On 30 June, the European Economic and Social Committee initiative ‘Empowering youth voices through the EESC Youth Test’ joined three other finalists in the‘ Excellence in diversity and inclusion’ category at the ceremony for the Ombudsman Award for Good Administration. Amidst the shortlisted projects, the winning recognition was awarded to the DiscoverEU Inclusion Action, a European Commission initiative dedicated to opening Europe to young people with fewer opportunities.

The EESC was represented at the ceremony by Vice-President Marija Hanževački, President of the EESC Youth Group Nicoletta Merlo and Secretary-General Isabelle Le Galo Flores. Emphasising the strategic importance of the nomination, Ms Hanževački underlined that youth participation in EU decision-making must become a necessity: ‘They are our present and future. We must remember: nothing about them, without them.’ 

Entries were drawn from 48 nominations and evaluated based on their demonstration of good public administration, a culture of service and a commitment to improving the lives of citizens. Following this review, three finalists were selected for each award category. 

During the ceremony, European Ombudswoman Teresa Anjinho underscored the originality and innovation of the projects, stating: ‘This year’s nominations highlighted the quality of the work of the EU institutions with projects clearly driven by dedication and a strong commitment to public service and good administration.’ 

The EESC Youth Test enables youth organisations to shape the EESC’s agenda and opinions. The initiative was co-created with the European Youth Forum, and has made made the EESC the first EU institution to introduce a structured mechanism for involving young people directly in its core advisory work. At the heart of the Youth Test is a network of 73 youth organisations from across Europe and beyond. Every month, these organisations can express an interest in upcoming EESC opinions. Based on this input, the EESC section bureau select opinions to be ‘youth tested’. Youth representatives then participate in study group meetings, providing concrete contributions that feed directly into the opinion-drafting process.

Since its launch, over 80 EESC opinions have been youth tested. The initiative has also inspired institutional change, with the European Commission introducing its own Youth Check, and other administrations at EU, national, regional and local level looking to the EESC as a reference point for meaningful youth participation.