The Partial Agreement on Youth Mobility through the Youth Card and the European Youth Card Association (EYCA) organised the seminar ‘Youth ecosystems essentials: the role of European Youth Card in advancing ecosystems for youth empowerment’ in Podgorica, Montenegro on 29-31 May 2024.
The event was opened by the Vice President of the Government of Montenegro for Demography and Youth and the Minister of Sports and Youth Dragoslav Šćekić, the head of the OSCE Mission in Montenegro Dominik Waag and Natalja Turenne, Council of Europe, together with Manel Sánchez, director of the European youth card association (EYCA) and Jugoslav Radović, executive director of the NGO Centre for Youth Education.
The seminar was co-organised by the NGO Centre for Youth Education, the Ministry of Sports and Youth, the European Youth Card Association (EYCA) - which distributes cards to over 8 million young people in as many as 36 European countries - and the Youth department Council of Europe, with the support of the OSCE Mission in Montenegro, and within the Partial agreement on youth mobility through the youth card.
There is a growing discussion in the European youth sector on the importance of creating youth public spaces, called youth ecosystems. A youth ecosystem refers to the available spaces, services, expertise and legal frameworks that allow young people to fully express themselves and be active citizens of our societies.
Youth work delivered in these spaces contributes to building democratic communities. The European Youth Card can play a strategic role in helping design and strengthen youth ecosystems.
Acting as a meeting point of different elements that make for a good youth ecosystem, the European Youth Card programme puts forward, in this PA seminar, a conversation that aims to:
- Create synergies between public sector, youth card organisations, NGOs, young people and companies to youth ecosystems (spaces, services, programmes);
- Offer a unique space for members of the PA on Youth Mobility to build stronger partnerships with the European Youth Card organisations in their countries;
- Identify concrete ways on how European Youth Card can be embedded and play a crucial role in youth ecosystems at national and local levels.
The seminar aimed to create synergy between the public sector, youth and non-governmental organisations, the business sector and young people, providing an opportunity to jointly identify concrete ways in which the European Youth Card (EYCA) can be positioned as a key player in building youth ecosystems at the local and at the national level.
Presentations during the seminar
