Concept Outline

 

1. INTRODUCTION

The Slovenian presidency of the Council of the European Union in cooperation with the European Commission and European External Action Service is organizing the fifth Eastern Partnership Youth Forum under the title of "Youth participation in democratic processes". The forum will take place online on 23 and 24 November as a side-event of the forthcoming Eastern Partnership Summit in Brussels on the 15 of December 2021.

Around 250 youth workers, active and critically minded young people and youth policy-makers from the Eastern Partnership countries, the European Union, and EU member states will have a unique opportunity to discuss achievements and challenges regarding the youth policies in the Eastern Neighbourhood region and the European Union. Participants will be encouraged to share good practices, experiences and proposals in the field of youth participation in democratic processes with the aim to enhance an inclusive platform for youth participation in line with the 9th EU Youth goal – "Space and participation for All". Linkages to ongoing initiatives will be promoted, such as the upcoming EU Action Plan on Youth in External Action and the “New Deal for Youth” of the post-2020 policy agenda of the Eastern Partnership.

The 6th Eastern Partnership Summit is taking place after a 4 year gap and after the COVID-19 pandemic that plagued Europe and the world in 2020 and 2021. The March 2020 Joint Communication “Eastern Partnership policy beyond 2020” set out the next generation of policy priorities, stating also that “The EaP Youth Forum will play an even greater role and become better integrated in structured youth policy dialogue within a network of EaP youth councils, modelled on the EU-internal youth structured dialogue.” After the July 2021 Joint Staff Working Document on “Recovery, Resilience and Reform: post-2020 Eastern Partnership priorities”, the summit will confirm the new policy framework with a new set of common objectives for the future of the Eastern Partnership process.

 

2. THEME

It is widely acknowledged and continually emphasized that youth involvement in political, social and economic processes is an essential element of citizenship in a democratic society and has a strong and positive impact in ensuring effective and sustainable socio-economic development. Youth participation is a strategic tool of a functioning democracy and a prerequisite for future-oriented policies. As an endless source of energy and innovative solutions, young people bear enormous potential and transformative power. Removing obstacles and facilitating their active civic engagement is essential to the benefit of the whole of society.

The main THEME of the 5th Eastern Partnership Youth Forum is centred around establishing an inclusive environment and adequate conditions aiming to achieve the meaningful participation of young people in democratic processes.

 

3. OBJECTIVES, TOPICS and EXPECTED OUTCOMES

The main OBJECTIVES of the forum include:

• engaging young people in a dialogue on best practices, challenges and opportunities in enabling youth participation in democratic processes;
• enabling mutual learning, inspiration and motivation for future actions for the participants;
• fostering dialogue and exchange of views between the EU institutions, EU MS and Eastern Partners in support of youth participation;
• feeding the discussion on the future role of youth in the Eastern Partnership.

 

The key TOPICS of the 5th EaP Youth Forum include:

• perspectives on implementing the Youth Goal #9 "Space and participation" for all EaP countries;
• state-of-play and future prospects of youth policy under the Eastern Partnership;
• political participation of youth as means to upholding European values & democracy;
• establishing conditions for meaningful youth participation.

 

Expected OUTCOMES of the Youth Forum:

• Providing a summary of developments and outcomes from previous EaP Youth Forum events;
• Delivering conclusions and recommendations in line with four thematic workshops to be shared with the relevant stakeholders after the event.

 

4. WORKSHOP CONCEPTs

DAY 1

WORKSHOP 1: Space and participation for all in EU and EaP countries

The idea of the workshop is to present the outcomes of the recent EU Youth Conference in Maribor, Slovenia, on the implementation of the Youth Goal #9 “Space and Participation for all” and explore the challenges/opportunities/best practices for the implementation of the goal in the Eastern Partnership countries. The Youth Goal #9 “Space and Participation for all” aims at strengthening young people’s democratic participation and autonomy as well as provide dedicated youth spaces in all areas of society. Young people are underrepresented in decision-making processes that affect them. Yet their engagement is crucial to democracy. They need access to physical spaces in their communities to support their personal, cultural and political development.

The topic of the workshop shall be addressed in 3 groups as follows:

• Sub-Group 1: Challenges
• Sub-Group 2: Opportunities
• Sub-Group 3: Existing/best practices

 

WORKSHOP 2: The Future of the EaP Youth Policy

The idea of the workshop is to present the state-of-play of the upcoming documents/initiatives relevant for the future of the EaP Youth Policy and invite participants to provide input/feedback to the draft proposals/concepts.

The topic of the workshop shall be addressed in 3 groups as follows:

• Sub-Group 1: Action Plan on Youth in External Action
• Sub-Group 2: The New Deal for Youth – youth participation and leadership
• Sub-Group 3: The New Deal for Youth – economic dimension

 

DAY 2

WORKSHOP 3: Political participation of youth as means to upholding European values & democracy

The workshop is inspired by the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership study on young people’s political participation and stems from the recognition of young people’s role in upholding European values & democracy. The rationale behind the workshop refers to the respect for shared fundamental values as the basic concept and foundation of the partnership between EU and Eastern Partners. The EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership study reads that political participation today is taking place within the context of a shrinking space for civil society, rapid development of digital technologies, rise of populist ideologies, increased inequalities, changing role of media and diffusion of fake news. The aim of the workshop is to explore and identify ways and practices of youth’s political participation as means to upholding European values & democracy in a rapidly changing environment.

The topic of the workshop shall be addressed in 3 groups along levels of participation (local, national and regional):

• Sub-Group 1: Political participation of young people at local community level – challenges and opportunities
• Sub-Group 2: Political participation of young people at national level – challenges and opportunities
• Sub-Group 3: Political participation of young people at international level as a mean to upholding European values & democracy

 

WORKSHOP 4: Conditions for meaningful youth participation

The idea, inspired by the Council of Europe's RMSOS model, is based on five key conditions and on the principle that meaningful youth participation can only take place when the right conditions have been created and all actors involved in participatory work have been given the responsibility to ensure that these conditions are in place. The workshop will therefore aim to identify missing/weak conditions and find out how they can be improved, addressed or enforced. As a result, priority areas can be jointly identified where better support might be needed to ensure full participation of young people in the Eastern Partnership.

The topic of the workshop shall be addressed in 3 groups along priority areas with possible intersections:

• Sub-Group 1: Rights
• Sub-Group 2: Means & Space
• Sub-Group 3: Opportunity & Support