An emerging youth council in Turkey

Earlier this week, representatives from the European Youth Forum visited Turkey to investigate the situation for youth in the country.

From 24 -26 March, the Forum met with key players in Ankara, Turkey to gain a better understanding of the situation where there are two initiatives to establish a national youth council. One of these initiatives is planned by a collective of youth organizations, the other is initiated by the Turkish Ministry of Youth and Sports. Board member Elise Drouet and Policy Officer Matthias Christensen represented the Forum during the trip and together they met with relevant stakeholders to get a better grasp of the situation concerning young people in Turkey.

During the three-day study visit, Drouet and Christensen met with a number of youth organisations, the Civil Society Development Center Association and the Ministry of Youth and Sports amongst many other actors.

They also participated in discussions surrounding the functioning of the the youth-led initiative to form a national youth council. Additionally, Drouet and Christensen also highlighted some of the work the Forum has done in advocating for youth rights in Europe. They also presented our capacity building efforts to support strong and independent youth organizations that can publicly advocate for their interests.

The Youth Forum wants to represent as many young Europeans as possible and we very much welcome that there is a drive by Turkish organizations to creating a national youth council that could one day become our member. We believe in building strong youth organizations that can represent youth interests to political decision makers. We sincerely hope that such an organization will emerge in Turkey.