Under the motto ‘Together for Europe’s recovery’, the German presidency addresses both current politics (e.g. COVID-19, the EU’s long-term budget and Brexit) and megatrends that have impact on everyone (such as climate change, digital transformation and the evolving world of work). Watch a video and read more about the presidency’s priorities.

The views, wishes, ideas and criticism of young Europeans are an invaluable source of inspiration for policymakers. One of the tools for boosting involvement is the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027, which aims to engage, connect and empower young Europeans.

Engage ­­– Youth and democracy

Germany is starting a new 18-month cycle of EU Youth Dialogue. Numerous events are being organised throughout Europe as part of this initiative. The aim is to bring young people and youth organisations into contact with policy- and decision-makers, experts, researchers and other civil society actors. It serves as a forum for continuous joint reflection and consultation on the priorities, implementation and follow-up of European cooperation in the field of youth.

See how you can get involved.

The major event of this dialogue will be the EU Youth Conference in Berlin, due to take place on 2-6 October. There, youth representatives from each EU country will meet with political leaders. They will discuss how to turn the European Youth Goals into youth action. The results of the conference will be reflected in ‘Council recommendations’ to be addressed to all EU countries.

The conference will focus on Youth Goal 9, ‘Space and participation for all’. The aim is to strengthen young people’s democratic participation and autonomy, and provide dedicated youth spaces in all areas of society.

The German Federal Youth Council will be co-organising the EU Youth Conference together with the German Federal Ministry for family affairs, senior citizens, women and youth. “Giving young people and youth organisations a voice on political matters is crucial. We want to create meaningful dialogue with decision-makers that creates a concrete impact at all levels,” says Marius Schlageter, vice-president of the German Federal Youth Council.

Connect – Young people’s mobility

Young people in Europe are getting more and more connected. Connections, relations and exchange of experience are crucial to the future development of the European Union. This connection is best fostered through mobility.

In this regard, the European Solidarity Corps plays a key role as it creates opportunities for young people to volunteer or work in projects in their own country or abroad which benefit communities and people around Europe.

To maximise the potential benefits for young people, this EU initiative needs to be granted the right resources. This is why the German presidency will strive to secure adequate budget and financing programmes for the European Solidarity Corps for the period 2021-2027.

Empower – Youth work in Europe

Youth work brings unique benefits to young people in their transition to adulthood, providing a safe environment for them to gain self-confidence and learn in an informal way.

In this context, the German Federal Ministry will host the 3rd European Youth Work Convention to strengthen youth work across Europe. Delegations from 50 European countries have been invited to join the  event, which is scheduled to take place on 7-10 December 2020 in Bonn. The aim will be to define a strategy for implementing the European Youth Work Agenda that will help youth work in Europe to evolve and remain strong in the long term.

EU Youth Ministers are scheduled to adopt recommendations to develop and implement the European Youth Work Agenda in November 2020. Over the next few months we can therefore look forward to some exciting and dynamic new developments in this field.