Background of the Youth Assembly 2012
YOUTH ASSEMBLY 2012
“Youth and democracy: the young generation sacrificed?”
SRASBOURG
October 2012
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in cooperation with the
European Youth Centre Strasbourg and the Youth sector of the Council of Europe
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Background document and description of the Assembly
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Background of the Youth Assembly 2012
Democracy is one of the three main pillars of the Council of Europe, together with human rights and the rule of law. The work on democracy with young people is not new. For years, the Council of Europe has focused on capacity building and training of young people, youth leaders and youth workers on democracy, human rights, participation and citizenship.
As for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, following the reports adopted in 2011 (Resolution 1828 on “Reversing the sharp decline in youth employment” and Recommendation 1978 “Towards a European framework convention on youth rights”), in January 2012 it decided to prepare a report on “The young generation sacrificed: political, social, economic and other consequences of the financial crisis”. These reports clearly demonstrate the Assembly’s concerns in this area.
Moreover, in the spirit of Resolution 1822 (2011) (on reform of the Parliamentary Assembly), it has been proposed that a youth assembly be held from 5 to 10 October 2012, in co-operation with the European Youth Foundation and other partners from the Council of Europe’s youth sector. Holding the event will enable the Parliamentary Assembly to boost dialogue with, and raise the profile and impact of its work among, a population group to which it attaches great importance.
Owing to the demographic and cultural changes that have taken place in Europe over the last few years, young people face increasing difficulties in accessing to, and exercising their rights. Their autonomy is increasingly threatened as a consequence of economic, geographical and socio-cultural inequalities. Youth policies are also particularly vulnerable to economic recession, as they are often relegated to a secondary place in governmental priorities and resource allocation.
Indeed, at times of economic and social crisis, the feelings of powerlessness and anxiety about the future have created deeper tensions and an on-going feeling in our societies that the voice of the people is not being heard enough. Young people are often at the centre of these tensions, because they are directly affected by the uncertainties regarding their real possibility of participating in society, contributing to its development and developing their autonomy.
In a continent with ageing societies, young people are the first victims of lacking opportunities, unemployment, housing difficulties and often-limited mobility in a virtually more globalised, but physically often closed space.
Recent protest movements of young people in Europe and in the Arab world have shown youth's willingness to act and bring about change towards more democratic societies in which young people are valued and given the space to develop and contribute actively. At the same time, political participation of young people has strongly decreased, showing a lack of trust in governments and representatives. Political debates often focus on issues (pensions, security, etc.), which are not the priority concerns of young people (“the aging of politics” phenomenon).
The Youth Assembly 2012 will take place in the frame of the Strasbourg World Forum for Democracy, which will bring together established leaders and emerging voices from different parts of the world to debate the gap between the existing social, political and economic models and the new realities in today's world. During the youth event, 170 young people will actively work towards the development of concrete recommendations on themes related to youth and democracy, which will be transmitted to the World Forum on Democracy. 40 young people from the youth Assembly will be selected to stay for the World Forum and deliver young people's messages. This event therefore represents a unique chance for young people from all across Europe and beyond to present their view on the place of democracy in a quickly changing world, to express their concerns and identify common challenges with concrete proposals to be taken to the World Forum.