On 3 May the Europass project team met with a representative from the European Youth Forum (EYF) to discuss a closer involvement of the organisation in the development and testing of the new Europass platform. The aim of this broader stakeholder outreach is to gain insights into the perspective of various stakeholder groups on the new Europass and to address open questions and concerns.

The representative of the EYF voiced four main concerns regarding the development of the new platform:

• Interoperability between Europass and other initiatives such as Youth Pass, Discover EU or the European Solidarity Corps
• ICT accessibility
• Soft and transversal skills
• Validation of non-formal and informal learning
• Communication of the new Europass to youth organisations

The project team explained that the new Europass aims to be a free tool adaptable to all European and national level systems and mechanisms.  The platform will be developed according to the international standards on web accessibility and in close consultation with relevant stakeholders such as the European Disability Forum.

Europass users will be able to include various soft and transversal skills as well as document experiences and education from the formal, non-formal and informal sector in their e-portfolio and cv templates.

The Europass team and EYF discussed the possibility of involving National Europass Centres in organising sessions to inform national EYF member organisations about the new features of Europass. EYF intends to mobilise its stakeholders to participate in all stages of the user testing to ensure the new platform caters to the need of youth organisations.