Youth Involvement in social and civil dialogue in the Mediterranean region

APPENDIX EESC REX/583

Youth involvement in social and civil dialogue in the Mediterranean region : see 'Downloads'

Key Points

The EESC:

• recommends including youth representatives in every youth-focused legal activity and involving young people in all stages of the policy-making process, from decision-making to the implementation and evaluation of policies;
• notes that educational systems should more strongly promote civic engagement through participatory processes and create supportive ecosystems for the acquisitions of appropriate skill sets, enabling young people to engage confidently in institutional processes;
• estimates that civil society and social partner organisations should further support young people by providing capacity-building workshops, making it easier for them to connect with resources and opportunities for involvement;
• highlights the importance of research activities focusing on young people's involvement in the labour market, education, participatory processes and community life;
• stresses that encouraging young workers to take part in collective bargaining and establishing youth-oriented representative structures at company level is an effective way of structurally embedding youth participation in social dialogue structures;
• states that the representation of youth organisations and youth councils in discussions with state authorities should be increased by recognising youth workers as key players in consultation processes and providing them with the necessary space and resources to contribute effectively;
• emphasizes that Mediterranean countries are often characterised by a lack of adequate frameworks for effective social dialogue and therefore stresses the need to strengthen social dialogue in particular at national, sectoral and company levels through the full implementation of the key ILO Conventions on social dialogue;
• calls on the European Commission to support a third phase of the South Mediterranean Social Dialogue (SOLiD) project, which should be used to develop a Youth Charter, while also exploring the establishment of youth-focused consultative mechanisms.