Youth representatives and policymakers from across the EU agree on steps towards reinforcing Structured Dialogue

The conference dedicated to the review of the Structured Dialogue with young people and youth organisations, organised by the European Commission, took place in Brussels from the 26th to 27th November.

More than 150 delegates from all of the main actors involved in the Structured Dialogue, including representatives from Youth Ministries, National Youth Councils, International Non-Governmental Youth Organisations (INGYOs), the European Youth Forum and the European Commission took part in the debate. The conference tackled how to improve the structures for implementation, increase participation in and visibility of the process, as well as enhance follow-up and implementation of the dialogue outcomes.

Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth Androulla Vassiliou announced the allocation of additional funding for Structured Dialogue under the recently adopted Erasmus+ programme.

Youth representatives and policymakers agreed on Joint Recommendations for reinforcing and further developing the Structured Dialogue in order to secure the right of young people to shape policies that directly affect them.

They agreed that the Structured Dialogue should focus on one priority only throughout the 18 months and that the process should be restructured to fit this purpose. They also called for the official recognition of INGYOs as formal actors in the process and for a stronger, more transparent follow-up as well as systematic monitoring of the dialogue outcomes.

The Forum expects the Youth Ministers will welcome these Joint Recommendations in the Council Resolution to be adopted next year under the Greek Presidency of the Council of the European Union.