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AER’s Youth Regional Network is back! Highlights from the YRN General Assembly 2023

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It’s official: AER’s Youth Regional Network is back! After a couple of years of YRN inactivity, the Assembly of European Regions started a revival process after the Summer Academy 2022, building from the feedback and willingness to be involved from the event’s youth delegates, and from our members’ eagerness to see the YRN coming back.

A successful YRN General Assembly

After a few months of preparations, statutory work, communication and outreach to young people in our member regions (and beyond!) and in youth organisations, we could convene the YRN General Assembly on the 10th of March 2023.

The event gathered around 50 participants, in person in AER’s Brussels office, and online. Most participants were young people joining the new YRN, and we also want to thank Ms Kari Anne Bøkestad Andreassen, Mayor of Nordland County Council and the Youth Coordinators from our member regions in Norway for their attendance, as well as the Youth Coordinators in other member regions for supporting us throughout the process and for appointing youth delegates in the new YRN.

The General Assembly allowed for fruitful presentations and discussions between the YRN members, the candidates to the YRN Presidium, and the AER Secretariat. The young participants already shared a lot of ideas and foreseen activities for the new YRN, and paved the way for co-conducting activities with the AER Secretariat (from participation to youth events to co-organisation of EU projects activities).

We now look forward to the upcoming activities and policy work of the new YRN! The AER Secretariat will engage with the YRN on a regular basis, present them opportunities, and make sure that their work is included in AER’s wider policy work, exchange of best practices and mutual learning activities. Through our institutional work, we will also ensure that the YRN policy recommendations will be advocated for, in front of policy-makers at both regional and European level.

Congratulations to the newly elected YRN Presidium!

The newly elected YRN Presidium. From right to left: Jim, Anette, Sigrun, Daria, Maylinda. Online: Norbert.

The YRN is youth-led, meaning that they develop their own policy recommendations, Thematic Committees (TCs) and capacity-building activities, and that YRN members (aged between 16 and 30 years old) directly elect their own Presidium, equivalent to a Steering Committee. The election of the YRN Presidium took place as part of the YRN General Assembly, and the following candidates were elected:

  • President: Jim Simonsen Jenssen (Nordland, NO)
  • 1st Vice-President: Anette Amalie Bang (Nordland, NO)
  • 2nd Vice-President: Norbert Nagy (Salaj, RO)
  • Chair of the TC on Youth Participation & Governance: Sigrun Myrvang (Innlandet, NO)
  • Chair of the TC on Mental Health & Wellbeing: Daria Sustrietova (Kirovohrad, UA)
  • Chair of the TC on Gender Equality & Women Empowerment: Maylinda Bajrami (Tirana, AL)

Contact the YRN!

You can contact the YRN Presidium at [email protected].

To reach out to specific members of the YRN Presidium:

To reach out the the YRN Contact Person at the AER Secretariat, you can write to AER Programmes Coordinator Lorène Weber, [email protected].

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AER at the European Week of Regions and Cities: “Youth is not our future. It is our present.”

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Picture: AER Summer Academy 2022 – Panel discussion – Youth and regional Government: young people (re)shaping their regions – 30/08/2022, Letterkenny, Donegal, Ireland.

In early October, the Assembly of European Regions participated in the 2022 edition of the European Week of Regions and Cities. The European Year of Youth inspired numerous workshops on the links between Cohesion Policy and youth policy, and AER seized the opportunity to show its commitment to empower youth.

“Youth is not our future, but our present”

COVID-19 prevented active participation of younger generations in youth policy-making. The European Week of the Regions and Cities highlighted the need of young people for the right platform to make their voice heard, to react and to raise awareness about youth issues.

One slogan was often heard: “Youth is not our future, but our present”. The message speaks for itself: young people need to be engaged and empowered in decision-making and policy-making. They must take part in democratic processes to find their place in society and contribute to building their present and their future. Students, young graduates and first-time job seekers should be the ones designing youth policies.

Main findings from AER workshop on Youth Empowerment

AER’s own workshop at the European Week of Regions and Cities had the goal of facilitating the exchange of views on how to empower and receive feedback from young people. Christian Spahr, AER Secretary General, observed that “young people have to be able to speak to politicians and be politically active; to achieve this, we must reduce the distance between students and politicians.” During this online workshop, which involved several experts in the field, it was agreed that creating relevant tools provided by and for young people was an important step forward.

Participants affirmed the need to enhance young people’s participation in decision-making and policy-making. As Member of the Committee of the Regions for Cork City Council, Kieran McCarthy, pointed out: “There has been a staggering response from young people, who have clearly expressed their will to participate”. European youth clearly wants to convey the message to politicians that “young people are not the citizens of tomorrow, but the citizens of today”. Young people want to make their voice heard and raise awareness about the challenges that they are experiencing.

Contribute to AER network for concrete proposals on youth empowerment

The AER stands for young people to be heard, feel trusted and find their place in society as active citizens. In this regard, our Task Force on Youth has recently developed a Position Paper, open for consultation in the AER membership. We strongly encourage regional youth councils among AER member regions to contribute to it!

Another important step the AER is taking is the revival of its Youth Regional Network (YRN). This aims at providing young people with an opportunity to express policy recommendations, to foster debate and capacity-building, to exchange good practices, to reach out to decision-makers and to influence policies. The YRN is AER’s unique forum for young people from diverse regions to raise their voice, and introduce a European dimension to youth policy in those regions.

With the revitalisation of the Youth Regional Network, the AER wishes to confirm its strong stance to encourage young people to take an active role in policy-making, and shaping the political narrative.

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AER’s Youth Regional Network (YRN) is back!

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Spread the word among your youth regional councils: the Assembly of European Regions is reviving its Youth Regional Network (YRN)!

Are you interested in joining the new YRN and taking part in its rebuilding process?

In addition, are you interested in attending the YRN General Assembly (10 March 2023) and/or in applying to a position on the YRN Presidium?

Then click on the buttons below to fill in the two dedicated forms:

Join the new YRN!
APPLY TO JOIN THE YRN GENERAL ASSEMBLY // YRN PRESIDIUM

*Only eligible young people who register through these forms will be contacted to take part in the new YRN.

About AER Youth Regional Network

Created by the Assembly of European Regions in 2008, the Youth Regional Network (YRN) is a cross-regional youth platform that promotes active youth participation at regional level. Composed of regional youth councils, parliaments, organisations and young civil servants of the AER network and membership, it provides young people (16-30 years old) with an opportunity to express policy recommendations, to foster debate and capacity-building, to exchange good practices, to reach out to decision-makers and to influence policies. The YRN is a unique forum for young people from diverse regions to raise their voice, and introduce a European dimension to youth policy in those regions.

Members of the YRN can:

  • Be nominated by their region (e.g. regional council, county council) directly, to represent them in the YRN – this was a common practice in some AER member regions working closely with their respective regional youth councils;
  • Apply spontaneously, as members of a youth regional council, student council, youth parliament, regional youth organisation…

Why are we reviving it?

The YRN suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic, and became dormant since then. However, AER Summer Academy 2022, a youth-focused event involving youth delegates from across European regions and youth civil society organisations, provided us with a momentum to relaunch the YRN. We now aim at developing a “YRN 2.0” with the youth delegates from the Summer Academy and beyond in the AER membership and network – please spread the word among your youth regional councils!

YRN Statutes
YRN Rules of Procedure

Milestones of the YRN revival – Save the dates!

1. Open consultation on the new statutes of the YRN (4-18 November)

Completed.

2. Online meeting & info session (23 November)

Completed.

3. AER’s Executive Board to formally decide on the adoption of the new statutes / amendments (6 December).

Completed.

4. Call for applications to positions in the YRN Presidium + registration to the YRN General Assembly (8 December 2022 – 24 February 2023).

Completed.

5. YRN General Assembly in Brussels & Election of the YRN Presidium (10 March 2023)

Completed.

Questions? Contact AER Programmes Coordinator Lorène Weber at [email protected].

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Engage youth for European elections! Join Road to the Future training

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AER and the Youth Regional Network (YRN) are proud to be partners of the EU-funded project “European Youth Together – Road to the Future”, aimed at empowering young people to participate in European democracy leading up to the 2019 European Parliament elections and beyond.

This project has a rich calendar of events and activities, both international and local, that will include young people, young activists and young youth workers from a diversity of youth networks. The bonds formed during this project will provide the basis for stronger cooperation on future projects and initiatives.

We would like to share with you a unique opportunity within this project: a training for organisers and facilitators of local activities that will animate the debate on the future of Europe!

This training, which will take place in Struga (Macedonia) from 2-9 February 2019, is open to 56 young activists, youth leaders, and young youth workers from youth organisations coming from the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Macedonia, Malta, Slovenia, Spain, Greece and Poland. They will be trained to organise inclusive local events, activities and debates around the participation of young voters in the 2019 European elections. To make these local events a success, participants will be trained in the use of state-of-the-art tools created during earlier project events. They will also test an interactive online platform designed to raise awareness about the elections and promote discussion about the future of Europe among young people.

Not a YRN member yet?

Youth Regional Network members will be given priority when the project team selects participants in this unique adventure to raise the voice of youth in the run up to the 2019 European Parliament Election. So if your region has a youth council or parliament, do not miss out on the opportunity to become a member by filling out the YRN membership form here (no fees required!). All European regions are eligible members under the condition that they respect the fundamental principles of the Council of Europe and commit to the YRN Statute.

How to join the training?

All information and instructions to apply for the training are available here. Don’t wait any longer and apply now! The deadline is 21 December 2018! 

Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash

European Projects

Agnese Pantaloni

Phone: +32 2 400 10 52
E-mail: a.pantaloni(at)aer.eu
Skype ID: agnesepanta
Languages: it, en, pt

Articles by Agnese


  • EU funding
  • Calls for projects and tenders
  • Partner search

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Watch the official video of the 2018 Summer Academy in Maramures

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We are delighted to share with you this video of the 2018 AER Summer Academy produced by Maramures’ audiovisual services. This film definitely reflects what the programme has to offer to regions and participants: mutual learning, networking with experts and professionals, discovering the heritage treasures of the host region, empowering young people, gaining hands-on experience through study visits… and also having lots of fun and making friends from various regions in Europe!

All these components together result in a comprehensive experience full of beautiful memories that remain forever!

Join our Summer Academy Organising Committee !

The AER Summer Academy Organising Committee (SAOC) is looking for new regional partners willing to contribute to this great initiative and have the possibility to tap into the multiple benefits of hosting an AER Summer Academy.

Our next meeting will take place in Novi Sad (Vojvodina, SRB) on Thursday 27 September, within the AER Autumn Committee Plenaries. This will be a good opportunity for non-member regions of the Summer Academy to know more about this AER’s flagship programme and the very fresh proposal for the 2019 edition.

Please, do not hesitate to contact Andrés Muñoz Rojo at the AER Secretariat for further information.

And a few last messages…

To this year’s participants: hope you enjoyed this wonderful experience as much as the organisation team did!

To potential participants: what are you waiting for to join us in next editions?

To Maramures region: A big thanks for this great audiovisual work and for making this year’s edition a total success!

Photo credits: @Maramures County Council

Video credits: @Inside Media Baia Mare (Maramures County Council)Follow AER!

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An unforgettable Summer Academy in Maramures

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The 2018 AER Summer Academy held in Maramures, Romania brought together over 100 participants from various regions across Europe to discuss and learn about the many benefits that heritage and culture can bring to a region. Through a series of plenaries, workshops and study visits, the delegates had the chance to find out about how cultural heritage contributes to the vitality of their region while also discovering the beauty of Maramures’ heritage sites and traditions.

Knowledge-sharing and study visits

Many relevant insights came out of the plenary sessions and workshops where the participants held debates on wide-ranging topics, such as the multiple positive effects of cultural heritage on regions’ prosperity; the role of youth in preserving the future of heritage sites; the growing importance of creative and traditional industries in the field of culture; and many others.

The Norwegian Youth Festivals of Art (UKM) from Østfold County Council (NO) provided the Summer Academy, in-between meetings, with a magnificent ‘soundtrack’ (to the delight of the participants!) through live performances of their young talented singers and musicians.

Last but not least, the Summer Academy delegates also had the opportunity to discover, through study visits and practical workshops, the local traditions and heritage treasures of Maramures – the UNESCO wooden churches, the restored monuments of the city of Baia Mare and the traditional local crafts and potteries.

The closing ceremony of the Summer Academy was later followed by the inauguration of the urban art work on the Youth House wall in Baia Mare carried out by Strokar artists.

Acknowledgements

AER would like first to thank Maramures County Council (RO) and its great team of devoted professionals for ensuring a success implementation of the programme. We also want to thank the locals for their warm hospitality.

A big thank you also to the Summer Academy Organising Committee (SAOC) members –  Brussels Capital Region (BE), Province of Flevoland (NL), Østfold County Council (NO), Autonomous Province of Vojvodina (SRB), Jönköping County Council (S), Canton of Zürich (CH) and Friuli Venezia Giulia (IT), because without their valuable contribution, the Summer Academy would not have been possible one more year.

And finally, you! The participants, who every year bring to the Summer Academy lots of enthusiasm, success stories and good practices that inspire our day-to-day work.

All the presentations, pictures and videos of the 2018 AER Summer Academy will be public very soon at the AER event page.

See you in 2019 for the next edition! 

Photo credits: @Maramures County CouncilFollow AER!

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YRN’s perspective on Cultural Heritage: preserving the old while facing the new

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As every year, the AER Youth Regional Network will actively participate in the AER Summer Academy in Maramures by organising a workshop that will focus on cultural heritage under the title “Preserving the old while facing the new”. The workshop aims to raise awareness of finding ways to preserve the unique traditions and cultural elements intrinsic to each region. The main focus of the workshop will be on how regions can enhance their traditions in a globalised world.

YRN’s approach to Cultural Heritage

The Youth Regional Network is a forum that brings together young people from diverse regions and gives them a collective voice on the European stage, and at the same time, introduces a European dimension to youth policy in those regions. YRN’s objectives include networking, influencing policy by involving young people in decision-making processes at regional and European level, exchanging best practice and experience by working together on European projects, and applying the principle of subsidiarity.

This past spring the YRN made concrete political decisions regarding cultural heritage at the YRN Plenary and General Assembly meetings in Nordland (Norway) and, therefore, this workshop will also be an occasion to get involved in their work and be an active part of their strategy to enhance youth participation at different levels.

Click below to look at YRN Political Statement on Cultural Heritage!

Take-away

This interactive workshop will be divided into the following agenda items:

  • General introduction about YRN and the workshop methodology;
  • YRN’s vision on key policy affairs;
  • Knowledge exchange and discussion with all the participants;
  • Wrap-up of the discussions.

The participants will get more acquainted with the YRN’s political vision and will have the opportunity to share good practices.

Registrations open!

If you want to participate in this workshop and in many others, just check the Summer Academy practical information and then fill in the registration form available at the AER event page for the 2018 Summer Academy in Maramures (RO).

Check every detail of the event by clicking on the link below!

2018 AER Summer Academy in Maramures

Photo credits: Rob Walsh on UnsplashFollow AER!

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Recapping the AER Youth Regional Network’s Spring Plenary and General Assembly Meetings!

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From 15 to 18 of March, the AER Youth Regional Network (YRN) held its General Assembly and Spring Plenary Meetings in Bodø, Nordland (NO), where YRN members attending this event were engaged in a three-day discussion and experience exchange on crucial issues for youth.

Some of the main topics discussed during the meetings were youth mental health –through the idea of how arts and culture could contribute to preventing mental disorders–; Artificial Intelligence, science and technology; youth and democratic participation; youth involvement in Cultural Heritage safeguarding; and education and digital competences.

The YRN 2018 General Assembly and Spring Plenary meeting was opened by county mayor Ms. Sonja Alice Steen, followed by an interactive workshop hosted by Hevrøy and Mette Jordahl-Broback about the linkage between youth mental health and arts and culture, as a means for young people to speak up and for prevention purposes. The second workshop about Artificial Intelligence was hosted by the communications advisor at NAROM (Norwegian Centre for Space-related Education) Ørjan H. H. Vøllestad who held a presentation on “How we stimulate the interest of science and technology using space”.

The President of the YRN, Gloria Vitaly, took also the opportunity within the YRN meetings to present the Norwegian Youth Festivals of Art (UKM); a cultural initiative aimed to stimulate children and young people from the age of 10 to 20 to be creative and active, and to develop and make their cultural activity or talent visible.

Additionally, the President of YRN, in her role as Regional Focal Point on the SDG-4 for the ECOSOC Youth Forum, made a presentation underscoring the importance of digital competences in education which was followed by a workshop where YRN participants had the opportunity to brainstorm on the multiple challenging aspects for ensuring quality and inclusive education for all.

The AER Secretariat introduced the European Year of Cultural Heritage to YRN members by organising a discussion dedicated to heighten awareness about the central role young people play in preserving heritage values, favouring intercultural understanding and respect for cultural diversity, and thus reinforcing a sense of common identity that guarantees the sustainability of heritage sites.

Click here to get the minutes of the 2018 AER Youth Regional Network’s General Assembly and Spring Plenary meetings.

You can also check the presentations and other key documents on the AER event page.

Contact

Programmes

Andrés Muñoz Rojo

Phone: +32 2 400 10 54
E-mail: a.munoz(at)aer.eu
Skype ID: AM-Rojo
Languages: en, fr, es

Articles by Andres


  • Eurodyssey
  • Youth Regional Network
  • Summer Academy

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Youth mobility: a policy that goes beyond employment

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At their Autumn Plenary meeting in Brussels, the Youth Regional Network (YRN) took a closer look at the topic of youth mobility. The aim was to grasp the incredible potential (and underlying repercussions) for the stakeholders involved in promoting the mobility of (young) people in Europe. As youth delegates from their regions, YRN members were encouraged to keep these stakes in mind when considering youth mobility policies in the future.

Youth mobility at AER

Our very own youth mobility programme: Eurodyssey

28 AER member regions are involved and managing the AER Eurodyssey programme. The programme offers internships and language courses to young graduates (up to 35 years old) in another European region. The programme prides itself in promoting fair mobility: mobility for all.

It does so by:

  • working with companies of different sizes and active in different sectors (SMEs, multinational, private and public organisations, NGOs, etc.)
  • offering traineeships in a broad-range of sectors (22 sectors in the past year of activity)
  • targeting young people with different levels of education (from upper secondary to PHD graduates)
  • offering placements in urban and rural areas
  • taking measures to work with less qualified youngsters and youngsters in need

What’s in it for regions?

The complexity of youth mobility is apparent when we look at the bodies responsible with implementing the Eurodyssey programme on behalf of the 28 regions.

Many of them are employment agencies, but others are regional departments responsible for youth policy or education and life-long learning or social policy and integration and sometimes international or European affairs.

Although the most common and obvious reason to promote youth mobility is tackling youth unemployment, there may be other reasons for promoting youth mobility. For example, what are Swiss cantons, where youth unemployment is close to zero, getting out of a youth mobility programme?

The Eurodyssey Statute states that (Article 1) the programme aims at increasing employability, building ties between regions and helping companies open up to Europe but also promoting the notion of European citizenship. So if getting a relevant job experience in another European region is a clear plus for a youngster’s CV, the experience gained and benefits go beyond the sole objective of getting on the job market; youth mobility can also be about reducing socio-economic barriers, promoting life-long-learning, improving integration of minorities and, more generally, taking part in interregional cooperation.

Win-win-win for the stakeholders

The fact that the Eurodyssey programme is nested in an interregional organisation also sheds light on the value placed on the stakeholders involved. Contrary to other youth mobility programmes, Eurodyssey clearly identifies and is concerned with the three main actors involved: the region, the company and the youngster.

Since the exchanges are funded by the regions themselves, they must reap benefits in the policy areas that the region aims to address (unemployment, integration, education, etc.). The region is also concerned with the beneficiaries (i.e. their companies) and take care in selecting sectors and types of companies that could most benefit from the traineeship.

Finally of course, the regions focus their attention and time on the young professionals they are receiving or sending. This ensures a quality match for the company and the trainee. As youngsters from less advantaged backgrounds are beneficiaries of the programme, special attention is paid to accompanying them in the preparation and planning of the mobility.

Mobility in Europe

What is at stake for mobility in Europe

The Centre for European Policy Studies summed up the key challenge in their special report:

“Mobility, which comes in many different shapes and forms, is one of the cornerstones of European integration. It is related to all parts of the fundamental freedoms set out in the Treaty of Rome: the free movement of people, capital, goods and services. […] While freedom of movement is one of the most celebrated, practical and visible rights stemming from EU integration, it is also a contested field that embodies a number of challenges. […] The risk has emerged in recent years that the broad public support for labour mobility is eroding – whether justified or not. This is a development that the Union can ill afford.” (source)

One key figure to remember about mobility in Europe: 3% of Europeans don’t live in the country they were born in

A common figure that usually pops up on the issue of the mobility of Europeans is the percentage of people living in another EU country other than the one they were born in. When asked if they thought that figure was 12%, 8% or 3%, all YRN members answered 12% or 8%, without exception. The reality is that only 3% of Europeans live in another country. Although this figure dates back a couple of years, it is recognised as a low number. From those 3%, the number the number of European working in another country is even lower. The 3% includes students, family members, job-seekers and pensioners.

In their study, Mikkel Barslund, Matthias Busse and Joscha Schwarzwälder argue that “the prevailing view in academic circles and among policy-makers is that intra-EU labour mobility is too low; too low to support the single labour market as anything but a notion and too low to play anything other than a modest role in helping to rebalance the eurozone after the crisis”

 

Photo by Paulette Wooten on UnsplashFollow AER!

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Highlights from the AER Youth Regional Network’s Autumn Plenary Meeting!

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On the 3-5 November in Brussels, the AER Youth Regional Network held its Autumn Plenary Meeting, with three days of discussions, experience exchange and decisions on some of the most topical issues regarding youth.

The meeting outlined debates and reactions to the integration of young migrants, youth mobility and youth participation in sustainability.

The Plenary kicked off with a workshop debate with Yoomi Renstrom, Member of the European Committee of the Regions and Mayor of the Municipality of Ovanåker, on the integration of migrant young people. YRN delegates stressed that regionally based policies and strategies can more effectively support young migrants to integrate and that a multi-level governance approach, with the engagement of youth, is fundamental to the social, economic and civic inclusion of migrant young people.

Céline Dawans, AER Coordinator Governance & Communications, also addressed the plenary, speaking about youth mobility and the AER exchange programme Eurodyssey. Followed a presentation by the President of YRN Economy Committee, Vahram Vardanyan, on the European Charter on Quality in Learning Mobility and its set of principles to deliver high quality mobility projects. Participants were keen to note that youth mobility is essential in promoting cultural awareness and intercultural understanding, developing skills and competences, boosting employability, exchanging good practices and embracing diversity.

The YRN also rebranded with a new visual identity and logo.

The three YRN Thematic Committees – Economy and Regional Development; Social Policy and Public Health; Culture and Education – also looked at its own priority issues and actions.

Read the minutes of the meeting here.Follow AER!

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MYFER Award jury meeting

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Today, Tuesday 16 May early in the morning the jury of the Most Youth Friendly European Region Award met in Brussels, Belgium. Together, they evaluated the 10 shortlisted applications. After passionate debates, the  jury selected MYFER 2017’s grand winner. The winner will be publicly announced on  31 of May at the AER General Assembly in Austria. A special prize will also be awarded.

Candidates 

Ten candidates from various regions applied for the prize:

  • AP Vojvodina, Serbia : “Health education on reproductive health of high school students in the region of Vojvodina”,
  • Hedmark, Norway : “Youth County Council of Hedmark”,
  • Lower Austria, Austria : “Youth coaches for Lower Austria communities”,
  • Umbria, Italy: “Creative Camp”,
  • County of Vrancea, Romania : “Grow up in Vrancea – remigrated children in Vrancea county – educated, supported, counseled!”,
  • Umbria, Italy : “Business at school”,
  • Antalya, Turkey : “School league”,
  • Antalya, Turkey : “GEDAM”,
  • Catalonia, Spain: “New opportunities and unique programs”,
  • Canton of Fribourg, Switzerland : “Je participe ! / Ich mache mit!”.

Rules & Criteria

The Jury members evaluated thoroughly all the applications. The candidates were rated according to specific criteria such as the impact and regional dimension of the initiative, the involvement of youth in managing and developing the initiative, its sustainability and the level of social inclusion, gender equality and the respect of equal opportunities.

Diverse initiatives

The MYFER award gathers very diverse initiatives, promoting the principles of tolerance and equal opportunities. Additionnally, the award plays a precious part in raising awareness on youth inclusion in policy definition and implementation.

The projects presented this year reflect this diversity. Some, focused mainly on fostering youth participation and consultation in local politics. Others, touch upon very specific subjects, such as sexual health education or improving younger generation’s enrollment in businesses and entrepreneurship. Most of the applications emphasized clearly the importance of education and schooling.

In the end, each program greatly participated in promoting young people’s involvement in society, public matters, and politics. All initiatives worked hard to foster cooperation, youth inclusion, strong education, good health and employment.

Jury members

Sonja Steen, Chair of the MYFER Jury, President of the AER Committee for Culture, Youth and Education

Giovanni Briganti, President of the AER  Youth Regional Network Committee for Education and Culture, Member of the Youth Council of Brussels-Wallonie

Tinna Ros Steinsdottir, Child participation and network development Officer at Eurochild

David Garrahy, Head of policy and advocacy for the European Youth Forum

Sam Van Hoof, President of the European Youth Parliament Belgium, Member of the European Youth Parliament

Valentin Dupouey, Member of the Advisory Council on Youth, Council of Europe Youth Department

Organisations represented

Youth Regional Network (YRN)

Created by the Assembly of European Regions, the Youth Regional Network (YRN) is a platform of regional-level youth parliaments, councils and organisations from the wider Europe. YRN provides a truly unique forum giving young people from diverse regions a collective voice on the European stage while introducing a European dimension to youth policy in those regions.

Eurochild

Eurochild is a network of 165 organisations and individuals working in and across Europe to promote the rights and well-being of children and young people. Eurochild’s work is underpinned by the UNCRC and aims to work for and with children to promote their rights and well-being in policy and practice. This work feeds into Eurochild’s vision of a society where children and young people grow up happy, healthy and confident and respected as individuals in their own right.

European Youth Forum

The European Youth Forum (YFJ) is the platform of youth organisations in Europe. Representing 104 youth organisations, both National Youth Councils and International Non-Governmental Youth Organisations, we believe youth organisations are the tool through which we empower, encourage, involve, represent, reach out and support young people. The Youth Forum brings together tens of millions of young people from all over Europe, organised in order to represent their common interests. We advocate for a Europe with stronger youth organisations, more youth participation, social and economic inclusion, youth rights and sustainable development.

European Youth Parliament (EYP)

The European Youth Parliament (EYP) is a unique educational programme which brings together youngsters from all over Europe to learn, exchange and debate. The EYP is an organisation for young people, by young people with a mission is to inspire and empower young Europeans to become open-minded, tolerant and active citizens.

Council of Europe Youth Department

The Youth Department of the Council of Europe provides funding and educational support for international youth activities aiming to promote youth citizenship, youth mobility and the values of human rights, democracy and cultural pluralism. It seeks to bring together and disseminate expertise and knowledge about the life situations, aspirations and ways of expression of young Europeans.

The Advisory Council on Youth is a Council of Europe body made up of 30 representatives from youth NGOs and networks in Europe which provide opinions and input on all youth sector activities of the Council of Europe. It also ensures that young people are involved in all activities of the Council of Europe. It is a unique structure world-wide for the active participation of young people at such a high decision-making level.

Information on MYFER

Most Youth Friendly European Region Award (MYFER)

Related articles

Awarding youth-friendly practices in European Regions

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YRN at the European Platform on Learning Mobility

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The Youth Regional Network (YRN) participated in the Steering Group meeting of the European Platform on Learning Mobility (EPLM) that took place on 17-18 May in Bordeaux (FR). YRN was represented by the President of the Committee of Economy and Regional Development, Mr. Vahram Vardanyan.

The meeting focused on the work undertaken by EPLM, in particular on the “European Charter on Quality in Learning Mobility in the youth field”, and the forthcoming activities of the Platform, including the EPLM bi-annual conference “From Good to Better: Enhancing Quality in Learning Mobility in the Youth Field from a Cross-sectoral Perspective” to be held on 22-24 January 2018 in France. In addition, the Steering Group decided to hold an expert group meeting in Budapest on 6-7 July to elaborate indicators for quality in learning mobility in the youth field to accompany the Charter.

The Steering Group members also discussed the possibility of presenting the Charter during the Autumn Plenary Meeting of YRN and the development of a political statement from the network on these guidelines.

The EPLM focuses on the learning mobility of young people and of practitioners in the youth field, and particularly in various forms of youth work, which, in the view of the EPLM, should be supported by European youth policy.

A Steering Group guides the EPLM for a certain period of time. The members of the Steering Group represent a wide variety of stakeholders, programmes and formats in the field of learning mobility. The Steering Group consists of researchers, policy makers and practitioners. All those include: young people’s representatives and youth NGO’s – including the AER Youth Regional Network, European Youth Forum, policy makers from European institutions, national youth ministries and regional, local entities, researchers from universities and institutes, national agencies of the Erasmus+ programme, the trainers community, youth work practitioners and youth workers, youth information services, social work and employment / vocational education, and training sectors. The Steering Group is also responsible for the organisation of conferences to be held on a bi-annual basis.

The next Steering Group meeting of the EPLM was scheduled on the 28-29 September 2017 in Brussels (BE).

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Join the EU pilot-initiative “Interreg Volunteer Youth”

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The Interreg Volunteer Youth (IVY) initiative is part of the broader European Solidarity Corps Initiative launched by the European Commission in December 2016.

IVY officially started on 1st March 2017 and is a 1-year pilot action to offer the possibility to young Europeans aged 18-30 to serve as volunteers in the cross-border, transnational or interregional programmes and related projects. Each experience is between 2 and 6 month long.

The initiative aims at involving young volunteers to support, promote and report the concrete achievements of Interreg programmes and projects, as well as generally promote cooperation across European borders and related values such as solidarity. IVY will give volunteers the opportunity to familiarise with the Interreg programmes and projects, make them aware of the many benefits of collaboration among EU internal borders as well as enhance their sense of European solidarity, citizenship and civic engagement. Moreover, thanks to the IVY, volunteers will acquire a unique experience of personal growth as well as enhancing and gaining skills that they can employ in their future experiences.

Support and visibility through volunteering are the leitmotiv of this initiative.

The Association of European Border Regions (AEBR), a longstanding AER partner, has the pleasure and honour to manage this pilot initiative on behalf of the European Commission.

AER supports this initiative which complements, on the volunteering side, its Eurodyssey programme.

Interreg Programmes & Projects interested in joining IVY and are welcome to contact AERB at: [email protected]Follow AER!

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Youngest AER Youth Regional Network member meets “Napalm Girl”

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Last December, Ms Göksu Zeybek, AER’s youngest Youth Regional Network member met with Kim Phùc, also known as the “Napalm Girl” while she was in Istanbul. Ms. Phùc, now 53 and a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, shared some of her great life lessons on forgiveness and courage to make a difference in a war-torn world.

Ms Zeybek concluded from this exceptional meeting: “I was very honoured and humbled to meet with such an inspiring women (…) Her hopeful vision for the future inspired me, and if she, a woman who has experienced war first hand and suffered for many years, can have hope for the future, we all can.”

Read the full article here:

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YRN members take bold decisions on the future of their organisation

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Gathered for their Plenary meeting in the County of Vrancea (Romania) from 18 to 20 November 2016, the delegates from the AER Youth Regional Network (YRN) took strong decisions on the future of their organisation, to make it more adapted to the realities faced by youth in their regions, more relevant, more transparent and more efficient.

The latest Plenary meeting of the YRN has been a great opportunity for the members to express their wishes and concerns over the network, with open discussions and honest debates. This preliminary work will now give a strong mandate to the YRN Presidium to present a final statutory document, that will be presented, amended, and voted at the next General Assembly.

Closer relationship with the Assembly of European Regions

Over the last years, the Youth Regional Network has been quite independent and flying alone. Unanimously, the youth delegates have shown they intention to work in close relation with their “mother organisation“, the Assembly of European Regions. The Presidium already made a couple of proposals to implement this, including a reform of the committees to link them directly to the three Committees of AER. The ties with AER Committee 3 (Culture, Education and Youth) and with its Sub-committee on Youth will be reinforced, as requested by all the parties involved. A few years back, the AER Executive Board had already taken a similar approach and decided to include the President of the YRN. The AER Secretariat will also strengthen its role of coordination, to ensure a good flow of information between the two structures.

Concrete outputs

As for their senior counterparts, the YRN delegates have emphasized the importance of concrete outputs, that can be used by all delegates once they are back in their home region. The correct use and implementation of all the knowledge and exchanges is of course the most important, but also the most critical, phase of the AER activities. Together with the AER Secretariat, the Presidium will make sure that all members receive the right tools to do so, to keep on working home, relay the messages shared within the YRN and better prepare the coming meetings. Again, many proposals were put on the table in Vrancea, and already started to be implemented.

THE voice of youth delegates in Europe

With its unique composition, the Youth Regional Network truly represents the youth from Europe, in their cultural, geographic and political diversity. To strengthen their position, the YRN wishes to become a real partner of the European Union and the Council of Europe, and establish long-term partnerships with other organisations and institutions, to activate the voice of youth wherever it is relevant.

Attractiveness and membership

With a current number of 48 members, the YRN is already a solid network, but still has room for enlarging. The delegates proposed to simplify the membership procedures and to design a strategic plan to strengthen the links with the current members; better inform the AER members about the programme and the relevance to join it; address other youth regional councils and organisations. In its various missions and meetings, the Assembly of European Regions will keep on promoting the programme, and ensure a good participation from its members.

Ongoing discussions

Age limit, funding of activities, internal management,… Many points were raised by the youth delegates and led to debates, without coming to a prior consensus on principles. The Presidium will discuss them in the next weeks and come with concrete proposals, which will all be at the agenda of the General Assembly for decision of the members.

The overall exercice was an excellent start, contributing to reinforce the democratic process for a stronger involvement and endorsement of the members. After the next General Assembly, the Youth Regional Network will be fully prepared for a second breath, driven by a fully pledged team!

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