University on Youth and Development 2023
Young people, Peace and Climate Change
18 to 23 September
Mollina, Spain
The University on Youth and Development (UYD) has been organised by the North South Centre of the Council of Europe for more than twenty years. It is the most long-standing Summer University. It represents an international hub for meetings, youth advocacy and exchange of good practices. The event gathers, for one week, hundreds of young people, youth workers, decision makers, experts from the field and institutional representatives, providing them all with a space to meet, debate, build their capacities and cooperate on youth policy issues.
The UYD is designed as a space for experiencing intercultural dialogue while debating the most pressing issues of the global youth movement.
Every year the Network on Youth and Global Citizenship proposes a theme representing the thread that connects all the activities taking place in the framework of the University. The 2023 theme explores youth's contributions to positive peace in the face of climate change. It builds upon previous work focused on SDG 16 and its intersection with SDG 13. Key questions include the role of youth in building positive peace, mechanisms for capacity-building in climate change planning, dismantling age and gender stereotypes, combating corruption, and enhancing interregional youth collaboration.
The Joint Programme connects all the people involved in all the UYD partners' activities, giving everyone the opportunity to network, share and reflect different perspectives on the annual theme “Young People, Peace, and Climate Change”.
It consists of a series of plenary sessions of different natures: from informal and playful evening activities to more formal debates to explore the annual theme with government representatives and experts. It also includes musical moments and interactions with the local community.
The Joint Programme is designed by the Joint Pedagogical Team of the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe together with the Partners and is implemented through non-formal education methods, following the Global Education guidelines.
The activities and organisations listed below have been chosen to operate within the 22nd UYD. They are collaborating to ensure the success of the event and contribute to the advancement of the youth sector.
Training and Knowledge Sharing Workshop
AU-EU Youth Cooperation Hub
The activity, anchored on the UYD’s 2023 theme “Young People, Peace and Climate change”, will explore innovative youth-led solutions around some of the most pressing issues on peace and climate change within the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). The activity will also be an opportunity for knowledge sharing and showcasing of results and best practices emanating from the implementation of the Hub’s pilot projects.
The workshop will be delivered using interactive and participatory methodologies facilitated by subject matter experts, as well as through peer-to-peer learning for young volunteers working with advocacy and socio-political change, aged between 18-30.
Partnership Building Activity (PBA) “Youth participation for sustainable local democracies”
DYPALL Network
The Partnership Building Activity (PBA) is designed to create a space for municipalities and civil society organisations, to develop cooperation projects that link young people, environmental policies, and local democracies.
The activity will serve as a platform for networking with the aim of developing projects that can promote and enhance the participation of young people in designing local policies in general, and environmental policies in particular.
Youth workers from civil society organisations and municipality representatives, coming from various European countries.
Community building and working meeting of the Pool of Trainers
European Youth Forum
The activity consists in a meeting of the Youth Forum Jeunesse (YFJ) Pool of Trainers (PoT) which becomes a strong support to the YFJ as they understand the needs and the realities of the YFJ. The main objectives address the evaluations and plans for large capacity building events based on feedback from past events.
The main outcomes target addresses the PoT working rules, promotion of strategy, guidelines and more; as well as documents to support large capacity building events on different levels.
The participants are from the YFJ Pool of Trainers, under 35 years, and representing different parts of Europe.
Young voters project - INFObassador training
European Youth Information and Counselling Agency
“Young voters project” is a non-formal training that aims to empower young people as Youth Ambassadors for youth information, youth groups facilitators, and change makers.
This training highlights active civic and democratic engagement, promoting peer-to-peer youth information, and advocacy on crucial youth concerns like climate change and peace.
25 multipliers living in Europe.
Seminar on Enhancing the participation of young human rights defenders for peace and climate
North-South Centre of the Council of Europe
The seminar has for objective to exchange knowledge and good practice among experts and young activists on how to enhance the participation of human rights defenders for peace and climate. It will also be the opportunity to stimulate critical discussions among the participants around current developments that facilitate or prevent the participation and protection of young Human Rights Defenders who stand for peace and climate in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
Individuals aged 18 to 35 from Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, representing youth-led organisations.
Summer School "Empowering students Participation in Campaigning"
Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions
The training activity aims to draft a political manifesto that will encompass the demands of school student unions that school students can use for campaigning towards the European Parliament elections. This Summer School will build the capacities of school student representatives and activists on campaigning and mobilising as well as contributing to draft the collective campaign to be implemented in the run up to the European Parliament elections 2024.
School students and school students’unions representatives will take part in this training.
Choosing Anti Racism: The Radical Re-orientation of our consciousness
The International Falcon Movement – Socialist Educational International
This training aims to enhance the understanding of racism, challenge personal biases, promote anti-racist behaviours within youth organisations, develop anti-racist education tools, and foster activism against discrimination.
The training will focus on anti-racism through understanding of orientalism, of the pedagogy of the oppressed, and through addressing individual biases, institutional racism, fostering critical thinking, and culminating in actionable outcomes.
Multipliers from IFM SEI members organisations, aged 16-30.
Training on "Youth Civic and Political Participation"
United Nations Development Programme
The training will provide local youth-serving organisations with tools and resources to build the capacity of young people for more effective and meaningful participation in their community's civic and political life.
UNDP in partnership with the Arab Network for Youth in Elections will involve young people from CSOs in the MENA region for a week-long training-for-trainers focusing on four main themes: leadership, civic engagement, political participation, and digital inclusion with a primary focus on promoting electoral participation, peace, and climate initiatives.
Individuals 20-28 years old from North Africa and Middle East.
Training on Youth Advocacy for Pluralistic Democracies
World Organization of the Scout Movement
“Youth Advocacy for Pluralistic Democracies” aim to bring young advocates together in a high-quality learning environment to address advocacy techniques and build together the Scouts’ and Guides’ Call to Action.
The activity will bring together young people to share their experiences in advocacy towards international decision-making processes.
Participants aged 18-30 with interest in engaging with politicians on relevant social issues within their Scouting/Guiding experiences.
North-South Centre of the Council of Europe
Global Youth
The UYD is an international youth event part of the iLEGEND III Joint programme co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe. The UYD is organised by the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe, in partnership with a number of youth-led and youth-oriented organisations who have the possibility to run their own activities (trainings, seminars, board meetings, etc.) within a dynamic and participatory context which encourages networking, cooperation and peer-to-peer education.
