AER Committee 3 held its autumn plenary meeting in Strasbourg at the invitation of the Alsace Region (FR) and Regional Councillor Lilla Merabet in charge of Youth.

Youth was at the heart of the series of events organised from 29 to 31 October 2013:

• AER seminar on European funding for financing youth projects.
• Public debate including young people from the Alsace Youth Parliament on the challenges for youth participation in the upcoming European elections.
• Working session on the AER Political report on Youth Participation
• Meeting of the working group on school drop-out

The first draft of the Political report on Youth participation in democratic life led by Lilla Merabet was discussed and will be sent for a final check to all regions that actively participated in the elaboration. It will then be presented to the next Bureau meeting in February 2014 for adoption. A “toolbox” will complement the report in order to help regions who are willing to establish a youth council or youth parliament.

The Working group on “school drop-out” was kicked-off meeting in June. Initially members exchanged experiences & practices on prevention measures. Following the success of the working group and the numerous contributions handed in by the participating regions, another meeting on prevention measures will be organised before starting the work on “intervention” measures.
At the plenary session members also elected the chair persons of the Committee 3 Sub-Committees:

Dag Rønning, Hedmark (NO) – Vice-President of Committee 3
Krister Kax Sundberg, Sörmland (SE) – President of Sub-Committee “Culture”
Marita Fransson, Västerbotten (SE) – Vice-President of Sub-Committee “Culture”
Karoly Ambrus, Brasov (RO) – President of Sub-Committee “Education”
Lilla Merabet, Alsace (FR) – confirmed President of Sub-Committee “Youth”
Beat Rohner, St. Gallen (CH) & YRN President – Vice-President of Sub-Committee “Youth”
Jacek Pilawa, Dolnoslaskie (PL) – confirmed President of Sub-Committee “International Cooperation”

Moreover, the two representatives for Equal Opportunities are:

Lilla Merabet, Alsace (FR)
Dag Rønning, Hedmark (NO)

Committee 3 members adopted their 2014 priorities, including the new working group on the Eastern partnership, which will be launched by the end of the year.