Europe celebrates youth this week!

European #YouthWeek 2017 is in full swing! From the 1st to the 7th of May, hundreds of events are taking place across Europe to inform young people about various EU mobility opportunities and to highlight their rich contribution to the very fabric of Europe, and the role they can play in addressing its challenges. The Youth Forum and its member organisations helped to kick off this jam-packed week in Brussels.

On May 2nd, the Youth Forum held an event together with Eurodesk to discuss the EU Youth Strategy and its potential impact in the areas of participation, civic education and mobility. Our Secretary General Allan Päll, Tamara Gojkovic Secretary General of YEU International, and Gaffer Rampage, Board Member of ESN, took part in several panels to highlight the importance of youth information, civic education and also presented ESN’s project “Mov’in Europe”.

On the 3rd and 4th of May, the Youth Forum and many of its member organisations participated in the European Commission's conference on the future EU Youth Strategy. Luis Alvarado, Youth Forum President, highlighted the importance of a cross-sectoral approach in the next Strategy in presence of Commissioner Navracsics, Chair of the CULT committee in the European Parliament, Petra Kammerevert, and Miriam Teuma, Maltese Presidency.

Allan Päll later underlined the importance of a youth strategy that leads to true youth mainstreaming, for example through youth-checks that measure the impact of any new EU policy on young people. Moreover, high-level stakeholders from all sectors need to be engaged in the shaping and implementation of the new Strategy to achieve the necessary progress for young people across Europe.

Throughout the conference, Youth Forum member organisations emphasised the importance of funding and alignment with Erasmus+ for the next Strategy, the central role of volunteering and how the European Solidarity Corps can interact with the upcoming Strategy. For more information you can read our op-ed on the future EU Youth Strategy in Euractiv.

For the 3 next days, European Youth Week continues across Europe with thousands of activities taking place. Make your voice heard, join the Youth Week in your country and #YouthUp Europe with the Youth Forum and its members.

Want to know more & get involved in Youth Week? Check out all the info here! http://ec.europa.eu/youth/week