Dear EYCA President and EYCA members,
Dear guests and colleagues,
Cari rappresentanti italiani,

It is a great pleasure for me today to address you on behalf of the Council of Europe on the occasion of EYCA’s 40th Conference.

Forty is an important anniversary, for people and organisations alike. By that time, they have lived through a variety of experiences, both positive and negative leading to a greater sense of self-awareness, wisdom and confidence.

On the one hand, this is the time to reflect on one's accomplishments, goals and overall direction. And on the other, it’s a time of reassessment and re-evaluation of one's priorities and values. A turning point with the potential for new beginnings. A time to make even better decisions and pursue goals with more clarity.

Preparation of your new Strategy for 2025–2030, which is on your agenda today, is certainly an occasion for these reflections. The Council of Europe is looking forward to these new horizons. It has been accompanying and supporting the growth and strengthening of EYCA and its European Youth Card scheme since 1991.

That year the First Conference of European Ministers responsible for Youth held by the Council of Europe recommended the creation of a Partial Agreement later named «Youth Mobility through the Youth Card». The representatives on the Committee of Ministers of France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal pledged “to develop the Youth Card scheme, particularly at European level in the best interests of young people […] with a view to facilitating their mobility as well as their access to the various goods and services necessary for their personal and cultural development”. This is a noble goal.

Read the full speech delivered on the occasion of EYCA 40th Conference