Conference to seek ways to increase youth involvement in political processes

From 23 to 26 March around 260 young people and policy-makers work side by side at the EU Youth Conference - a four-day event on empowering young people for political participation in democratic life in Europe.

The conference is the largest youth event under the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU and is organised together with the Latvian Ministry of Education and Science, the European Youth Forum and the National Youth Council of Latvia. Joint recommendations on increasing political involvement of young people will be drawn up as a result of the conference and brought to attention of the EU Youth Ministers at the Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council on 18-19 May 2015.

A number of barriers that limit political participation by young people have previously been identified by various studies. These include the absence of legal frameworks; a lack of citizenship education; the inability and unwillingness of politicians to engage with young people in political processes; the lack of a participatory culture within educational establishments; insufficient involvement and insufficient financial resources.

Five months prior to the EU Youth Conference, a broad consultation was carried out with over 40 000 young people, and with policy-makers in all the EU Member States. This exercise, known as the Structured Dialogue, is a continuous joint reflection on the priorities, implementation, and follow-up of European cooperation in the youth field.

Live streaming of the official opening, introductory session and panel discussions on 24 March from 09:30 to 13:00 and the closure of the conference on 26 March from 09:30 to 12:00 is available on the Presidency website. Please note that Latvian time is one hour ahead of Brussels time.

Follow the EU Youth Conference on facebook.com/euyouthconfriga.

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