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Almost six months after the very impor-
tant Ministerial Conference of Ministers
responsible for youth in St. Petersburg
and the Youth Event prior to it, we con-
tinue our work to better facilitate young
people’s access to their rights. Τhe con-
ference’s theme, “Young people’s ac-
cess to their rights: development of in-
novative youth policies”, reflected cru-
cial questions for young people and for
Europe, particularly in this moment of
deep crisis. Right after the Conference,
we worked hard to ensure that the con-
clusions of the Youth Event are imple-
mented and that youth policies are
based on rights and evidence.
In a joint hearing of PACE committees
dealing with youth issues (AS/Cult and
AS/Soc) on 21st January, a draft report was presented based on the Youth Event con-
clusions which appear in the Appendix. We expect that the draft report “young people’s
access to fundamental rights” will re-launch the agenda in a more democratic and par-
ticipatory way. Maria Paschou, Chair of the AC
The best is yet to come!
The Programming Committee on Youth (2012-2013)
The Programming Committee (PC) Youth elected Mr Ruben Loodts
from Young European Federalists (JEF) as its Chair and Ms. Miriam
Teuma from Malta (CDEJ) as Vice-Chair for 2012. Benefiting from a
highly transparent structure and working mechanisms, Ms. Teuma will
be chairing the PC in 2013 and Mr. Loodts will be the Vice-Chair.
February 2013 AC 2012-2013 No. 2 February 2013
The AC Newsletter
In this issue
The Youth Assembly
2012
2
Award Ceremony
“European Drug
2
The Youth Event in St.
Petersburg
2
Roma Youth Action Plan 2
Young People combating
Hate Speech Online
3
Cooperation in the Field
of Youth with Ukraine
3
Flagship Projects 3
Exchange of View Gender
Equality Commission
4
Courtesy Visits 4
The Programming Committee on Youth is a subsidiary co-decision body made up of eight members
each from the CDEJ and the Advisory Council.
It establishes, monitors and evaluates the programmes
of the European Youth Centres and of the European Youth Foundation.
The Youth Assembly 2012
brought together 150 young people
(aged 16-25) from all over Europe
to reflect on youth's current chal-
lenges to democracy and to formu-
late common recommendations on
how young people can better benefit
from, and develop more democratic
and inclusive societies.
On Friday 5 October 2012, the
Youth Assembly was opened by a
plenary session in the Hemicycle of
the Parliamentary Assembly
(Palais de l’Europe building). Af-
ter an official opening session, a
debate took place between young
people and parliamentarians.
The Youth Assembly 2012 - The Strasbourg World Forum for Democracy
The Youth Event in St. Petersburg
Page 2
The AC Newsletter
The Advisory Council on
Youth, together with the
European Youth Forum
and the National Youth
Council of Russia organ-
ised a Youth Event on 22-
23 September 2013 prior to
the 9th European Confer-
ence of Ministers responsi-
ble for Youth. Held in
St.Petersburg at the end of
September, the event car-
ried the same title as the
Ministerial Conference:
“Young people’s access to
rights: development of in-
novative youth policies”.
The event brought together
some 150 youth representa-
tives including representa-
tives of national delega-
tions and representatives
from national youth organi-
sations, national youth
councils, international youth
NGOs and AC members.
Working in plenary sessions
and working groups over
two days, the participants
were able to agree on con-
clusions outlining young
people's proposals for a bet-
ter access to their rights. The
results of the Youth Event
have already been put into
good use and were debated
during the Ministerial Con-
ference itself. The conclu-
sions were also communi-
cated to different bodies of
the Council of Europe, the
Committee of Ministers, the
Secretary General and the
Parliamentary Assembly.
You can find the results
online at http://tinyurl.com/
youtheventresults
Award Ceremony “European Drug
Prevention Prize 2012
Ms. Ivica Alpeza from OBESSU (The Organis-
ing Bureau of European School Student Unions)
and Mr. Gerard Tosserams from YMCA
(European Alliance of Young Men’s Christian
Associations) represented the Advisory Council
on Youth at the Award Ceremony “European
Drug Prevention Prize 2012”, organized by the
Pompidou Group, which took place on 14 No-
vember, 2012 in Strasbourg. Three innovative
winning projects received their Prize 2012 com-
posed of a Diploma, a Trophy and a Prize-
money of € 5,000. The 3 projects received a
certificate of recognition of their work in drug
prevention with the active involvement of
youth. More information about the event and
about the projects available at: http://
www.coe.int/t/dg3/pompidou/default_en.asp
On Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 Oc-
tober, the participants worked in
thematic working groups, and met
in the Youth Centre in Stras-
bourg.
The themes reflected the topics of
the World Forum for Democracy
and partly addressed youth specific
challenges. The event was linked to
The Strasbourg World Forum for
Democracy which brought together
reformers and global leaders to
identify democratic responses to the
economic, social and political chal-
lenges which affect our societies
today. Thorbjørn Jagland, Council
of Europe Secretary General. an-
nounced that “By confronting con-
ventional concepts with new reali-
ties the Forum will gauge how de-
mocracies can satisfy the expecta-
tions of citizens and how they can
be adapted to their different values
and traditions".
The event had strong follow up by
the participants not only during the
World Forum for Democracy itself
but also afterwards by joining to-
gether forces in creating the Euro-
pean Youth Council, a youth-led
think-tank of the youth, by the
youth, and for the youth, that aims
to develop a culture of democracy
and active citizen participation.
Congress resolution on Youth and Democracy
During its meeting in Strasbourg, the AC took note of Mr. Rui Go-
mes' report on the project 'Young People Combating Hate Speech
Online.' In 2012 the project focused on preparatory activities such
as research, education and campaign preparations. Mr. Gomes
reminded the AC that the project, which is one of the flagship
initiatives of the Youth Department of the Council of Europe, is not
about limiting freedom of expression but about creating an
environment allowing all young people to express themselves
without fearing such things as cyber-bullying or cyber-hate.
In 2013, activities like trainings and study sessions will continue,
but the main focus will shift to the campaign aspect of the project:
The No Hate Speech Movement. The European campaign will be
launched in Strasbourg (and online) on March 21 and will continue
for one year, including action days, the creation of activist toolkits
and education packs and a campaign conference. Additionally,
CDEJ members have been invited to take the initiative in setting up
national campaign committees in their countries, in cooperation
with youth organisations and other stakeholders. The campaign is
based upon human rights education, youth participation and media
literacy.
During the Joint Council meeting an expanded follow-up group was
entrusted to advise and support the project, and in particular to
oversee the implementation of the European-level activities and their
budgetary implications. The new follow-up group, including three
members of the AC and three members of the CDEJ, met in Strasbo-
urg January 22-23. The Joint Council also agreed that Mrs. Ilaria
Esposito should follow the campaign in her capacity as Gender
Equality rapporteur.
Young People combating Hate Speech Online
Page 3
AC 2012-2013 No. 2 February 2013
Framework Programme of Cooperation in
the Field of Youth Policy for 2012-2013
(Ukraine)
The Joint Council in its November
2012 meeting, approved the Frame-
work Programme of Co-operation
between the Council of Europe’s
Youth Department and the State
Agency for Youth and Sport of
Ukraine for 2012-2013 with the
amendments proposed by the
Advisory Council. The Framework
Programme will contribute to the
development of youth policy in
Ukraine, primarily on matters
pertaining to the development of
youth mobility, participation of
youth in the life of the society,
recognition of cultural diversity,
struggle against all forms of
discrimination, and promotion and
strengthening of healthy life styles
among children and youth. The
2012 and 2013 activities under the
Framework Programme of Co-
operation include the following
activities: a “50-50” training course
on youth policy development in
Ukraine (2012), a training course
for trainers and multipliers on
human rights education in Ukraine
(2012, the e-publication and
nationwide dissemination of the
Ukrainian version of Compass
(2012 - 2013), International review
of the Ukrainian national youth
policy (2012-2013), national and
international hearings on the youth
policy review (2013), an interim
evaluation meeting of the co-
operation activities carried out in
2012 (2013), a training course for
youth leaders and youth workers
on participation (2013), printing
and nationwide dissemination of
the manual “Have Your Say!” in
Ukrainian (2013), a national semi-
nar on young people’s access to
social rights (2013), strategic
evaluation of the cooperation and
preparation of 2014-2015 (2013).
During the meeting in Stras-
bourg in November, the Ad-
visory Council endorsed
new proposals regarding
flagship projects for 2014-
2015. The themes proposed
for flagship projects should
include the issue of young
people’s access to the labour
market and the right to
work, youth participation as
well as gender equality. The
Joint Bureaus meeting held
in January 2013, agreed on
two proposals which should
be further promoted and
these are “Beyond the Crisis:
young people’s access to
rights” and “Youth partici-
pation in decision-making on
local and regional levels”.
These two proposals should
be adopted by the Joint
Council in April 2013.
Flagship Projects
In its 23rd Session on 17
October 2012, the Congress
of Local and Regional Au-
thorities of the Council of
Europe adopted Resolution
346(2012) “Youth and De-
mocracy: the changing face
of youth political engage-
ment”.The AC Chair was
invited to make a 10 minute
intervention on the topic.
During the intervention
special attention was given
to 3 aspects, that: 1) partici-
pation in democratic life
and political engagement of
young people should in no
way be minimalised and
limited only to voting, 2)
the online participation, its
importance but also the
need to be structured and
understood as a tool not a
means in itself, 3) the role
of local and regional youth
councils is crucial but not
limitless. In addition, the AC
Chair stressed that the co-
management system should
be promoted at the local and
regional level and thus en-
courage youth participation
in all democratic processes.
As a result, the final Resolu-
tion states “opportunities
should be offered to young
people to enter into a struc-
tured dialogue with local
and regional authorities
and to participate in politics
and policy-making by set-
ting up joint decision-
making mechanisms, mir-
roring the Council of
Europe’s co-management
system, in the form of joint
councils composed of
elected local/regional coun-
cilors and youth representa-
tives”.
The Advisory Council (AC) is made up of 30 representatives
from youth NGOs and networks who can formulate opinions
and proposals on any question concerning youth dealt with
in the Council of Europe. With its governmental partner –
the European Steering Committee for Youth (CDEJ) – it
forms the Joint Council on Youth (CMJ) to develop a
common position on the political priorities and programme
of the youth sector. The next meeting of the AC will take pla-
ce at the European Youth Center in Budapest- 3 – 5 April.
The AC Newsletter
Before the Bureau meeting of 24-25
January 2013, the AC Chair, Maria
Paschou, had the opportunity to meet
with different personalities in the CoE to
further strengthen cooperation with the
different bodies. The AC Chair met the
Commissioner for Human Right Mr. Nils
Muiznieks and discussed with him the
support he could give to Campaign
“Youth People combating Hate Speech
Online” and to the implementation of the
Youth Event results. The Commissioner
expressed his willingness to meet the
National Coordination Bodies of the
Campaign during his visits to the Mem-
ber States and he was very interested to
discuss further with the AC the the case-
compilation regarding violation of young
people’s rights which the AC had re-
ceived from the European Court of Hu-
man Rights and was hoping to receive
from the European Social Charter Depart-
ment.
Maria Paschou also met Ambassador
Luís Filipe Castro Mendes (Portugal),
Chair of the Rapporteur Group on Educa-
tion, Culture, Sport, Youth and Environ-
ment (GR-C) with whom she discussed
the results of the Ministerial Conference
and the Youth Event and the forthcoming
Hearing in the GR-C (14 March 2013) in
the presence of the two Chairs of the CoE
statutory bodies concerned with youth
(the CDEJ and the Advisory Council).
The AC Chair also met the Secretary
General of the Congress, Mr. Andreas
Kiefer and exchanged views on how the
implementation of the Congress resolu-
tion 346(2012) “Youth and Democracy:
the changing face of youth political en-
gagement” could be further promoted.
Courtesy Visits
Youth Portal of the Council of Europe:
http://www.coe.int/youth
Fiind us on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/AdvisoryCouncilOnYouth
Email address to contact us:
The 2nd edition of the AC Newsletter for the current mandate has been compiled by
Adina Marina CALAFATEANU – AC Member – Center for Sustainable Community Development – Romania
Ilaria Esposito - AC Member - World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
Maria PASCHOU – AC Chair – Hellenic National Youth Council
Mihai Floran – AC Bureau Member - JECI-MIEC European Coordination
Exchange of Views between the
Gender Equality Commission and
the General Equality Rapporteurs
“In each committee there should be a goal set
in relation to gender equality” (The Chair of
GEC). The Transversal Programme on Gender
Equality was launched by the Secretary Gen-
eral to improve the visibility and impact of the
Council of Europe’s work on gender equality
in the member states; to move from legal
equality to real equality as member states
were called upon to do by the Committee of
Ministers in its Declaration, «Making Gender
Equality a Reality». The programme has
several objectives, including the mainstream-
ing of gender equality at the level of policy
and practice in the member states and within
the Council of Europe. In this context, the
programme will seek to mobilise all Council
of Europe bodies and its external partners.
The Gender equality rapporteur for the youth
sector (representing the Joint Council on
Youth) is a member of the AC – Ms Ilaria
Esposito. She was invited to share what was
happening within the Joint Council and what
attempts were being made to mainstream gen-
der equality. An unveiled context analysis was
requested since the GEC needed to see clearly
how to work in certain contexts and with
which strategy. The debate moved around the
experience of the Gender equality rapporteur;
the biggest subject on the agenda of the youth
sector; the expectations the Joint Council had
regarding the GEC or cooperation with other
committees and the possibility to invite a
representative of the GEC to the Joint council
meetings. As GER for the Joint Council on
Youth Ilaria reported how gender had been
mainstreamed so far in the youth sector high-
lighting achievements and shortcomings since
the beginning of her appointment, mentioning
specific projects or toolkits (Gender matters,
Compass, new outline of the application form,
HRE/EDC conference). She mentioned the
decision of the Joint Council to use the Hate
Speech Online project to work on the issue
especially after the 9th Ministerial Conference
results. It would also be useful to cooperate
with the communication committee on hate
speech online and with the Education Unit.
She distributed some youth publications and
posters during the meeting. At the same time,
she reported the fact that in each country there
is a different sensitivity about the gender issue
and that illustrating a clear framework on
gender (gender equality, equity, gender-based
violence, equality between men and women,
LGBT..etc) will be useful in the context.
However, even in the GEC the journey could
be long, because despite clear interventions by
the committees’ representatives, the focus of
the first meeting was still high only on equal-
ity between men and women. The idea of this
first meeting was to collect specific data and
issues before venturing into other areas con-
cerning gender. The GEC was already aware
of the resistance to working on this issue, and
that is why it wanted to hear the rapporteur’s
point of view. Finally, there was a need for a
common understanding on all the gender is-
sues before talking about gender equality in
order to avoid discrimination and to consider
the individual when the issue.