Youth Forum at the German Child and Youth Welfare Congress

The 15th German Child and Youth Welfare Congress (DJHT) took place between 3rd and 5th June in Berlin, Germany. DJHT, which takes place every three years, attracts over 30,000 visitors each time, distinguishing it as Europe’s biggest event for the child and youth welfare community.

This year, DJHT decided to go beyond just its usual discussion of new ideas for youth policy and JUGEND für Europa and the Child and Youth Welfare Association (AGJ) created a special European programme of events and a “European Marketplace.” The programme consisted of hundreds of workshops, stands, exhibitions and expert forums. These touched on DJHT’s overarching principles of “Living Diversity, Enabling Participation, Safeguarding Professionalism and Developing Policy.”

Many of these workshops and forums were very relevant to the work of the European Youth Forum, including topics such as youth employment, Erasmus+, child welfare, youth work and the structured dialogue. Youth Forum President Peter Matjašič took part in an expert forum on “The situation of young people in Europe’s crisis” and board member Jerry den Haan took part in a panel discussion on the structured dialogue.

The Youth Forum also hosted an expert forum on “Young peoples’ right to participate.” Forum representatives Franziska Schwelm, Policy Officer, and David Garrahy, Policy and Advocacy Coordinator, discussed what the Youth Forum does in terms of youth participation. Their presentation highlighted the League of Young Voters, Vote @ 16, the European Youth Capital and the Structured Dialogue. They focused on the question of what exactly youth participation entails, in particular that it’s about more than just voting or standing for election, but is about having the right, the means, the opportunity and the support to participate in and influence decision making and to engage in actions and activities that contribute to building a better society.

DJHT brought together many organisations and people passionate about the same issues as the Youth Forum and proved to be an opportunity to open discussions on many of these important topics. Read more about the event here: https://www.djht-europa.eu/en/ .