Link to online meeting below
The Civil Society Organisations' Group of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the Young European Federalists (JEF Europe) are co-organising an event on analysing the current issues of youth civic spaces and creating common policy solutions for moving forward on them. The event is organised in the framework of JEF's Democracy under Pressure campaign and Youth Vote project (COYV), which tackles the challenges of youth engagement and participation in the next European Parliament elections in 2024. The seminar on 4 July follows on from two webinars on youth civic participation organised by the Civil Society Organisations' Group in 2021 and 2022.
Youth organisations' role in society includes serving as watchdogs and ringing the bell when the rule of law, democracy and human rights are undermined. They also serve as vehicles to ensure the voices of young people are adequately represented, and provide a platform for young citizens to both practice and foster democracy from early on.
The seminar will discuss tendencies as well as specific violations of youth civic spaces across Europe and look at existing institutional policy tools, such as the Council of Europe's Recommendation on youth civic spaces, different reports of the European Parliament in relation to civic space, the Rule of Law Report of the European Commission and the EESC resolution 'The long-lasting legacy of the European Year of Youth: mainstreaming and empowerment'. Through an exchange between youth and institutional representatives, potential solutions will be identified.
The seminar will be held in English and in a hybrid format. Participants can join either online via Microsoft Teams or in person at the EESC.
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