The AC Newsletter

Almost six months after the very impor-

tant Ministerial Conference of Ministers

responsible for youth in St. Petersburg

and the Youth Event prior to it, we con-

tinue our work to better facilitate young

people’s access to their rights. Τhe con-

ference’s theme, “Young people’s ac-

cess to their rights: development of in-

novative youth policies”, reflected cru-

cial questions for young people and for

Europe, particularly in this moment of

deep crisis. Right after the Conference,

we worked hard to ensure that the con-

clusions of the Youth Event are imple-

mented and that youth policies are

based on rights and evidence.

In a joint hearing of PACE committees

dealing with youth issues (AS/Cult and

AS/Soc) on 21st January, a draft report was presented based on the Youth Event con-

clusions which appear in the Appendix. We expect that the draft report “young people’s

access to fundamental rights” will re-launch the agenda in a more democratic and par-

ticipatory way. Maria Paschou, Chair of the AC

The best is yet to come!

The Programming Committee on Youth (2012-2013)

The Programming Committee (PC) Youth elected Mr Ruben Loodts

from Young European Federalists (JEF) as its Chair and Ms. Miriam

Teuma from Malta (CDEJ) as Vice-Chair for 2012. Benefiting from a

highly transparent structure and working mechanisms, Ms. Teuma will

be chairing the PC in 2013 and Mr. Loodts will be the Vice-Chair.

February 2013 AC 2012-2013 No. 2 February 2013

The AC Newsletter

In this issue

The Youth Assembly

2012

2

Award Ceremony

“European Drug

2

The Youth Event in St.

Petersburg

2

Roma Youth Action Plan 2

Young People combating

Hate Speech Online

3

Cooperation in the Field

of Youth with Ukraine

3

Flagship Projects 3

Exchange of View Gender

Equality Commission

4

Courtesy Visits 4

The Programming Committee on Youth is a subsidiary co-decision body made up of eight members

each from the CDEJ and the Advisory Council.

It establishes, monitors and evaluates the programmes

of the European Youth Centres and of the European Youth Foundation.

The Youth Assembly 2012

brought together 150 young people

(aged 16-25) from all over Europe

to reflect on youth's current chal-

lenges to democracy and to formu-

late common recommendations on

how young people can better benefit

from, and develop more democratic

and inclusive societies.

On Friday 5 October 2012, the

Youth Assembly was opened by a

plenary session in the Hemicycle of

the Parliamentary Assembly

(Palais de l’Europe building). Af-

ter an official opening session, a

debate took place between young

people and parliamentarians.

The Youth Assembly 2012 - The Strasbourg World Forum for Democracy

The Youth Event in St. Petersburg

Page 2

The AC Newsletter

The Advisory Council on

Youth, together with the

European Youth Forum

and the National Youth

Council of Russia organ-

ised a Youth Event on 22-

23 September 2013 prior to

the 9th European Confer-

ence of Ministers responsi-

ble for Youth. Held in

St.Petersburg at the end of

September, the event car-

ried the same title as the

Ministerial Conference:

“Young people’s access to

rights: development of in-

novative youth policies”.

The event brought together

some 150 youth representa-

tives including representa-

tives of national delega-

tions and representatives

from national youth organi-

sations, national youth

councils, international youth

NGOs and AC members.

Working in plenary sessions

and working groups over

two days, the participants

were able to agree on con-

clusions outlining young

people's proposals for a bet-

ter access to their rights. The

results of the Youth Event

have already been put into

good use and were debated

during the Ministerial Con-

ference itself. The conclu-

sions were also communi-

cated to different bodies of

the Council of Europe, the

Committee of Ministers, the

Secretary General and the

Parliamentary Assembly.

You can find the results

online at http://tinyurl.com/

youtheventresults

Award Ceremony “European Drug

Prevention Prize 2012

Ms. Ivica Alpeza from OBESSU (The Organis-

ing Bureau of European School Student Unions)

and Mr. Gerard Tosserams from YMCA

(European Alliance of Young Men’s Christian

Associations) represented the Advisory Council

on Youth at the Award Ceremony “European

Drug Prevention Prize 2012”, organized by the

Pompidou Group, which took place on 14 No-

vember, 2012 in Strasbourg. Three innovative

winning projects received their Prize 2012 com-

posed of a Diploma, a Trophy and a Prize-

money of € 5,000. The 3 projects received a

certificate of recognition of their work in drug

prevention with the active involvement of

youth. More information about the event and

about the projects available at: http://

www.coe.int/t/dg3/pompidou/default_en.asp

On Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 Oc-

tober, the participants worked in

thematic working groups, and met

in the Youth Centre in Stras-

bourg.

The themes reflected the topics of

the World Forum for Democracy

and partly addressed youth specific

challenges. The event was linked to

The Strasbourg World Forum for

Democracy which brought together

reformers and global leaders to

identify democratic responses to the

economic, social and political chal-

lenges which affect our societies

today. Thorbjørn Jagland, Council

of Europe Secretary General. an-

nounced that “By confronting con-

ventional concepts with new reali-

ties the Forum will gauge how de-

mocracies can satisfy the expecta-

tions of citizens and how they can

be adapted to their different values

and traditions".

The event had strong follow up by

the participants not only during the

World Forum for Democracy itself

but also afterwards by joining to-

gether forces in creating the Euro-

pean Youth Council, a youth-led

think-tank of the youth, by the

youth, and for the youth, that aims

to develop a culture of democracy

and active citizen participation.

Congress resolution on Youth and Democracy

During its meeting in Strasbourg, the AC took note of Mr. Rui Go-

mes' report on the project 'Young People Combating Hate Speech

Online.' In 2012 the project focused on preparatory activities such

as research, education and campaign preparations. Mr. Gomes

reminded the AC that the project, which is one of the flagship

initiatives of the Youth Department of the Council of Europe, is not

about limiting freedom of expression but about creating an

environment allowing all young people to express themselves

without fearing such things as cyber-bullying or cyber-hate.

In 2013, activities like trainings and study sessions will continue,

but the main focus will shift to the campaign aspect of the project:

The No Hate Speech Movement. The European campaign will be

launched in Strasbourg (and online) on March 21 and will continue

for one year, including action days, the creation of activist toolkits

and education packs and a campaign conference. Additionally,

CDEJ members have been invited to take the initiative in setting up

national campaign committees in their countries, in cooperation

with youth organisations and other stakeholders. The campaign is

based upon human rights education, youth participation and media

literacy.

During the Joint Council meeting an expanded follow-up group was

entrusted to advise and support the project, and in particular to

oversee the implementation of the European-level activities and their

budgetary implications. The new follow-up group, including three

members of the AC and three members of the CDEJ, met in Strasbo-

urg January 22-23. The Joint Council also agreed that Mrs. Ilaria

Esposito should follow the campaign in her capacity as Gender

Equality rapporteur.

Young People combating Hate Speech Online

Page 3

AC 2012-2013 No. 2 February 2013

Framework Programme of Cooperation in

the Field of Youth Policy for 2012-2013

(Ukraine)

The Joint Council in its November

2012 meeting, approved the Frame-

work Programme of Co-operation

between the Council of Europe’s

Youth Department and the State

Agency for Youth and Sport of

Ukraine for 2012-2013 with the

amendments proposed by the

Advisory Council. The Framework

Programme will contribute to the

development of youth policy in

Ukraine, primarily on matters

pertaining to the development of

youth mobility, participation of

youth in the life of the society,

recognition of cultural diversity,

struggle against all forms of

discrimination, and promotion and

strengthening of healthy life styles

among children and youth. The

2012 and 2013 activities under the

Framework Programme of Co-

operation include the following

activities: a “50-50” training course

on youth policy development in

Ukraine (2012), a training course

for trainers and multipliers on

human rights education in Ukraine

(2012, the e-publication and

nationwide dissemination of the

Ukrainian version of Compass

(2012 - 2013), International review

of the Ukrainian national youth

policy (2012-2013), national and

international hearings on the youth

policy review (2013), an interim

evaluation meeting of the co-

operation activities carried out in

2012 (2013), a training course for

youth leaders and youth workers

on participation (2013), printing

and nationwide dissemination of

the manual “Have Your Say!” in

Ukrainian (2013), a national semi-

nar on young people’s access to

social rights (2013), strategic

evaluation of the cooperation and

preparation of 2014-2015 (2013).

During the meeting in Stras-

bourg in November, the Ad-

visory Council endorsed

new proposals regarding

flagship projects for 2014-

2015. The themes proposed

for flagship projects should

include the issue of young

people’s access to the labour

market and the right to

work, youth participation as

well as gender equality. The

Joint Bureaus meeting held

in January 2013, agreed on

two proposals which should

be further promoted and

these are “Beyond the Crisis:

young people’s access to

rights” and “Youth partici-

pation in decision-making on

local and regional levels”.

These two proposals should

be adopted by the Joint

Council in April 2013.

Flagship Projects

In its 23rd Session on 17

October 2012, the Congress

of Local and Regional Au-

thorities of the Council of

Europe adopted Resolution

346(2012) “Youth and De-

mocracy: the changing face

of youth political engage-

ment”.The AC Chair was

invited to make a 10 minute

intervention on the topic.

During the intervention

special attention was given

to 3 aspects, that: 1) partici-

pation in democratic life

and political engagement of

young people should in no

way be minimalised and

limited only to voting, 2)

the online participation, its

importance but also the

need to be structured and

understood as a tool not a

means in itself, 3) the role

of local and regional youth

councils is crucial but not

limitless. In addition, the AC

Chair stressed that the co-

management system should

be promoted at the local and

regional level and thus en-

courage youth participation

in all democratic processes.

As a result, the final Resolu-

tion states “opportunities

should be offered to young

people to enter into a struc-

tured dialogue with local

and regional authorities

and to participate in politics

and policy-making by set-

ting up joint decision-

making mechanisms, mir-

roring the Council of

Europe’s co-management

system, in the form of joint

councils composed of

elected local/regional coun-

cilors and youth representa-

tives”.

The Advisory Council (AC) is made up of 30 representatives

from youth NGOs and networks who can formulate opinions

and proposals on any question concerning youth dealt with

in the Council of Europe. With its governmental partner –

the European Steering Committee for Youth (CDEJ) – it

forms the Joint Council on Youth (CMJ) to develop a

common position on the political priorities and programme

of the youth sector. The next meeting of the AC will take pla-

ce at the European Youth Center in Budapest- 3 – 5 April.

The AC Newsletter

Before the Bureau meeting of 24-25

January 2013, the AC Chair, Maria

Paschou, had the opportunity to meet

with different personalities in the CoE to

further strengthen cooperation with the

different bodies. The AC Chair met the

Commissioner for Human Right Mr. Nils

Muiznieks and discussed with him the

support he could give to Campaign

“Youth People combating Hate Speech

Online” and to the implementation of the

Youth Event results. The Commissioner

expressed his willingness to meet the

National Coordination Bodies of the

Campaign during his visits to the Mem-

ber States and he was very interested to

discuss further with the AC the the case-

compilation regarding violation of young

people’s rights which the AC had re-

ceived from the European Court of Hu-

man Rights and was hoping to receive

from the European Social Charter Depart-

ment.

Maria Paschou also met Ambassador

Luís Filipe Castro Mendes (Portugal),

Chair of the Rapporteur Group on Educa-

tion, Culture, Sport, Youth and Environ-

ment (GR-C) with whom she discussed

the results of the Ministerial Conference

and the Youth Event and the forthcoming

Hearing in the GR-C (14 March 2013) in

the presence of the two Chairs of the CoE

statutory bodies concerned with youth

(the CDEJ and the Advisory Council).

The AC Chair also met the Secretary

General of the Congress, Mr. Andreas

Kiefer and exchanged views on how the

implementation of the Congress resolu-

tion 346(2012) “Youth and Democracy:

the changing face of youth political en-

gagement” could be further promoted.

Courtesy Visits

Youth Portal of the Council of Europe:

http://www.coe.int/youth

Fiind us on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/AdvisoryCouncilOnYouth

Email address to contact us:

[email protected]

The 2nd edition of the AC Newsletter for the current mandate has been compiled by

Adina Marina CALAFATEANU – AC Member – Center for Sustainable Community Development – Romania

Ilaria Esposito - AC Member - World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts

Maria PASCHOU – AC Chair – Hellenic National Youth Council

Mihai Floran – AC Bureau Member - JECI-MIEC European Coordination

Exchange of Views between the

Gender Equality Commission and

the General Equality Rapporteurs

“In each committee there should be a goal set

in relation to gender equality” (The Chair of

GEC). The Transversal Programme on Gender

Equality was launched by the Secretary Gen-

eral to improve the visibility and impact of the

Council of Europe’s work on gender equality

in the member states; to move from legal

equality to real equality as member states

were called upon to do by the Committee of

Ministers in its Declaration, «Making Gender

Equality a Reality». The programme has

several objectives, including the mainstream-

ing of gender equality at the level of policy

and practice in the member states and within

the Council of Europe. In this context, the

programme will seek to mobilise all Council

of Europe bodies and its external partners.

The Gender equality rapporteur for the youth

sector (representing the Joint Council on

Youth) is a member of the AC – Ms Ilaria

Esposito. She was invited to share what was

happening within the Joint Council and what

attempts were being made to mainstream gen-

der equality. An unveiled context analysis was

requested since the GEC needed to see clearly

how to work in certain contexts and with

which strategy. The debate moved around the

experience of the Gender equality rapporteur;

the biggest subject on the agenda of the youth

sector; the expectations the Joint Council had

regarding the GEC or cooperation with other

committees and the possibility to invite a

representative of the GEC to the Joint council

meetings. As GER for the Joint Council on

Youth Ilaria reported how gender had been

mainstreamed so far in the youth sector high-

lighting achievements and shortcomings since

the beginning of her appointment, mentioning

specific projects or toolkits (Gender matters,

Compass, new outline of the application form,

HRE/EDC conference). She mentioned the

decision of the Joint Council to use the Hate

Speech Online project to work on the issue

especially after the 9th Ministerial Conference

results. It would also be useful to cooperate

with the communication committee on hate

speech online and with the Education Unit.

She distributed some youth publications and

posters during the meeting. At the same time,

she reported the fact that in each country there

is a different sensitivity about the gender issue

and that illustrating a clear framework on

gender (gender equality, equity, gender-based

violence, equality between men and women,

LGBT..etc) will be useful in the context.

However, even in the GEC the journey could

be long, because despite clear interventions by

the committees’ representatives, the focus of

the first meeting was still high only on equal-

ity between men and women. The idea of this

first meeting was to collect specific data and

issues before venturing into other areas con-

cerning gender. The GEC was already aware

of the resistance to working on this issue, and

that is why it wanted to hear the rapporteur’s

point of view. Finally, there was a need for a

common understanding on all the gender is-

sues before talking about gender equality in

order to avoid discrimination and to consider

the individual when the issue.