2022 - The year for us! The European Year of Youth
source: https://europa.eu/youth/news/launch-of-european-year-of-youth-page-0_en
By Leonie Klüver, 5 minutes.
Do you know that 2022 is the European Year of Youth? Have you ever participated in or benefited from an EU initiative specifically supporting the European youth? For example, the Erasmus+ program? Are you curious about the European Year of Youth and maybe how you can get involved? This article discusses what it is, why it was founded, and how you can participate!
Every year the EU decides upon a theme of action that will be emphasized to create awareness and shift behaviours of EU citizens and national governments throughout the year. On 15 September 2021, the EU announced that 2022 would be the European Year of Youth. The EU recognized the need to give young Europeans a platform to speak up, reflect, and engage with EU politics especially considering the impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the inequalities in opportunities among young people. Under the slogan to shine a light on the importance of European youth to build a better future - greener, more inclusive, and digital, the European Year of Youth has three main goals. Firstly, it aims to draw inspiration for EU policies from the youth's actions, visions, and insights. Secondly, the year is dedicated to listening to the youth and considering their needs and concerns. Lastly, the EU hopes to support the youth this year by developing practical and inclusive opportunities.
Another focus of the Year of Youth is to make it accessible for everyone. There is a strong emphasis on an inclusive, supporting, and empowering year for the entire European youth to promote participation but especially a sense of belonging. Thus, the EU defined its target group focusing on the youth:
with fewer opportunities,
from disadvantaged and diverse backgrounds;
from vulnerable and marginalized groups; or
from rural, remote, peripheral, and less-developed areas and outermost regions.
In addition to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, questions about a green transition to fight climate change, and a safe environment in times of digitalization are topics that are pressing for all but dictate the future of all young Europeans. Hence, the year attempts to restore positive perspectives for the youth by including them indirectly in EU policies. But how exactly is the year structured? What are the initiatives? Is there already a visible impact?
Across the EU and beyond, there are thousands of activities this year, ranging from a conference style to online panel talks, touching on numerous topics. The EU does not organize all these activities, but rather the EU cooperates with organizations, associations, NGOs, etc., that all work on facilitating and promoting the European project. The ECA is also part of the European Year of Youth and has organized several events in the past months for example, on Careers in Diplomacy or Consultancies in EU policy-making. If you are curious about upcoming events, you can check out the European Year of Youth website to learn about events in your area, or if you are in Maastricht, become an ECA member and participate in our events.
Of course, events are only a part of this year's project. There are thousands of initiatives on various policy topics in which the youth plays an active part. For example, in the category ‘Green’ there are 14 initiatives that discuss green energy, waste and recycling, clean oceans, pollution, and nature protection. For example, as part of the European Climate Pact, you can become a Young Climate Pact Ambassador. With the support of the Commission through the provision of knowledge, visibility, and a platform, you can become active in your community to promote the protection of our climate. In the ‘Youth and the world’ category, you can play an advisory role for Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen and the DG International Partnerships. In other initiatives, the youth is more actively and visibly considered without the possibility of the youth being a part of it. Nonetheless, with the variety of topics in which the Youth are considered and actively consulted, the visibility of the youth is tremendously increased. Of course, this article did not touch even closely on all initiatives so if you want to learn about all of the initiatives visit the website of the European Year of Youth!
source: https://youthvoices.eu/#/
It can be quite challenging to be heard by anyone in the EU that can implement your concerns and ideas into legislation. Maybe almost impossible. That is why the platform youth voices was created in which everyone can record a voice note. Categorized by topics, you can make your voice heard about, for example, European values, Art and Culture, Employment, Green, Inclusion, etc. At the Youth Closing Event on 6 December 2022, the voices will be presented in front of EU officials and the messages considered for upcoming legislation. So why don't you make your voice heard on the platform after finishing this article?
Already in 2010, long before the EYY, the EU developed its first Youth Strategy. In 2019 the EU renewed the Youth Strategy until 2017. The Youth Strategy focuses on three core action areas: to engage, connect and empower the European youth. This strategy intends to involve the youth in shaping EU policies, increase transparency on the financial commitment of the EU towards the youth and also make the EU Youth Dialogue more accessible for youth with fewer opportunities. Thereby, the Strategy aims to reduce the inequalities among EU youth and also engage them more intensely in EU policy-making. To make the strategy more specific, the EU and young Europeans identified 11 European Youth Goals:
Connecting EU with Youth
Equality of All Genders
Inclusive Societies
Information & Constructive Dialogue
Mental Health & Wellbeing
Moving Rural Youth Forward
Quality Employment for All
Quality Learning
Space and Participation for All
Sustainable Green Europe
Youth Organizations & European Programmes
To what extent the strategy and the Year of Youth have been successful and made an impact is difficult to determine as the initiatives are only starting to be implemented. Nonetheless, by developing a Strategy and allocating 2022 as the Year of Youth, the EU increases the visibility of youth. Furthermore, considering the initiatives as part of the Year of Youth, we - the young people of the EU - can engage more actively in the decision-making of the EU. Though the long-term influence is uncertain, it is safe to say that the strong emphasis on the youth created awareness across Europe of the need to involve us in decision-making. One thing we ought not to forget: as we start our careers in EU politics, it is up to us to promote the desires, needs, visions, and concerns of the youth.
