Youth Forum Jeunesse

OUR ORGANISATION

The European Youth Forum is an international organisation established by national youth councils and international non-governmental youth organisations to represent the interests of young people from all over Europe. It is the youth platform in Europe representing youth organisations in international institutions - mainly the European Union, the Council of Europe and the United Nations. It serves to channel the flow of information and opinions between young people and decision-makers. The European Youth Forum has 93 members made up of national youth councils and international non-governmental youth organisations, which are federations in themselves, bringing together tens of millions of young people from all European countries.

OUR MISSION

The European Youth Forum works to empower young people to actively participate in the shaping of Europe and the society in which they live. Through our member organisations and our representative role we want to improve the living conditions of young people as European citizens in today’s world.

The European Youth Forum works for the interests of all young people in Europe. As a platform, we are the representative body of our members in contacts with the institutions and partners in the youth field.

OUR AIMS

The European Youth Forum aims to:

be a consultative body for international institutions (European Union, Council of Europe, United Nations Organisation, etc) on all issues relevant to young people and to youth organisations;
promote youth policy through government and institutional policy;
influence the policy of international institutions on youth-related issues;
increase the participation of young people and youth organisations in society as well as in the decision-making process;
promote the exchange of ideas and experiences, mutual understanding, and equal rights and opportunities among young people in Europe.

OUR WORK

Through its work in various fields, the European Youth Forum:

Advocacy Work

Works for a successful European youth policy for and with young people in a more participatory European Union;
Supports and promotes recognition of a European civil society built by and for young people and their associations;
Participates in the debate on the future of an enlarged Europe.

Citizenship and Lifewide Learning

Encourages non-formal education and lifewide learning;
Promotes active citizenship.
Supports formal education and vocational training;

Employment & Social Affairs

Fights for higher youth employment levels in Europe;
Combats social exclusion among young people;
Promotes more comprehensive social protection for young people in Europe.

Human Rights and Equality

Lobbies the European institutions to include Human Rights Education in their agenda;
Participates in the fight against racism, xenophobia, intolerance and discrimination at European level.
Promotes gender equality between women and men;
Develops co-operation with minority youth organisations and works to include young people from minority backgrounds in our Member Organisations.

Global Youth Co-operation

Ensures that the voice of young people is heard and acted upon at the highest levels of international co-operation;
Assists the European Union in its initiatives to give all young people the opportunity to create a better world;
Brings together representatives of regional youth platforms from Asia to Latin America in order to discuss common strategy and develop inter-cultural links.

Youth Work Development

Empowers young people by helping them participate in the formulation of national youth policy;
Creates equal opportunities for young people across Europe, including in Central and Eastern Europe;
Promotes democracy and stability for young people in South East Europe;
Promotes European co-operation at the grassroots level by encouraging local and regional youth work.

Membership and Training

Keeps its  members up to date with youth-related information, and helps interested organisations apply for membership;
Works on the development and organisation of youth training programmes;
Provides its own training package to support the work of its member organisations;
Co-ordinates a pool of youth trainers from member and non-member youth organisations.

Communications

Publishes a variety of documents and reports, including its Youth Opinion magazine.

OUR MEMBER ORGANISATIONS

Full members

National Youth Councils (NYCs)
Aeskulyðssamband Islands - AESI (Iceland); Suomen Nuorisoyhteistyö Allianssi ry - Allianssi (Finland); British Youth Council - BYC (Great Britain); Conférence Générale de la Jeunesse Luxembourgoise - CGJL (Luxembourg); Consejo de la Juventud de España - CJE (Spain); Comité pour les Relations Nationales et Internationales des Associations de Jeunesse et d’Education Populaire - CNAJEP (France); Conselho Nacional de Juventude - CNJ (Portugal); Consell Nacional de la Joventut de Catalunya - CNJC (Spain-Catalonia); Consiliul National Al Tineretului Din Moldova – CNTM (Moldova); Comité pour les Relations Internationales de Jeunesse - CRIJ (Belgium, French-speaking Community); National Youth Council of Switzerland - SAJV/CSAJ (Switzerland); Cyprus Youth Council for International Co-operation – CYCIC (Cyprus); Deutsches Nationalkomitee für Internationale Jugendarbeit - DNK (Germany); Dansk Ungdoms Fællesråd - DUF (Denmark); National Council of Hellenic Youth Organisations - ESYN (Greece); Nationale Jeugdraad - JEUGDRAAD (Netherlands); Kunsill Nazzjonali Taz-Zghazagh - KNZ-Malta (Malta); Lietuvos Jaunimo Organizaciju Taryba - LIJOT (Lithuania); Latvijas Jaunatnes Padome - LJP (Latvia); Landsrådet for Norges barne - og ungdomsorganisasjoner - LNU (Norway); Landsrådet för Sveriges ungdomsorganisationer - LSU (Sweden); Mladinski Svet Slovenjie - MSS (Slovenia); National Assembly of Youth Organisations of the Republic of Azerbaijan – NAYORA (Azerbaijan); National Council of Youth Organisations of Georgia – NCYOG (Georgia); Nemzetközi Ifjúsági Koordinációs Iroda - NIKI (Hungary); National Youth Council of Ireland - NYCI (Ireland); National Youth Council of Russia - NYCR (Russia); Österreichisches Nationalkommittee für International Jugendarbeit - ÖNK (Austria); Belarusian Union of Youth and Children's Public Associations - RADA (Belarus); Rada Mládeže Slovenska - RMS (Slovakia); Vlaamse Jeugdraad - VJR (Belgium, Flemish-speaking Community).

International Non-Governmental Youth Organisations (INGYOs)
Association des Etats Généraux des Etudiants de l'Europe – AEGEE Europe; Alliance of European Voluntary Service Organisations - ALLIANCE; International ATD Fourth World Movement - ATD-Quart Monde; Democrat Youth Community of Europe - DEMYC; European Bureau of Conscientious Objection - EBCO/BEOC; EC Organisation of Socialist Youth - ECOSY; European Confederation of Youth Clubs - ECYC; European Committee for Young Farmers and 4H Clubs - ECYF4HC; European Democrat Students - EDS; European Educational Exchanges - Youth for Understanding - EEE-YFU; European Federation for Intercultural Learning - EFIL; European Federation of Youth Service Organisations - EFYSO; European Good Templars Youth Federation - EGTYF; The National Unions of Students in Europe - ESIB; European Trade Union Confederation - ETUC Youth; EU Federation of Youth Hostel Associations - EUFED; European Union of Jewish Students - EUJS/UEEJ; Experiment in Europe - EXPERIMENT; Ecumenical Youth Council in Europe - EYCE; International Federation of Catholic Parochial Youth Movements - FIMCAP; Federation of the Young European Greens - FYEG; International Cultural Youth Exchange in Europe - ICYE; International Federation of Liberal Youth - IFLRY; International Falcon Movement - Socialist Educational International - IFM/SEI; International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth and Student Organisation - IGLYO; International Union of Socialist Youth - IUSY; International Young Naturefriends - IYNF; International Young Catholic Students - International Movement of Catholic Students - JECI-MIEC; Young European Federalists - JEF; Union of Jeunesses Musicales of Europe - Jeunesses Musicales; European Young Christian Workers - JOC-Europe; European Liberal Youth - LYMEC; International Movement of Catholic Agricultural and Rural Youth - MIJARC-Europe; Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions - OBESSU; Service Civil International - SCI; World Organisation of Young Esperantists - TEJO; World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts - WAGGGS; World Organisation of the Scout Movement (European office) - WOSM; European Region of the World Student Christian Federation - WSCF-Europe Region; Youth Action for Peace - YAP; Youth for Development and Co-operation - YDC; Youth and Environment Europe - YEE; Youth of the European People’s Party - YEPP; Youth for Exchange and Understanding - YEU; European Alliance of Young Men’s Christian Associations - YMCA; Young Women’s Christian Association - YWCA.

Candidate members

National Youth Councils
National Youth Council of Armenia – NYCA (Armenia).

International Non Governmental Youth Organisations
International Federation of Medical Students’ Association - IFMSA.

Observer members

National Youth Councils
Consiliul Tineretului Din Romania - CTR (Romania); Rat der Deutschsprachigen Jugend - RDJ (Belgium, German-speaking Community).

International Non-Governmental Youth Organisations
European Council of Young Farmers – CEJA; European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions – CESI-Youth; European Council of Conscripts Organisations - ECCO; International Federation of Training Centres for the Promotion of Progressive Education - FICEMEA; International Federation for Educational Exchanges of Children and Adolescents - FIEEA; Nordic Centre Youth - NCY; Pax Christi International - Pax Christi; Red Cross Youth - RCY; Youth of European Nationalities - YEN