Themis Christophidou, Director-General of Education, Youth, Sport and Culture at the European Commission, shares plans for the European Year of Youth 2022
Every New Year brings the promise of hope for a better future and a spur of energy to make positive changes. In the same spirit, the European Union designated 2022 the European Year of Youth, to pass a strong message of hope and care to Europe’s young people, and to mobilise action for long-lasting positive impact on their future.
Europe needs the vision of young people, their engagement and their participation to build a green, digital and inclusive future. This is why the objectives of the European Year of Youth focus on these three pillars.
Drawing inspiration from the vision of young people
In 2022, the European Union will invite young people to share ideas and contributions on how to strengthen and reinvigorate the common EU project. This work started in the framework of the Conference on the Future of Europe. Young people have also shared their vision for future ways of living in the New European Bauhaus co-design phase. Here as well, the European Commission will organise events and initiatives to turn these ideas into concrete projects.
Encouraging participation and active citizenship among young people
The majority of young people are active citizens. Results from a 2019 Eurobarometer survey show that across the EU as a whole, 77% of respondents have participated in at least one organised movement or association. (1) We have witnessed how students mobilised every week for climate action. And yet, almost a quarter of Europe’s young people are not actively engaged. With the European Year of Youth, the European Commission, in close collaboration with the European Parliament and national authorities, will work to change that. For example, over the course of 2022, the youth participation action under Erasmus+ plans to fund more than 500 projects, providing young people from all backgrounds with a chance to engage and participate in civil society. Hundreds of events will also be organised across the EU, aiming to engage young people, especially those with fewer opportunities.
Promote opportunities for young people
Leaving no one behind is a principle sewn into the DNA of the European Commission when we develop policy. We want to raise awareness of all young people, especially those with fewer opportunities, on everything that the European Union can provide for their personal and professional development. Last year, the Commission reinforced the Youth Guarantee, a commitment by all EU countries to make sure that all young people receive a good quality offer of employment, continued education, apprenticeship or a traineeship within four months of becoming unemployed or leaving education. The guarantee used to apply to those younger than 25, but with this revision, young people between 25 and 30 can also benefit. This Year, we will boost communication efforts towards young people to ensure that opportunities, such as this one, are better-known and used.
The objectives of the Year will be supported by a wide range of actions at European, national, regional and local levels. The European Year of Youth will be developed in close cooperation with young people, youth networks and stakeholders, national authorities as well as other EU institutions. Activities will aim to advance the achievement of the eleven youth goals and will address the expectations and needs of young people. For example, on climate action and the environment, education and employment opportunities, health and mental health.
When asked what the EU means to them, a majority of Europeans aged 16 to 30 (58%) mention freedom to travel, study and work anywhere in the EU. This is, of course, where the EU’s most emblematic programme, Erasmus+ comes in. 2022 marks the 35th anniversary of Erasmus+, the programme which has already provided life-changing experiences to millions of learners and professionals. It has contributed to the internationalisation of the education and training systems in Europe and beyond, to innovation and appreciation of the European cultural diversity, common values and identity.
2022 should mark a boost of learning mobility after the slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic: there is high demand from all learners in all fields of education and training. We are proud of the 10 million participants supported to date over the last 35 years in Erasmus+ and its predecessors, and prouder still that we will double this number in the next seven years.
Beyond Erasmus+, and other opportunities already targeted on youth, such as the European Solidarity Corps, the Year of Youth will inspire all EU policies. Several flagship initiatives from across policy areas are expected to be launched or reinforced during the European Year. As the European Commission President, Ursula Von der Leyen underlined when announcing the Year, “Europe needs all of its youth” and “everything the European Commission does, from the European Green Deal to the Next GenerationEU, is about protecting young people’s future.”
After almost two years of a pandemic that has hit young people particularly hard, it is now a key moment to give all the support we can to European youth, and the EU is ready to do so. The European Year of Youth 2022 will make a difference in the lives of young people. It will be a major undertaking to boost the efforts of the Union, the Member States, regional and local authorities to honour, support and engage with youth. This is essential, not only for this generation, but for the future of Europe.
Reference
(1) Political movements, parties or unions; student or youth
organisations; campaigns, strikes or street protests; volunteering activities or local community projects. (European Commission, Eurobarometer 2224 / 478) (https://europa.eu/eurobarometer/ surveys/detail/2224)
