Thursday, 6 February 2025, 11:30 – 13:00 Consultation on the proposed Charter text

The working groups aim to provide participants with the chance to give their feedback on the proposed revised text of the Charter. Each working group will look at a different section of the charter and give its feedback on that particular section.

The text of the Charter is available online:

• English https://rm.coe.int/en-charter-consultation-clean/1680b2bcd1 
• French  https://rm.coe.int/fr-charter-consultation-clean/1680b2bd0b

The working groups are:

1. Youth participation and its principles
2. Young people have rights
3. Young people have structures and spaces for youth participation – English and French interpretation available
4. Youth perspectives in policy making
5. Young people have tools, opportunities and full support for participation
6. Dissemination, evaluation and review of the Charter and Introduction.

Friday, 7 February 2025, 11:30 – 15:30 Working group on the next steps to be taken in the follow-up – Making local and regional youth participation a reality

To make youth participation a reality at local and regional level, and therefore to strengthen democracy action is required everyday by all the actors. The conference offers the unique opportunity to create a community of action. The working groups function is to support participants to discuss and identify what can be done together to take action to make sure that the Charter becomes a reality. The working group will formulate concrete proposals for action for participants and their organisations; for local and regional authorities, as well as for the Council of Europe.

The preparatory team has identified six areas of action and guiding questions to support the discussion.

1 Networking for local and regional youth participation EN

The conference offers the opportunity to bring together a variety of stakeholders that play a key role in strengthening local and regional youth participation, therefore democracy both in view of the Charter adoption, but most importantly in its application. International cooperation offers the chance to learn from each other and develop partnerships. The working group will look at how to harness the opportunities for cooperation, learning from each other and cooperation. How can they maintain contact and support? How to involve other stakeholders? What can the participants in the working group do themselves to support this effort? What could the Council of Europe do to support further efforts of cooperation? The working group is expected to make concrete proposals to the broader group.

2 Capacity building for youth councils and authorities  EN/FR

The Charter text under consultation recognises the need for capacity building for all the actors involved, especially youth councils and local/regional authorities. Equally, a lot of good examples of initiatives in this respect exist. The working group will look into sharing existing practices and reflect what are the needs of various stakeholders. The group will come up with concrete proposals for capacity building that could be undertaken at local/regional level or at Council of Europe level.

3 Educational resources on youth participation EN

The Manual Have your say, along with other resources produced by the Council of Europe (e.g., Compass – The manual on human rights education for young people) are resources widely used in the youth sector. The working group will look into proposing updates to these resources, as well as making proposals for what kind of other educational resources should be developed for all stakeholders.

4 Information and dissemination of the Charter EN

A key aspect in the successful implementation of the Charter is ensuring information about it reaches all relevant stakeholders. The working group will look at making concrete proposals about who should receive information about the Charter, what channels of communication should be used, which formats, what key messages should be included.  

5 Advocacy and policy measures in support of the Charter implementation EN

Realising the highest standard for youth participation will require advocacy as well as supplementary policy measures to support the implementation. The working group should explore what is needed for advocacy. What can youth civil society do further? What can local and regional authorities do? How can the Council of Europe support and further advance the framework for participation of young people in local and regional life?

6 Making youth participation playful, fun and enjoyable EN

In a world marked by war, climate crisis, democratic backsliding, and in which young people are called to save the situation, the weight and pressure put on young people can have a counter effect. Youth participation is both learning and engaging and it is an opportunity to enjoy the benefits of democracy: to learn, discuss and decide together while appreciating each other’s diversity. The group will explore how can a welcoming environment for participation can be created for young people, but also for other stakeholders?