The Youth Forum considers the Commission's efforts to provide more indicators and statistical data as a step in the right direction. Such tools are essential in the elaboration of effective evidence-based policy that can improve the lives of young people in Europe.

UN announces high-level youth meeting in July

2011-03-29

On 15th March, the UN General Assembly decided to hold a two-day high-level meeting on youth on 25-26th July at its headquarters in New York. The event will be based on the overarching theme of dialogue and mutual understanding, and will aim to result in a concise action-orientated outcome document.

Plenary meetings and roundtables will focus on strengthening youth cooperation on issues such as social integration, poverty eradication and sustainable development. The Assembly also recognised that the International Year of Youth, which began in August, represented an important opportunity to bolster government investment in youth and the international community's commitment to address youth-related challenges.

The resolution adopted by the Assembly also called on Member States to "pay due attention" to the Millennium Development Goals, the World Programme of Action for Youth and other relevant programmes, as well as to consider including young people in their delegations for the event. Speaking on behalf of the European Union, Krisztina Anita Kovacs (Hungary), said youth - including from non-governmental organisations and youth-led organisations - should be adequately represented during the meeting, and governments should transparently select and include youth representatives in their delegations. She urged that youth be given adequate time to speak in order to draw attention to their concerns, problems, and challenges.

The European Youth Forum is encouraged by the UN's willingness to address youth issues and involve young people, but remains disappointed at the weak language used in the resolution. Essentially, the General Assembly has only advised Member States to involve youth delegations for the event - there is no binding obligation to do so. Governments need to go beyond positive-sounding rhetoric and give young people genuine power in decision-making on issues that directly affect them.

Council of Europe meets with youth representatives

2011-03-29

On 14-16th March, the Council of Europe (CoE) hosted new meetings of the Joint Council on Youth and the Advisory Council on Youth in Strasbourg. The meetings saw representatives from youth NGOs meet with government officials to decide upon youth sector priorities, as well as make recommendations for future budgets and programmes.

Up for discussion were recent reforms to the CoE, youth participation and the rights of young people in Europe. Proposals made will now be adopted by the Committee of Ministers, the CoE's decision-making body.

The meetings were held within the Council of Europe's Co-Management structure, which aims to foster greater youth participation in decision-making. Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland assured participants that, despite recent reforms to the Council's structure and co-operation with civil society presently under-review, youth participation was not under-threat. "Cooperation with civil society is essential and the co-management system is vital part of that", he said. Transversality was also mentioned as important to the reformed CoE, meaning youth concerns should be present in all parts of the CoE. He also indicated that tools such as the European Youth Foundation and European Youth Centres would not be threatened.

The European Youth Forum believes that these new reforms will bring about necessary renewals and new energy to the Council of Europe. The CoE's co-management system is unique and the most far reaching process for including young people in decision making. It should hence be seen as a role model for civil society participation throughout the CoE. In particular, the European Youth Foundation and European Youth Centres are important tools for ensuring that youth organisations can promote human rights and democracy to young Europeans.

Connect.Euranet heps to bring Brussels closer to young people

2011-03-23

Does it occur to you sometimes that the contact between the EU institutions in Brussels and the grassroots could be improved? That Brussels says this, Brussels decides that, but not enough people listen? A brand new exciting initiative from the European network of radios, EURANET, wants to change that forever, especially for young people. Under the slogan "Connecting U and the EU".

On 12th April 2011 at 15:30 students from all over Europe will get the chance to go face-to-face with EU decision makers on the issue of youth unemployment. People in Brussels can attend the event by going along to European Parliament, others can check it out online.

For more information contact connect@euranet.eu, or visit http://www.connect.euranet.eu

Antwerp European Youth Capital kicks off

2011-03-15

More than 800 young people pored into Antwerp Central station on 4-5th of March to celebrate to launch of Antwerp European Youth Capital.

Concerts and activities were organised all over the station, turning the old building into one great bustling party. This weekend is the start of year long activities, with more than 150 events, celebrations and creative projects programmed throughout the year.

The "European Youth Capital" (EYC) is a title designated to a European city for a period of one year, during which it will showcase its youth related cultural, social, political and economic life and development. The EYC aims to empower youth on all levels, in order to encourage them to be more proactive actors in shaping and developing their societies.

As a city that has devoted considerable resources to its youth over the years, Antwerp represents an ideal host for the project. There are over 200 youth clubs - with 5,000 dedicated volunteers manning them - throughout the city, and each of its nine districts has a Jeugdraad, or Youth Council. Moreover, Antwerp is an incredibly youthful city: there are more than 124,000 people younger than 25 in Antwerp, one third of the city's population.

The European Youth Forum first launched the European Youth Capital project in 2009, with the city of Rotterdam chosen as the inaugural host. It was the turn of Turin last year whilst Braga, Portugal and Maribor, Slovenia have been chosen for 2012 and 2013 respectively.

In becoming European Youth Capital, each city is making a commitment to youth that will not only benefit the city throughout the duration of their appointment, but for years to come. If you think your city would make a great European Youth Capital, encourage your local authorities to apply for the right to host the title in 2014! The deadline for applications is 1st May 2011.

OECD launches study on financial literacy of young people

2011-03-15

The OECD has begun worldwide testing of 15 year olds' knowledge of personal finances as part of PISA, the Programme for International Student Assessment. Aspects of financial literacy include dealing with bank accounts and credit/debit cards; planning and managing finances; understanding taxes and savings; risks and rewards; consumer rights and responsibilities in financial contracts.

The OECD has long promoted the importance of financial literacy, recommending that formal education should help students students in their understanding of financial issues as early as possible. Comparing levels of financial literacy will make it possible to see which countries perform best, and begin to identify effective national strategies and good practices.

Helping young people understand financial issues is important as younger generations today are likely to have to bear more financial risks in adulthood than their parents. For example, the decision to attend higher education can have long-term ramifications - in particular with the cost of university education rising in many countries.

Latest figures published in the UK suggest that half of all UK students are expected to leave university owing around 18,000 €. Clearly, preparation and guidance is needed for young people to successfully negotiate these pitfalls. The OECD also adds that the situation is compounded by ever-increasing complex financial products and services.

The European Youth Forum believes that, to the greatest extent possible, formal education should prepare young people for the challenges they will face in the real world.

Today, young people are expected to make long-term financial decisions as soon as they leave school. It is therefore crucial that they acquire a basic-know of money matters during their time in formal education. Without such knowledge, they are at the mercy of serious hardship that could follow them for years. Involving youth organisations in decision-making processes, or students in co-deciding budgets, can also go a long way to bolster the financial understanding of young people.

Estonia's shadow elections results published

2011-03-07

Estonian National Youth Council (Eesti Noorteühenduste Liit)
6th of March 2011
PRESSRELEASE

Estonia's shadow elections results published

Estonian National Youth Council (ENL) published yesterday evening the results of the country wide elections simulation, which brought almost 3000 14 till 17 year olds to vote for Parliament elections.

2733 youngsters in the age of 14 till 17 years participated in the parliament elections internet voting simulation.

"From the total age group shadow electorate constituted 4,8 per cent but in reality the percentage is higher as we don't have the overview yet, how many citizens we have in that age group and currently the percentage is calculated from all the young people in that age group, including the youth without Estonian citizenship," says ENL's shadow elections project manager Mailis Ostra.

ENL is expecting to get the latest data within this week and with the help of Estonian National Electoral Committee also to form shadow Parliament.

Ostra is convinced that not only the voting simulation participation rate is the measurement of youth interest, but also active participation in other shadow elections activities such as debates, student competitions, simulation games and so on. All in total approximately 10 000 young people participated in the project activities directly.

Estonia with its population of 1,3 million was the first country to adapt electronic voting as an alternative to the traditional voting and Estonians have been electronically electing since 2005. This real internet elections resulted this year with almost 150 000 voters (15,4 per cent of all the electorate).

"In 2005 in the local elections when Estonians could vote electronically for the first time, the participation percentage in internet elections was only 0,9 per cent and now it's already 15,4 per cent. Even though we hoped for higher voting participation in the shadow elections, the result is not bad as we organized shadow elections for the first time all over Estonia," explains Ostra.

The most popular candidate among young people was social democrat Sven Mikser, the prime minister Andrus Ansip form liberal The Reform Party followed and Urmas Paet (The Reform Party) was the thirs most popular candidate.

The most popular party among the 14-17 year olds was The Reform Party which collected 33,81 per cent of shadow electors votes, the second most popular party among shadow elections voters was the centre-right Pro Patria and Res Publica Union. Social democrats gathered 22,47 per cent of shadow electors votes, green party gathered 8,53 %, popular central party Keskerakond gathered 5,38 per cent and single candidates all in total gathered 2,01 per cent.

The two main differences from the real elections was the success of the greens in shadow elections, who did not get to the parliament this year and the results of the central party Keskerakond, who reached the second result in real elections but was only 5th in shadow elections.

From the smaller parties Estonian Independence Party gathered 0,55 per cent from the youth shadow elections votes, Estonian People's Party 1, 72 per cent, Christian Democrats 0,66 per cent and Russian Party in Estonia 0,33 per cent. None of these parties reached the parliament also in real elections.

More specific statistics can be found in shadow elections web page (in Estonian): http://www.varivalimised.ee. Presentation file with graphics can also be downloaded from here!

Shadow elections is politically independent civic project for the youth aged 14 till 20 years in order to motivate youth to participate in political issues more actively and to make youth voice more heard in the society. In the project frame youth debates, creative competition for students and simulation games take place. From 25th of February till 3d of March all 14-17 year old Estonian citizens could participate in electronic elections simulations and choose between the Parliament candidates.

The project is funded by EU Program Youth in Action, Open Estonia Foundation, Nation Foundation of Civic Society, Estonian Ministry of the Interior, Gambling Tax Fund. Project's media partner is Estonian National Broadcasting.

Photo material can be found from here: http://www.enl.ee/et/Galeriid/Varivalimised2009-2011

More information:
Meelika Jürisaar
Estonian National Youth Council
Public Relations Officer
GSM: +372 50 41 258
E-mail: meelika@enl.ee
www.enl.ee
www.varivalimised.ee

EU Youth Conference delivers 8 concrete recommendations to improve youth employment in Europe

2011-03-07

While statistics on youth unemployment show continuous growth in Europe, the EU Youth Conference and DG Meeting of the first cycle of the Structured Dialogue in the framework of the current Trio Presidency (Spain, Belgium and Hungary) delivers 8 concrete policy recommendations and proposals of actions to improve youth employment policy in Europe.

The results will be transferred to the Council of the European Union to be adopted in a Council Resolution on the Structured Dialogue in May 2011.

The EU Youth Conference arrives at the right time, as youth unemployment rate of the 27 EU member states has reached 20%, one of its highest peaks.

The current thematic cycle tries to put youth employment policy at the centre of the policy-making, not only as a problem but as a fundamental component of the solution to get out of this period of crisis. As part of the EU Youth Strategy, the Structured Dialogue is based on National Consultations run by National Working Groups in the different Member States that feed in the EU Youth Conference.

During the 18 months process, consultations were held at least once in all the EU Member States, allowing young people and youth organisations to express their expectations and needs related to youth employment. The three days of workshops resulted in 8 policy messages put forward jointly by youth representatives and decision-makers.

The joint recommendations include concrete proposals highlighting the need for Member States to integrate career-oriented training, information and guidance in preparation for career search and to create tools that will further recognize skills and competences gained through non-formal Education.

The 8 recommendations are the results of the workshops organized during the EU Youth Conference in Hungary. Additionally, the participants propose some actions and consider the possible contribution of young people, local communities and youth organizations to support the implementation of the recommendations.

"Strong outcomes came out of this 18-month long process," says Peter Matjašič, President of the European Youth Forum, "that we now expect to be transformed into effective policy measures to improve the situation of young people in Europe. In terms of giving young people the opportunity to have a say on the policies that affect them directly this process has been a great success. We are convinced that this experience will lead the way to an improved cycle of the Structured Dialogue within the next Trio Presidency in 2011-2012."

"Youth organisations are major providers of non-formal education, informal learning and wider mobility opportunities outside the formal education context. Therefore, sustainable long-term financial support is essential in order for them to equip young people with skills and competences to become active citizens and ease their access to the labour market, which is an important step in achieving the aims of the Europe2020 strategy and building a competitive, knowledge-based and sustainable Europe." - says a recommendation of the complied conclusions which was finalized during the EU Youth Conference and DG Meeting in Gödöllő and Budapest.

This first cycle of Structured Dialogue focused on youth employment and aimed at creating the ground at national level to set the right measures in regards to the forthcoming national implementation programmes of the Europe 2020 Strategy and its flagship initiatives. The EU Youth Conferences of the first cycle were organised by the Spanish (Jerez, 13-15 April 2010), the Belgian (Leuven, 1-3 October 2010) and the Hungarian Presidencies of the Council of the European Union (Gödöllő/ Budapest, 2-4 March 2011). The Hungarian Youth Conference hosted also a Chinese delegation as a flagship event of the EU-China Year of Youth.

To find out more, please visit the website of the event: www.mobilitas.hu/eutrio-youth-hu

Estonia launched country wide youth shadow elections

2011-02-25

Estonian National Youth Council (Eesti Noorteühenduste Liit)
25th of February 2011
PRESS RELEASE

Estonia launched country wide youth shadow elections

Estonian National Youth Council (ENL) launched country wide shadow elections today on the internet for Parliament elections. All youngsters from the age of 14 to 17 have the possibility to vote electronically from today till 3d of March. Identification is connected to identity card, internet banking passwords and electronic school system.

In addition to the electronic voting simulation which allows the youth to choose the real candidates, many other events are taking place. In February about 50 youth elections debates have taken place and several simulation games that put young people to the role of decision makers and teach how decisions are made in politics. A student competition about electoral campaigns has taken place where young people analyze campaigns and also practice making their own political campaign.

The voting is possible on the internet (http://www.varivalimised.ee) as well as in all regions in the public e-voting points.

"This opportunity, which involves the whole country, is a good possibility for Estonian youth to make history. Shadow elections gives the youth who can not yet vote a voice and a feeling that saying your mind and being active is a good way to reach the decision makers, so they would consider the young people more while making politics," says ENL's shadow elections project manager Miss Mailis Ostra.

Shadow elections e-voting system guarantees the voters anonymity and during the simulation period voters can later also change the vote.

Estonia was also the first country in the world who fully adapted electronic voting as an alternative to the traditional voting and Estonians have been e-electing since 2005. Yesterday real electronic elections were opened and within one day there have been already approximately 30 000 internet electors in a country of 1,3 million people.

Shadow elections is politically independent civic project for the youth aged 14 till 20 years in order to motivate youth to participate in political issues more actively and to make youth voice more heard in the society. In the project frame youth debates, creative competition for students and simulation games take place. From 25th of February till 3d of March all 14-17 year old Estonian citizens can participate in electronic elections simulations and choose between the Parliament candidates.

The project is funded by EU Program Youth in Action, Open Estonia Foundation, Nation Foundation of Civic Society, Estonian Ministry of the Interior, Gambling Tax Fund. Project's media partner is Estonian National Broadcasting.

More information:
Meelika Jürisaar
Estonian National Youth Council
Public Relations Officer
GSM: +372 50 41 258
E-mail: meelika@enl.ee
www.varivalimised.ee
www.enl.ee

EP Youth Intergroup discusses ‘Youth on the Move' with Commissioner Vassiliou and young people

2011-01-25

The Intergroup on Youth of the European Parliament welcomed today Mrs. Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education, Youth and Culture to discuss ‘Youth on the Move', the European Commission's flagship initiative launched in September 2010 in the framework of the Europe 2020 Strategy.

This initiative includes actions in the field of education, training and the mobility of young people, proposing 28 key actions and concrete measures, such as the creation of a European system of student loans, a European Youth Mobility Card, and a Youth Guarantee.

Commissioner Vassiliou stressed that the European Commission is always keen to work towards improving the lives of young people in Europe. With the flagship initiative 'Youth on the move', the Commission aims at increasing mobility opportunities for all young people and improving skills and qualifications so as to facilitate access to the labour market. In the future months, she committed to strongly support a Recommendation on Non-Formal and Informal Education and in promoting a European skills Passport.

Miklós Soltesz, Hungarian Minister for Social, Family and Youth Affairs, highlighted how the Hungarian Presidency has great interest in bringing forward to the European Council strong conclusions in the framework of the work done with the Spanish and Belgian Presidencies within the Structured Dialogue, while taking the opportunity to invite all the present to the upcoming EU Youth Conference in Budapest on 1-4 March.

"Today's debate highlighted the need for Member States to act and commit enough financial resources and propose concrete plans for the implementation of these proposals. The ambitious objectives of YOTM can only be reached by respecting the rights of young people and involving them in the decision-making that directly concerns them. Europe needs to listen to and invest in young people!" says Peter Matjašič, President of the European Youth Forum.

"We have to be very happy about the ambition of the European Commission in making Europe more accessible to young people, with a great enlargement of youth mobility programmes for all. The Europe of mobility is the Europe of concrete actions!" concluded Damien Abad after the debate with young people, MEPs and the Commissioner.

The Youth Intergroup is an informal group made up by around 40 MEPs from across political parties and parliamentary committees and aims to discuss and encourage youth employment, mobility and active citizenship for young people. It was launched for the first time in the European Parliament history in the 2009-2014 and had its constitutive meeting in February 2010 in Strasbourg.

Best Youth Project 2010 is a anti anorexia and bulimia fashion show

2010-12-15

Estonian National Youth Council (ENL) announced on the 8th of December in ENL's Christmas party held in Tallinn café Wabadus the best youth project of the year. The title which is traditionally given by other youth organizations was given to the Estonian Medical Science Students' Society for a project, which contained anti anorexia and bulimia fashion show.

Such project was organized for the first time in Estonia in order to educate pupils on eating disorders and healthy life style. Pupils of the 5th till the 12th grade were also involved to lectures given by young people, interactive lessons etc. On the final event, the anti bulimia and anorexia fashion show, young healthy pupils performed in the catwalk - all of them with the normal body mass index. The purpose of the event was to show that young healthy person is a beautiful person and in order to be fashionable one does not have to be very thin and live unhealhy life.

For the second time in ENL's history also regional youth councils participated in a special category for Best Youth Project award. The title went to Tartumaa Noortekogu (Tartu County's Youth Council) for the youth seminar and consultations "You are not a puppet, make your own moves". The purpose of the project was to encourage county's youth to be more involved in decision making processes, speak their mind, participate actively in the society etc. Project brought together young people, offered workshops, training and as a result youth's ideas and suggestions on various problems like drug abuse, environment, violence were sent to the regional decision makers.

Selecting the best youth project aims to encourage young people more actively organize projects that have broader audience and social value. The competition seeks to enhance the active participation of ENL, to encourage the exchange of experiences and find new innovative ideas. ENL has awarded The Best Youth Project traditionally already from the early days of Estonian National Youth Council.

Best Youth Project 2010 was supported by the Estonian Public Broadcasting, the Estonian Football Association, Sushi Cat, Ku:lsa:l, Kuutsemäe Holiday Centre, Forum Cinemas and Reval Sport.

Results of 1st phase structured dialogue consultations on youth employment out

2010-12-15

Consultation results from fifteen National Working Groups on the issue of youth employment have been collected by the European Youth Forum on behalf of the European Steering Committee for the Structured Dialogue with youth. A preliminary analysis of their content shows difficult times for young people in Europe. With youth unemployment rates being twice as high as for the rest of the population, this indeed comes out as a major concern for young people.

The results of the National Working Groups show that quality education remains the most important factor in getting a job. While keeping their important social role, education systems should therefore better prepare for the labour market. In terms of improving employment opportunities, more investment in lifelong learning and in creativity and innovation are deemed necessary. However, few young people see themselves as entrepreneurs, partly due to lack of self-confidence and risk aversion, and partly due to a lack of trust from financial institutions.

Despite being more open to mobility, youth is generally seen as a cheap labour force. Precarious contracts, lack of legal frameworks for internships, requirements of previous working experience, and the need of an established network were seen as main barriers to finding a decent first job. Furthermore, young people experience multiple discrimination at hiring, be it because of ethnical or socio-economic background, disability, or simply because of the general negative image of young people. Finally, youth employment is considered a key factor for youth autonomy, which, when not reached, leads to a strong feeling of failure.

National consultations are held in each Member State to provide an overview of young people's expectations on youth employment in forehand of the EU Youth Conference starting on 13th April. The European Steering Committee consists of the European Youth Forum, the European Commission and the Trio presidency countries (SP-BE-HU). It will monitor and follow structured dialogue on youth employment over an 18 months period with the aim of achieving concrete political results.

YFJ demands solutions to close skills gap between education and the labour market

2010-11-29

The European Youth Forum welcomes the European Commission's 'Agenda for New Skills and Jobs' initiative which aims to step up efforts to aid young people to obtain the relevant skills for growing employment sectors. The initiative comes timely, as it is widely acknowledged how young people have been disproportionately affected by the crisis and how the transition from education to the labour market is malfunctioning.

Until the high level of skills mismatch is solved through the formal education system, young people in Europe will continue to leave formal education without the necessary competence and qualifications to enter the labour market successfully and to be fully active citizens. Quality guidance to encourage informed and responsible choices of education paths should therefore be made much more easily accessible.

"There cannot be a competitive, inclusive and socially sustainable labour market in Europe unless we ensure that young people are an active part of it" stated Tine Radinja, President of the European Youth Forum. "Included in the labour market and equipped with the necessary skills" he continued, "young people can improve not only their private life chances, but positively contribute also at local, regional, national and EU levels."

Importantly, youth organisations often play a central role in providing new skills to many young people, but are not insufficiently recognised. Recognition instruments have to be therefore developed to include Non-Formal Education learning outcomes. A European Skills Passport could be a good step towards this, alongside Non-Formal education being included in education policy, to ensure it is regarded as a proper educational field.

Moreover, the initiative has the potential to acknowledge the role of quality internships in the transition process through encouraging quality partnerships between educational institutions and employers. Furthermore, the European Youth Forum sees the new flagship initiative as the opportunity to finally address youth entrepreneurship in a structured manner by using concrete tools to allow young people to consider entrepreneurship as a real option.

As the latest edition in a series of the European Commission 'flagship initiatives' in the framework of the 'Europe 2020' strategy, the European Youth Forum now expects the 'Agenda for New Skills and Jobs' to form synergies with other initiatives, especially in the field of youth and education, to allow young people to truly unleash their potential. These should be also be strongly linked to other on-going processes in the field of education such as Education and Training 2020 strategic framework and modernisation of universities.

ENL denounces Tallinn's Plan to Close Yoth Center

2010-10-30

The National Youth Council of Estonia sent Tallinn city council a letter, asking it to call off a plan that would dissolve Tallinn Youth Work Center and reorganize it under the administration of eight city districts.

Tallinn's youth outreach centers offer young people a place to go for recreational activities, career services and opportunities. Youth activists assert that it is short-sighted to cut youth services that mitigate social problems during a time when youth unemployment is at record highs.

The National Youth Council said getting rid of Tallinn's unified youth center, which comprises seven branches, will not save money. Stand-alone district youth centers cost the city 9,600 euros more, according to the 2009 budget, and the difference was even larger this year, the association argued.

Last year, the capital's unified youth center was able to rake in 51,130 euros of non-city money from domestic funders, while the district centers together received only 4,150 euros. Tallinn Youth Work Center also received another 42,500 euros from foreign supporters, while district centers did not receive any funding, according to National Youth Council chairman Ott Heidmets.

Closing the doors and dividing up Tallinn's unified youth center would have a negative impact on the coordination of shared resources, Heidmets added. Instead, the National Youth Council proposes that district youth centers in Mustamäe, Haabersti, Kose and Mähe unify under a single umbrella organization.

Tallinn is recognized by the UNICEF as a youth-friendly city.

11 years needed for youth unemployment pre-recession levels

2010-10-26

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has recently launched a flagship report that attempts to deal with issues surrounding job recovery in times of constrained public finances, the global social climate, rebalancing global growth and reforming finance for more and better jobs. Importantly, the report highlights that young men and women have been disproportionately affected since the onset of the crisis. Furthermore, examination of earlier experiences has shown that it takes, on average, over 11 years for youth unemployment to return to pre-recession levels.

The report underlines that young people are also disproportionately hit by unemployment in terms of the type of work they are forced to enter. Such work is often precarious by nature and does not fit their skills. Due to the labour market being so depressed for so long, the report narrates that many unemployed people are getting wholly discouraged and are leaving the labour market altogether. In the countries that such statistics were available, this led to more than four million jobseekers stopping looking for work altogether.

The European Youth Forum is deeply concerned with the ILO's bleak portrayal of the continuing difficulties it expects young people to face in the post crisis labour market. In reporting that the crisis not only affects young people's possibilities of finding a quality job, but also remaining in a labour market with decent working conditions, the ILO underlines that there is a worrying tendency that recruiters now prefer younger workers who are able to work long hours. The European Youth Forum therefore calls upon European states to safeguard young worker's rights to ensure that no person in the labour market is exploited, or discriminated against in their entry into the labour market on the basis of the amount of hours or situations they are willing to work within.

Useful Links:

The International Labour Organization - World of Work Report 2010 - From one crisis to the next?

The Huffington Post - 05/10/10 - World Leaders Must Address Global Youth Employment Crisis

The European Youth Forum - Position Paper on Youth Employment in Times of Crisis

ERR: Activists Propose Easing Taxes for Employers of Youth

2010-10-25

The National Youth Council proposed a tax break to reward companies that employ the youth. Among EU countries in the first quarter of this year, youth unemployment was only worse in Spain.

In a parliamentary session on Monday, the cultural and social affairs committees discussed the problem of unemployment among younger people. Ott Heidmets, chairman of the youth organization, called for a four-year national action plan to get youth back to work.

Heidmets said that in a weak economy, where businesses are counting every cent and it is more practical for the employers to hire someone with experience, tax cuts would be a motivator for companies to hire less experienced youth.

The chairman also suggested that the Unemployment Insurance Fund focus specifically on the youth as a risk group, by offering them appropriate job counseling and special programs intended for aiding the youth.

Source: Estonian Public Broadcasting

ERR: Youth Unemployment Could Lead to 'Lost Generation,' Specialist Warns

2010-10-19

The extremely high unemployment level among those aged 15 to 24 in Estonia could have dire consequences for the nation's future and deserves more attention from politicians, Martti Martinson, a youth policy officer at the Estonian National Youth Council says.

First quarter unemployment in the age group was 40.6 percent, more than twice the national average and the highest in the EU barring Spain, according to the Ministry of Social Affairs.

Speaking on ERR's morning television program Terevisioon on Tuesday, Martinson said that although unemployment for young people is traditionally higher than the average due to their lower levels of experience, the difference in Estonia is unacceptably large.

He said that the situation is putting society at risk of creating a so-called "lost generation,” wherein young people who spend a year or two unemployed won't be able to develop proper working habits."They'll have a negative experience and there's at greater danger that they'll become a burden on society in the future, not being able to find work even in more prosperous times,” he said.

On Monday the Youth Council will meet with the Parliament's Cultural and Social Committee where, according to Martinson, they will make two proposals: introducing tax breaks for employers who hire young people, and setting up separate job market services, aimed specifically at the cohort.

Source: Estonian Public Broadcasting

EU Youth Conference agreed on joint conclusions on Youth Employment policies

2010-10-04

More than 100 youth delegates from all over Europe and 65 officials from EU governments gathered in Leuven to discuss the role of youth policy in developing better measures to promote youth employment in Europe.

After 3 intense days of common work, Xenia Constantinou, Vice-President of the European Youth Forum and Chair of the European Steering Committee for the Structured Dialogue presented the Joint Conclusions to the plenary and to European Commissioners responsible for Youth, Androulla Vassiliou and for Employment, Laszlo Andor.

The Conclusions stir from the joint work in the thematic workshops to investigate what the contribution of youth policy can be. During the Conference participants had the opportunity to fine-tune the recommendations from the national consultations and address them towards the appropriate level or institution (EU, Members states, young people and their organisations, etc.).

Read the Conclusions here, which will be transferred to the European Council by the Belgian Presidency in November, and thus will free the way to political results during the Hungarian Presidency in the first semester of 2011.

Watch/Read the live reporting of Euroblog or have a look at some images from the EU Youth Conference.

Do you want to be a young reporter against poverty?

2010-09-24

The European Journalism Centre invites you to be part of the first Europe-wide competition for journalism students passionate about development issues - Young Reporters Against Poverty (www.youngreporters.net).

Participate in the YRAP competition and get an inside look at a real policy-making laboratory - the European Development Days (EDD). The EDD will highlight issues and recent initiatives ahead of the 2015 deadline to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

The YRAP competition is not only a chance for 33 journalism student finalists to receive hands-on training about EU development assistance and how to report live from the EDD.

Your live EDD report could bag you a place on the winners' press trip to Africa!

WHO AND HOW?

EU citizens aged between 18 and 30 years old studying journalism in one of the 27 EU Member States during the academic year of 2010-2011 can enter the competition by submitting a written article (1,000 words max.) or a radio broadcast (3 minutes max.) in their native language, on the subject of "EU development assistance" between 20 September and 29 October 2010.

All entries received will be shortlisted and one winner will be chosen, by a media professional in each member state country (two winners will be selected from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK).

The group of 33 finalists will attend a 4-day workshop in Brussels and have the chance to report live from the European Development Days from 6-7 December (travel, accommodation and most meals paid for).

COMPETITION FINALE

After the EDD event, the students have until 14 December to further develop and select their best reportage work generated during their Brussels stay. A professional jury will then choose the best three submissions with a prize awarded for best written, best radio and most original news reporting.

The three winners will be announced on the website (www.youngreporters.net) in January 2011 and will get the chance of a lifetime - a press trip to Africa.

The YRAP competition is organised by the European Journalism Centre with financial support from the European Commission's co-operation office EuropeAid.

For further information please do not hesitate to contact us on info@youngreporters.eu, find us on Facebook or Tweet with us @yrapteam / #YRAP

The European Journalism Centre

21.09.10

Estonian National Youth Council awarded youth friendly journalists

2010-09-16

Estonian National Youth Council (Eesti Noorteühenduste Liit; ENL) awarded the most youth friendly journalist and media channel for the year 2010 during the media conference for youth workers that was held on 16th of September in Tallinn. Such recognitions were given the first time and ENL wishes to start the tradition and yearly award youth friendly media channels and journalists in Estonia.

The most youth friendly journalist works for one of the biggest Estonian daily newspaper called "Postimees" (Postman). Postimees' journalist Alo Raun got the title for covering youth issues and for his good knowledge on education and youth participation. He has also actively been discussing possible lowering of the voting age in Estonia in the media and supported more participation forms for young people.

The most youth friendly media channel for year 2010 is newspaper "Postimees" including both online and paper version.

"The main idea of recognizing journalists and media channels is to motivate media to cover more youth subjects. I think is it important to say thank you to those media channels and journalists who already realize that youth issues are important", says ENL's Public Relations Officer Meelika Jürisaar.

The jury also gave a special recognition to South-Estonian regional newspaper "Valgamaalane" for active interest towards youth activities and covering youth projects in a positive way. Estonian public radio "Raadio 2" was mentioned for their positive attitude towards young people. Estonian public television host Urmas Vaino, a former president of a youth organization ELO, was recognized for helpful attitude towards youth work and youth projects. Urmas Vaino has been helping youth organizations and youth workers to communicate with media giving trainings and workshops on public relations and media.

The jury was formed of the chairmen of Estonian National Youth Council, Federation of Estonian Student Unions, Estonian Youth Work Centre, National Agecy for the EU Youth in Action Program and of Estonian School Student Councils Union.

Estonian National Youth Council (Eesti Noorteühenduste Liit; ENL) is an umbrella organization that unites 49 Estonian youth organizations. ENL's main goals are to represent youth organizations, shape a supporting public opinion and to develop legislative environment. ENL supports active participation of youth and also represents members youth political interests in Estonia and in the international level.

More information:
Meelika Jürisaar
Estonian National Youth Council/Eesti Noorteühenduste Liit
Public Relations Officer
Tel: +372 50 41 258
E-mail: meelika@enl.ee
www.enl.ee

The UN Reports Rising Youth Unemployment Levels are yet to Peak

2010-08-31

To coincide with the start of the International Year of Youth, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), an agency of the United Nations (UN), has launched a new report on youth unemployment to analyse the impact of the global economic crisis on young people. The report found that for young people, unemployment, underemployment and discouragement can have a long term negative impacts and possibility compromise their future work prospects.

In the European Union, youth unemployment rates increased by 4.6 percentage between 2008 and 2009, which marks the largest annual increase in youth unemployment rates ever recorded in any of the world's regions. Worryingly the report concluded that despite the global youth unemployment rate climbing from 11.9 per cent in 2007 to 13 per cent in 2009, it is still expected to have climbed even higher during the course of 2010.   

Read the ILO Press Release - 11/08/2010 - World economic crisis has spurred a record increase in youth unemployment says ILO

Download the report - 08/2010 - Global Employment Trends for Youth

Call for participants - conference on youth demonstrations and riots

2010-08-24

Estonian National Youth Council (ENL) is organizing a conference on demonstrations and riots and youth participation in those events. The conference will take place from 2nd of November till 3d of November 2010 in Tallinn. ENL is looking for participants to share experience and discuss on youth involvement on demonstrations, the values of young people, the reasons of violent demonstrations and the affect of such events.

Participants should be from following countries: Denmark, Greece, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Georgia, Armenia and Moldova

Participants should have following background: Either responsible for youth campaigns or demonstrations, leaders of youth councils, youth workers, political youth organisation leaders, experts working on youth area etc. Participants should be actively involved in representing youth and active participants of civic society.

Age limit: 18 to 30 years.

Number of conference participants: Approximately 80 participants from above mentioned countries.

Deadline for applications: Extended deadline till 27th of September 2010!

Type of involvement: ENL covers all costs (accommodation, catering and travel). Accommodation is guaranteed in Swissotel ype of involvement: ENL covers all costs (accommodation, catering and travel). Accommodation is guaranteed in Swissotel Tallinn.

In brief

In the recent years demonstrations in European countries have had violent consequences. Often young people have been involved in such aggressive demonstrations. Young people are very sensitive to all the changes in the society and are very eager on spreading their opinions. They strongly believe in their power to make a change. In society, people aged 14-30 are usually the most active participants in public events and are actively remodeling norms of behavior. By that age they also belong to the group of potential demonstrators.

Therefore it is very important that they would accept demonstrations as a peaceful way of how to express their opinions rather then preferring violent participation for the action itself. It is important for the experts to know how to guide the youth in the matter of demonstrations. Estonian National Youth Council (ENL) finds the subject to be of relevancy. Demonstration is an essential form of expression in a healthy society, but it should be conducted in a peaceful manner.

Topics and value of the conference

The topics of the conference will also include riots and demonstrations. The conference will try to find what are the reasons of recent violent demonstrations. The conference will include experts from Greece, Russia, France, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, who will introduce the history and tradition of demonstrations in their countries and comment why the riots have taken place in their countries. A discussion will be held around the means that demonstrators use.

In the second conference day a peaceful simulation demonstration will be held together with the participants in the center of Tallinn. The topic of the demonstration will not be a realistic or from any party's or ENL's agenda in order to guarantee objective simulation.

The main aims of the conference:

• Conference will give an overview of the demonstrations held in the three Baltic countries and various European countries over the last years and the organisers of the demonstrations.

• Participants will discuss how and why demonstrations appear and are being held; also what should be the values that demand standing up and engaging in a demonstration. The role of history and culture will be discussed in the frame of demonstrations and riots.

• The conference will give knowledge on how willing are the people really to engage in demonstrations? What are the topics that bring people out on the streets?

• Participants will get to take part in a demonstration, which is being organized the way they should - peacefully. They will learn how to make themselves heard by not causing any inconveniences in the society and by not violating the rules. The will gain this experience in a supervised environment. The topic of the demonstration will not be a realistic or from any party's or ENL's agenda in order to guarantee objective simulation.

• The connection between youth and the development of new media will be discussed in the frames of demonstrations and riots (as for example in 2005 the riot in France, Toulouse, was coordinated entirely by the Internet bloggers).

Background information

The subject of "Youth Involvement in Demonstrations" has not been previously an open topic in any seminar or conference, since the demonstrations in recent years in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have been a new phenomenon. ENL considers it to be an important topic that should be studied. Owing especially to the media, we have been led to the understanding that most of the people participating in these recent demonstrations were, surprisingly, young people. ENL is curious to provide the youth leaders with all the necessary knowledge's on how to demonstrate peacefully based on the recent examples of history in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, France, Denmark, Greece and Russia.

ENL is not against demonstrations, but believes there is an intelligent way for carrying them out. It is important that people would be aware of it from as early age as possible.

Expected results

The anticipated long-term result of the project is a better-developed civic society and wiser culture of expression. The conclusion of the survey will give a better understanding on how to apply youth-oriented communicative activities.

Other technical details

• Date and place of the meeting: the conference activities will take place in Tallinn on 2nd and 3rd November 2010. The participants are expected to arrive on the 1st of November. Expected departure is in the afternoon of 3d of November.

• Language of the conference: English (no translations)

Please forward this invitation among suitable networks if this is not directly in your interest. Estonian National Youth Council will appreciate the help.

Please find the expert application form here.

Estonian National Youth Council (ENL) is a non political umbrella organisation established in 2002 and unites 50 youth organisations throughout Estonia. ENL promotes cooperation between youth associations and active participation of young people in society. ENL is working for recognition and participation of young people. ENL is a recognized organization protecting the interests of youth associations and enhancing all forms of cooperation between them, so that youth participation and youth initiative would be valued in the society.

Experts needed for conference on demonstrations and riots

2010-08-19

Estonian National Youth Council (ENL) is organizing a conference on demonstrations and riots and youth participation in those events. The conference will take place from 2nd of November till 3d of November 2010 in Tallinn. ENL is looking for experts to share experience and give a lecture on demonstrations, riots and youth participation on them.

Experts should be from following countries: Denmark, Greece, Russia, France, Latvia and Lithuania

Experts should have following experience: Either practical experience (specialist on related subjects, organizers of demonstrations etc) or theoretical experience (research, work related analysis, university studies, academic researches etc)

Number of conference participants: Approximately 80 participants from Estonia, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Greece.

Profile of the conference participants: Actively involved in representing youth (umbrella organizations leaders and youth organizations etc) and active participants of civic society.

Deadline for experts to send application form and CV: 20th of October

Type of involvement: ENL covers all costs (accommodation, catering and travel) and a honorary will be agreed with the expert. Accommodation is in Swissotel Tallinn: Accommodation will be guaranteed in Swissotel: http://www.swissotel.com/EN/Destinations/Estonia/Swissotel+Tallinn/Hotel+Home/Hotel+Home.htm

In brief

Topics and value of the conference

The topics of the conference will also include riots and demonstrations. The conference will try to find what are the reasons of recent violent demonstrations. The conference will include experts from Greece, Russia, France, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, who will introduce the history and tradition of demonstrations in their countries and comment why the riots have taken place in their countries. A discussion will be held around the means that demonstrators use.

In the second conference day a peaceful simulation demonstration will be held together with the participants in the center of Tallinn. The topic of the demonstration will not be a realistic or from any party's or ENL's agenda in order to guarantee objective simulation.

The main aims of the conference:

• Conference will give an overview of the demonstrations held in the three Baltic countries and various European countries over the last years and the organizers of the demonstrations.

• Participants will discuss how and why demonstrations appear and are being held; also what should be the values that demand standing up and engaging in a demonstration. The role of history and culture will be discussed in the frame of demonstrations and riots.

• The conference will give knowledge on how willing are the people really to engage in demonstrations? What are the topics that bring people out on the streets?

• Participants will get to take part in a demonstration, which is being organized the way they should - peacefully. They will learn how to make themselves heard by not causing any inconveniences in the society and by not violating the rules. The will gain this experience in a supervised environment. The topic of the demonstration will not be a realistic or from any party's or ENL's agenda in order to guarantee objective simulation.

Background information

The subject of "Youth Involvement in Demonstrations" has not been previously an open topic in any seminar or conference, since the demonstrations in recent years in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have been a new phenomenon. ENL considers it to be an important topic that should be studied. Owing especially to the media, we have been led to the understanding that most of the people participating in these recent demonstrations were, surprisingly, young people. ENL is curious to provide the youth leaders with all the necessary knowledge's on how to demonstrate peacefully based on the recent examples of history in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, France, Denmark, Greece and Russia.

ENL is not against demonstrations, but believes there is an intelligent way for carrying them out. It is important that people would be aware of it from as early age as possible.

Expected results

The anticipated long-term result of the project is a better-developed civic society and wiser culture of expression. The conclusion of the survey will give a better understanding on how to apply youth-oriented communicative activities.

Other technical details

• Date and place of the meeting: the conference activities will take place in Tallinn on 2nd and 3rd November 2010. The lecturers have to be present on the 2nd of November and are expected to arrive on the 1st of November. Expected departure is either 2nd of November or 3d of November (depending on the wish of the lecturer).

• The lecture/presentation will be given on the 2nd of November. The time of the lecture/presentation is 1 hour. The usage of presentation techniques is possible and has to be agreed with the organizer. Besides the given lecture experts will take part of a plenary session (1,5 hours) on the 2nd of November.

• The general topics and bullet points of the presentation will have to be sent to Estonian National Youth Council by the 30th of September.

• Language of the conference: English (no translations)

Please forward this invitation among suitable networks. Estonian National Youth Council will appreciate your help.

Please find the expert application form here.

Estonian National Youth Council (ENL) is an umbrella organization established in 2002 and unites 50 youth organizations throughout Estonia. ENL promotes cooperation between youth associations and active participation of young people in society. ENL is working for recognition and participation of young people. ENL is a recognized organization protecting the interests of youth associations and enhancing all forms of cooperation between them, so that youth participation and youth initiative would be valued in the society.

Project is financed by Open Estonia Foundation.

More information and applications:
Martti Martinson
Estonian National Youth Council
Youth Policy Officer
GSM: +372 56 151 626
E-mail: martti@enl.ee
Fax: + 372 6306 578
Home page: www.enl.ee

Youth Day in Estonia: fire show, Brazilian theater and football with the minister

2010-08-12

Estonian National Youth Council
11th of August 2010
PRESS RELEASE

Youth Day in Estonia: fire show, Brazilian theater and football with the minister

Estonian National Youth Council (ENL) celebrates International Youth Day and welcomes the Year of Youth tomorrow, on the 12th of August in a student town Tartu. The celebration program includes fire show, quizzes, sports games, DJs, known bands of Estonia and also a Brazilian theater-performance. The workshops held during the day vary from fishing and juggling works shop to film making or European Parliament simulations.

ENL's member organizations gather together to the youth organizations fair, Estonian Gaid Association is renting people in the frame of the project "Living Library" where people can borrow people instead of books and learn more about differences and develop their tolerance.

Traditionally there will be a football match between the Ministry of Education and Research and Estonian National Youth Council. The Minister of Education and Research has been playing for years together with advisors, chancellors and ministry officials. ENL's team consists on youth organizations activists.

The main topic of the International Youth Day in Estonia is "Find your way!". ENL is gathering together entertainment, youth information, youth organizations, hobby courses, youth centers etc in order to help young people find a suitable way to realize him/herself.

"The best benefit for young people is that they can get a lot of valuable information from one location - starting from what kind of interesting youth organizations there are, how to join them, what kind of youth projects are happening and also learning how to raise their own competitiveness. It is also simply fun event and a great way to spend a nice summer day and celebrate international youth day, " comments ENL's chairman Ott Heidmets.

"The deeper meaning of it for us is to remind everybody to consider young people before making any decisions or planning projects - this goes for government officials, private companies, teachers and everybody else. We want to promote that young people should be an equal partner as from them naturally depends the development of the country. We motivate everybody for a bigger co-operation, find each other and find their own place and way of doing thigs," adds Heidmets.

Estonian National Youth Council (Eesti Noorteühenduste Liit; ENL) is an umbrella organization that unites 49 Estonian youth organizations. ENL's main goals are to represent youth organizations, shape a supporting public opinion and to develop legislative environment. ENL supports active participation of youth and also represents members' youth political interests in Estonia and in the international level. ENL has been celebrating International Youth Day from the year of 2002.

More information:
Meelika Jürisaar
Estonian National Youth Council
GSM: +372 50 41 258
E-mail: meelika@enl.ee
www.enl.ee
www.noortepaev.com

President of World Youth Assembly sends greetings on international youth day

2010-08-11

I extend greetings to all the youth and youth leaders on this year's International Youth Day. An exciting eleven years have passed since the celebration of the awareness of Youth on this day.

I wish to congratulate all youth and youth leaders around the world that have made it to this International Youth Day 2010, for it also marks the beginning of the International Year of Youth. This year's them "Dialogue and Mutual understanding" opens my eyes to the last decade of dialogues that the World Assembly of Youth have had. Not forgetting conferences and activities that youth have held worldwide to combat, enforce or encourage the societies in essential topics that govern
our world today. Topics like: Climate, Drug abuse, Gender Equality, Participation for development and ICT to mention a few.

All around the world Youth and youth leaders have gathered to give hope, and this year we can tell it was not in vain. We should continue to support these Dialogues and have a mutual understanding to achieve more of our goals as youth.

As this day marks the beginning of the International Year of Youth, I urge members of the World Assembly of Youth to celebrate the day with youth around them, and bring awareness of how important it is for us to have one voice and understanding.

May we give a hand where our brothers and sisters are falling, may we understand each other and learn to work together, and may we be heard for a brighter future.

Have a happy International Youth Day.
Rt. Hon. Datuk Seri Mohd Ali bin Rustam,
President of the World Assembly
of Youth (WAY)

MEPs Advise Four Month Limit on Youth Unemployment

2010-07-20

The European Parliament has adopted a resolution on promoting youth access to the labour market and strengthening trainee, internship and apprenticeship status. A major element of the resolution is the 'European Youth Guarantee', which aims to ensure that young people throughout Europe do not remain jobless for more than four months. The parliament states that such a guarantee should be established to give every young person in the EU, who has been unemployed for more than four months, the right to a job or apprenticeship.

The resolution was tabled by the Parliament's youngest member, 25 year old Danish MEP Emilie Turunen, who sits as a substitute on the Committee for Employment and Social Affairs. Other areas of the resolution saw a call to set up a 'European Quality Charter on Traineeships', to ensure their educational value and to avoid exploitation. Proposals highlight that the charter should set out time limits, social security benefits and location appropriate minimum allowances for traineeships throughout the EU.

In recent years, the European Youth Forum strives to help strengthen the situation of young people in the labour market through developing good practices on the creation of jobs and decent working conditions for young people. Especially in times of crisis, traineeships must not replace real jobs, and should continue to be educational experiences. The European Youth Forum welcomes proposals for a charter to end exploitation of young people on the labour market through the creation of clear legal requirements for trainees.

Whilst the European Youth Forum sees the idea of a 'European Youth Guarantee' as an important step towards tackling youth unemployment in Europe, there is still much more that the EU could do to tackle the urgent issue of youth unemployment.

Baltic Sea - Young Wildlife Photographer 2010 Competition starts soon

2010-07-12

Guides and Scouts of Finland (SP-FS) are organizing a Baltic Sea - Young Wildlife Photographer 2010 Competition (YWP 2010) in co-operation with WWF and Finnish Nature Photographers Association. The patron of the competition is Tarja Halonen, the President of the Republic of Finland.

The competition is open and free for all 15 to 18-year-olds. It opens already on July 15, 2010 and closes on the 1st of September 2010. The major prize is a Nikon SLR camera package (valued at 3,500 €). Winners of each category will be invited on a cruise to the Archipelago National Park in Finland during the summer of 2011.

All the information about the competition can be found on its website: www.ywp2010.com. There is also a country specified section for each country. General information is in English, but the rules and instruction have been translated to each language.

The competition is in itself an incentive to explore nature, develop oneself as a photographer, learn about the Baltic Sea (from the website) and promote solidarity among partner countries.

HELP campaign introduces sports and smoking contradictions factsheet

2010-07-04

The EU campaign ‘HELP - For a life without tobacco' introduces its new factsheet ‘Sport and Smoking: A Contradiction!' which is available for download on the Help website at http://www.help-eu.com/pages/download/press-releases/en/sports-smoking.pdf.

"Smoking impairs physical performance and is the most significant preventable cause of disease and early death in the European Union. Tobacco smoke is a complex poisonous mixture of over 4800 chemicals, of which at least 250 are toxic or carcinogenic. By contrast, regular sport improves health, reduces the probability of starting to smoke, and is an important means of helping people to quit the habit. So smoking and sport don't go together, and not only in competitive sport," is reported in the anti smoking campaign.

The 'HELP - For a lie without tobacco' program is also strongly critical towards tobacco industries who have been offensively using sport competitions to promote its products.

Constitutional Committee of Parliament supports the discussion over the integrated youth policy

2010-06-21

The Constitutional Committee of Estonian Parliament (Riigikogu) announced on Friday the 18th of June 2010 in reply to Estonian National Youth Council's (ENL) proposal to organise a discussion in the topic of integrated youth policy as a joint meeting of the Consitutional Committee and Cultural Affairs Committee that it supports such meeting.

Committee says in it's letter that the most important topics that should need attention are the reasons of school drop-outs, youth unemployment, discrimination of young people and the rights of youth and children. The chairman of the Consitutional Committee, Väino Linde, also says in his letter that the Committee doesn't support the discussions about th possible lowering of the voting age as a separate topic in this meeting at present time.

ENL made a proposal to the Consitutional Committee and Cultural Affairs Committee of Riigikogu to hold a joint meeting in April this year.

Estonian Parliament adopted a new Youth Work Act

2010-06-21

The Parliament of Estonia (Riigikogu) adopted a new Youth Work Act on Thursday 17th of June 2010. 83 members out of 101 voted for it, none of the delegates voted against the new law. The first Youth Work Act after Estonia's reindependence was adopted by Riigikogu in 1999. Since then the Act has remained unchanged, except minor changes.

Estonian National Youth Council made it's first amendments to Youth Work Act in 2005. It has been a very long process of preparing the new Youth Work Act which has been coordinated by the Ministry of Education and Research. In the ministry and in parliament long debates and discussions were hold before the adoption of the new law.

The new Youth Work Act wil take effect from the 1st of Septmeber 2010. For the first time in the history of Estonian youth policy local youth councils and their rights as well as the national youth council are defined by law. The definition of youth organisation is also changed. The act changes the definition and defines the principles of youth work and the regulation of youth camps, youth organisation's annual support etc.

Young people is deifined in Estonia as a person aged between 7 and 26 years of age.

Logo and slogan for the International Year of Youth launched!

2010-06-07

A logo and a slogan for the International Year of Youth have been launched. The slogan was chosen to be "Our Year. Our Voice.".

The Year starts on 12 August 2010 and is geared to promote the contribution made by youth and to encourage governments to do more to support youth participation in development. To learn more and to find out what youth can do to celebrate the Year, become a friend of the UN Programme on Youth at www.facebook.com/UNyouth.

For more updates on the International Year of Youth, please see the latest edition of Youth Flash, which is available at http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/flash.htm.

HELP' Youth Declaration on Tobacco Control was drafted and adopted

2010-05-26

‘HELP' Youth Declaration on Tobacco Control was drafted and adopted by all participants of the EC ‘Help' Student Network Meeting taking place in Riga from 5-7 May 2010.

87 participants representing 59 EU youth and student organizations from 24 EU Member States drafted a youth declaration based on the Help experiences and recognizing the steps undertaken by European and national bodies in the field of tobacco control but urging EU institutions, national authorities as well as NGOs to follow their recommendations concerning the problems associated with tobacco addiction.

Read the declaration here!

Enter! project website launched

2010-05-26

Enter! project website has been launched and it is available in English and French at: http://www.coe.int/enter. The website contains up-to-date information on the development of the long term training course for youth workers, the core of the project, and other activities aimed at identifying and developing youth policy approaches. The project aims at sharing experiences and develop innovative and effective youth work and youth policy responses to exclusion, discrimination and violence affecting young people in multicultural disadvantaged neighbourhoods.

You might find particularly interesting the description of the thirty ongoing projects run by the participants of the Enter! course with young people, based on active participation, intercultural learning and human rights education. The projects of the participants would serve in the end as a basis for a policy recommendation on the access of young people to social rights.

The Enter!project is the most visible dimension of the work priority "Social Cohesion and Inclusion of Young People" of the Directorate of Youth and Sport of the Council of Europe.

Second phase of structured dialogue begins

2010-05-17

National Working Groups of the Structured Dialogue on Youth are invited to launch the second phase of the national consultations process. The first phase of national consultation was held in each Member State to provide an overview of young people's expectations. The process was finalised in the build-up to the Spanish EU Youth Conference in Jerez, Spain, on 13-15th April. The second phase of the national consultations should identify concrete measures to address the identified priorities.

The theme for the period from January 2010-June 2011 set by the Trio Presidency is youth employment. Amongst the priorities identified during the Spanish EU Youth Conference were the needs to recognise non-formal education outcomes and to support new ideas to provide access to loans and EU funding programmes. Also, protecting young people against precarious contracts was seen as a particular concern for young people from all over Europe, as well as the need to support and promote voluntary activities. The third phase of the structured dialogue will aim for political implementation of the agreed concrete measures.

The European Steering Committee of the Structured Dialogue, of which the European Youth Forum is part, invites the National Working Groups to implement national consultations and to present their outcomes by the 5th of September.

Spanish Precidency youth event started

2010-04-14

Today, the EU Youth Conference on youth employment and social inclusion, organised under the Spanish Presidency, started and will last till 15th of April in Jerez, Spain. The aim of the conference is mainly to contribute to the process of the Structured Dialogue on youth. More specifically, the information from National consultations will be discussed and used in an attempt to define the priorities and objectives of policies to improve employment conditions and access to the labour market for young Europeans.

In November 2009, the Resolution on the renewed framework for the European cooperation in the youth field was approved by the Council of Ministers. Among its guiding principles was the need for a continuous structured dialogue with young people and youth organisations.

The EU Youth Conferences play a key role in this process, and it was decided by the European Steering Committee that youth employment would be the common theme of the three EU Youth Conferences of the current trio presidency. After the Spanish conference, the Belgian conference will deal with the measures and instruments used. The Hungarian conference will finalise the actions and conclude the process.

From Estonian National Youth Council Chairman Ott Heidmets, Executive Director Anni Kuller and Youth Policy Officer Martti Martinson are participating.

The Commission sets youth priorities for 2010

2010-04-14

On the 31st March, the European Commission unveiled its Work Programme for 2010 and beyond. The plan sets the annual objectives of the Commission and defines the concrete policy measures intended to achieve them. Recognising the heavy impact of the economic crisis on young people, the Commission formulates several initiatives directly aimed at youth issues.

As it elaborates its flagship initiatives for EU 2020, the Commission will present 'Youth on the move'. This new initiative aims to specify measures to improve the quality and reinforce the attractiveness of Europe's higher education. More mobility programmes, such as "ERASMUS for young entrepreneurs", and their accessibility to young Europeans are the main priorities. The existing 'Lifelong Learning' and 'Youth in Action' programmes will be drawn together in support.

The Commission also plans proposals to guide Member States to better recognition of informal and non-formal learning, as well as measures to tackle the issue of early school leaving. Lastly, a communication on youth employment is intended to increase job opportunities for young people, explore how to ease the transition from education to the labour market, and further promote training and apprenticeships.

The European Youth Forum is encouraged by these initiatives. In its proposals for a new Youth Agenda, the European Youth Forum called on the EU to make all possible efforts to prevent the increasing unemployment of youth and to cutting early school leaving. Expanding and improving the quality of mobility programmes were also requested, as well as support for the development of a framework for quality assurance in Non-Formal Education, in cooperation with youth organisations.

Video: Why do we need youth rights convention?

2010-03-28

Estonian National Youth Council's, Finnish Youth Council Allianssi's, student bodies' and other national youth councils' representatives talk about why it is needed to agree and work on youth rights and raise awareness about the issue.

Youth Rights from European Youth Forum on Vimeo.

Budget cuts in Council of Europe hit hard on youth organisations

2010-03-16

The Joint Council on Youth of the Council of Europe decided in its bi-annual statutory meeting in Strasbourg to transfer the costs of the five European Youth Foundation Secretariat posts from the ordinary budget to that of the European Youth Foundation.

This decision of the Joint Council - composed of the Advisory Council on Youth and the Government representatives signatory to the Cultural Convention - was made under the pressure of a proposal coming from the new Secretary-General for budget cuts in all sectors. It significantly reduces the money allocated for youth organisations and was made upon the condition that the Secretariat of the Directorate of Youth and Sport of the Council of Europe checks the necessity of a statutory revision of the Foundation. The agreement also included a request that no more than 15% of the budget be allocated to staff costs in the future.

The Joint Council agreed to recommend States to increase their "obligatory" contributions to the Foundation. This, however, seemed quite an unlikely option to most governments because of the budgetary strains affecting countries in a time of economic crisis. The Advisory Council on Youth of the Council of Europe regretted its decision in a statement outlining that "...these budget reductions have strongly affected the decision-making capacity of the co-management system".

The budget cuts, drastically decreasing the amount of money distributed to youth organisations by the institution, are occurring in times of preparation for reform in the continent's largest human rights watchdog. So as to allow the Secretary-General more flexibility to follow specific priorities for the struggling institution, a proposal of a new priority pool of flagship projects has been put forward. The budget cuts affecting the different sectors of the institution are partly due to the need to finance such a priority pool. The Joint Council on Youth proposed a large Peace Ambassadors Project for the Secretary-General to consider when making the decision on which projects to choose from the intended priority pool.

EP urges Commission to tackle Youth Unemployment

2010-03-16

On the 10th March, the European Parliament passed a resolution urging the Commission to make combating youth unemployment a priority.

The resolution was a follow-up of the 11th February Informal European Council, organised by President Herman Van Rompuy in which the details and focus of the EU 2020 strategy were discussed by EU Heads of State. In its paragraph 32 and within its broader section on the promotion of SMEs and jobs, the resolution demands of the Commission to pay particular attention to youth unemployment. It is also noted that unemployment is a core issue to be taken into consideration in the context of the crisis and calls for an ambitious EU social agenda. Early school leaving, fostering lifelong learning and gender mainstreaming are seen as key concerns.

Finally, Member States are encouraged to create more training opportunities and internships for young people, and to protect their youth against unfair employment practices.

The European Youth Forum has been calling for a strong approach to combating youth unemployment in the EU 2020 strategy. In February, Giuseppe Porcaro, Secretary-General of the European Youth Forum, together with a delegation from the Spanish Youth Council, met with Spanish Minister for Labour and Immigration Celestino Corbacho Chaves in Madrid to discuss the issue. Furthermore, the European Youth Forum wrote an open letter to Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Laszlo Andor, in which it urged to make the current situation of unprecedentedly high youth unemployment a priority of the Commission.

European Youth Forum is not satisfied with political declaration on women's issues

2010-03-08

On the occasion of International Women's Day, the European Youth Forum (YFJ) highlights its concern regarding the weak political declaration adopted on March 2nd as an outcome of the UN Commission on the Status of Women's (CSW) 54th session in New York. The session is examining the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, 15 years after it was adopted.

"The outcome document of the CSW's 54th session fails to strengthen the commitments undertaken in Beijing. The fact that effective implementation is still not achieved in key areas of life for young women, such as education and training and sexual and reproductive health and rights, will certainly not be contributing to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals", said Tine Radinja, President of the European Youth Forum.

The YFJ calls for a more integrated approach among EU Policies in the areas of education, youth, health, non-discrimination and equality in the follow-up of the EU Roadmap for equality between women and men, and for the effective implementation of existing instruments at the Council of Europe level, so as to achieve the objectives agreed upon in Beijing in 1995.

Although some effective indicators have been established at the EU level, a real need still exists to develop further the Beijing indicators related to education and training for both women and men, including those on Non-Formal Education and Sex Education.

Notes to the editor:

The Beijing Platform for Action was adopted in 1995 at the Fourth World Conference on Women, convened by the United Nations. The Platform for Action concentrates on key issues identified as obstacles to the advancement of women around the world. The Commission on the Status of Women 54th Session (02-13 March) is reviewing the status of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, 15 years on.

Some facts: Education - Whilst the proportion of women studying subjects such as education and teacher training is very high in all EU countries (almost 70% on average at the EU level), less than 40% women on average at EU level study science, mathematics, and computing. Even less (30% on average) study engineering or manufacturing (Eurostat - Key data on education in Europe 2009).
Health - Girls are 1.6 times less likely to use condoms than boys (IPPF-Y safe research report - sex and young people in Europe)

YFJ has launched Youth Policy Watch

2010-02-19

2010 promises to be a decisive year for young people in Europe and in the world more generally. At the same time, there seem not to be enough information about youth available!

To fill the gap, the European Youth Forum has designed a new tool that aims to keep track of the latest news concerning young people, and provide a new easily accessible source of information on any recent youth policies at a European level. This new bulletin will monitor and relate any political decisions and events that have particular significance for youth, as well as provide an overview of the European media's coverage of the latest most relevant news topics.

Subscribe to Youth Policy Watch on www.youthforum.org!

In the first issue: while the UN has proclaimed 2010 to be the International year of Youth, unemployment rates of young people are at their highest since the late 1990s, and European leaders seem to believe that the answer to the financial crisis in Europe is more investment in education.

To read the first issue of the Youth Policy Watch, click here.

Shadow Elections was chosen to be civic society action of 2009

2010-02-09

Network of Estonian Nonprofit Organizations (NENO) traditionally recognizes people, organizations and actions with the award of The Actor of The Civic Society of The Year. NENO also awarded Estonian National Youth Council (ENL) on the 9th of February in the Parliament of Estonia. Estonian National Youth Council and Tartu Youth Council were awarded for civic activities concerning elections. ENL's member organization Estonian Debating Society also got an award in the same category organizing trainings in critical thinking and recognizing arguments and debates with politicians.

The event took place for the 14th time and competition had 41 candidates. NENO awarded a non profit organization of the Year, a private company of the year, representative of the government sector, mission person of the year and action of the year.

Action of the year in civic society was the category ENL was awarded together with PRAXIS Center for Policy Studies, Estonian Debating Society, Transparency International (Estonia), E-Governance Academy and Tartu Youth Council.

Gallery of the awarding ceremony here!

Shadow Elections was nominated to be the best youth project by Tartu

2010-01-12

Tartu City Government was awarding youth work projects and youth workers on the 15th of December 2009. Estonian National Youth Council got the award of best youth project of 2009 with Shadow Elections.

The best youth organization award went to Tartu Local Youth Council who was also our partner during organizing Shadow Elections.

A great encouragement for us which keeps us motivated to think big and even bigger for 2011 when there will be government elections in Estonia.

Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Shadow Elections in Tartu successful - 42 % participation

2010-01-12

Estonian National Youth Council (Eesti Noorteühenduste Liit - ENL) and Tartu Local Youth Council (Tartu Noortevolikogu - TNV) organized as a pilot project shadow elections in Tallinn and Tartu from 5th till 8th of October 2009 in order to raise awareness among young people and motivate them to participate in elections and public issues.

The participation rate in Tartu was 42 per cent from all the young people who had the possibility to participate. In Tartu 1392 young people shadow-voted from the possible 3316. The project was organized in 15 schools - in each school students could vote during one day in the breaks.

Shadow elections in such extent and format were organized for the first time in Estonia. Therefore the result is good and such participation percentage shows that repeating shadow elections could break the myth as if young people do not care what is happening around them.

ENL's opinion is that mostly low youth participation is caused by unattractive ways. It is natural that a 15 year old will not enjoy offer of participation when it's done in bureaucratic way.

If it's easy, clear and interesting, young people will take part of it!

A lot of grownups get confused in the sea of bureaucracy and political games, therefore if to play with the idea, such project could be useful for many grownups as well - makes democracy it understandable finally!

15 participated schools in Tartu had one day of shadow elections in each. If the voting boxes would have stayed more days in every schools (let's say two or three) then the voting participation could have been even higher.

Even though the project by participation number failed in the capital (Tallinn) due misunderstandings with the City Government, it also made clear that participation for young people can be successfully organized only if it's easily reachable. Therefore organizing such citizen educational projects in school is natural and productive. To attract young people somewhere where they normally do not go is more complicated and expensive (campaigns, motivating, reaching the youth etc). The same truth is in the agenda with the real elections - participation rate goes down with very bad weather, E-voting is getting rapidly more and more popular etc.

Human being is lazy by nature, it is a sad truth, but considering people are never perfect and accepting this, we can be over the lazyness :)

--
Text translated from ENL's blog post

2010 International Year of Youth: 365 days of Youth!

2010-01-12

The United Nations General Assembly has proclamed 2010 as the International Year of Youth, starting from 12 August 2010, International Youth Day.

Many challenges await the European Youth Forum and young people in Europe in the year to come, including fighting youth unemployment, promoting youth participation and supporting the work of youth organisations in Europe. Many Governments committed themselves to the Year at the UN GA in New York, 2010 is here and we're really looking forward to what they want to achieve!

European Youth Forum will continue the efforts to have a Convention for the Rights of Young People in Europe within the Council of Europe and work in cooperation with the EU for a renewed European Youth Pact that will allow young to be empowered to take an active role in the recovering from the economic crisis, in line with the objectives of the post-2010 Lisbon framework.

In the occasion of the World Youth Conference set to take place in Mexico in August 2010, European Youth will reinforce its cooperation with other regional youth platforms, promoting a more sustainable and fair future for all.

Estonian National Youth Council (ENL) has celebrated International Youth Day already 7 years, which makes it a tradition for ENL that has been kept since establishing ENL.

A New Arena for Youth Policy in the European Parliament

2009-12-11

European Youth Forum
10.12.2009
Press Release

A New Arena for Youth Policy in the European Parliament

A new era for youth issues has started. The European Parliament, for the first time in its history has adopted a new instrument to better address the expectations and need of young people. On 10 December, following the decision of the Political Groups, support was given for the creation of a transversal intergroup on Youth.

The elected Members of the European Parliament are going to face several challenges in the field of youth during their upcoming five years term of office. The newly created intergroup will gather Member of the European Parliament across political parties and parliamentary committees to discuss and encourage the active participation of young people, their transition from education to employment and their mobility, among other issues.

The creation of an intergroup on Youth Issues for the 2009-2014 legislative term is building on the adoption of the European Parliament written declaration (33/2008) on devoting more attention to youth empowerment in EU policies and on the regular cooperation of the European Youth Forum with several Members of the European Parliament.

"The European Youth Forum welcomes this move towards a stronger involvement of the European parliament in youth policies," declared Tine Radinja, President of the European Youth Forum.

"With the establishment of an intergroup on Youth, the Members of the European Parliament are ready to become the champions of a true cross-sector youth policy approach, considering all aspects of young people living in Europe in their work and strengthening the role of the European Parliament in the youth policy area."

"We are looking forward to further cooperation with the European Parliament to continue empowering young people to actively participate in the society they live in, give them the space and the opportunity to articulate their concerns and equip them with the necessary tools to become active citizens."