The Pompidou Group is launching its European Drug Prevention Prize 2010 and calling for projects to apply. This 4th Prize will be awarded at the Ministerial Conference taking place on 3-4 November 2010 in Strasbourg. For the first time, projects from all 47 Council of Europe member states are invited to participate.

New book on human rights education now available

The organizing team of the 5th Child in the City Conference is still looking for abstracts on two more topics! Check out below!

DG EAC has just published the results of the Study on volunteering in the European Union which was launched at end of 2008 within the context of its reflections on volunteering and possibly the preparation for a European Year of Volunteering. The aim of this study was to help the Commission consider ways in which the voluntary sector could be further promoted at EU level and the extent to which volunteering could help the EU in achieving its wider strategic objectives set out in for example the Social Agenda and the Lisbon Strategy.

The Council of Members of the European Youth Forum adopted two important policy papers which outline the role that European youth can play in global society through their active participation in e-society and the impact their actions can have for a wider promotion of Peace and Non-Violence both in Europe and in the rest of the world.

In line with the topic "European Culture and Values" the contest aims at giving young people from South East Europe and Turkey the opportunity to artistically express their views on the European Union.

The Advisory Council on Youth (AC) of the Council of Europe enhances its communication strategy and visibility with a newsletter abouth its role, priorities and activities! The Advisory Council on Youth is the one and only Co-Management body of the Council of Europe, bringing together 30 representatives from youth NGOs and networks who provides opinions and input on all youth sector activities of this international institution and ensures that young people are involved in other activities of the CoE.

Slovak Republic achieved the lowest voters turnout in the European Parliament elections both in 2004 (16.9%) and in 2009 (19.6%). The slight increase in the turnout that was recorded in 2009 was with the first-time voters aged 20-23. The evaluation of the voters mobilization has been done by experts who claimed that the only difference between the pre-election campaigns in 2004 and 2009 were mobilization projects focused on students. These projects were financially supported by the European Parliament and the European Commission. One of them was the project SEP (Student European Parliament) of the Department of Political Science, University of SS. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava. During 6 months this project developed activities focused on broadening the student’s knowledge about the European Union and the European Parliament.

In Germany, culture and media education takes place in many different forms and places: in youth centres, cultural centres, music and art schools, in media projects, museums and theatres. One aim of this non-school-related education is to mediate knowledge of culture and media. In addition, it provides the opportunity to positively influence the personal development of the participants.

UNITED, an European anti-racism movement, organizes the 18th annual Action Week Against Racism with the support of the European Commission and the Council of Europe. Join the campaign! Order campaign material for free! Inform UNITED about your actions to highlight the issue of racism!

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has charged the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH with carrying out the call for expressions of interest and the tendering process. The BMZ is responsible for the technical evaluation of the tenders.

The Council of Europe - Directorate General 4 – Education, Culture and Heritage, Youth and Sport - is looking for three Educational Advisors for its European Youth Centres located in Strasbourg and Budapest.

On 12-19 September 2010 representatives of youth organisations and youth movements from all over the world are gathering for the University on Youth and Development in the CEULAJ (Euro-Latin-American Youth Centre) - Mollina (Spain) - to discuss, train, be trained and take political action around the main issues on the global agenda. The theme of this year will be SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, in the Framework of the 2010 UN International Year of Youth ‘‘Dialogue and Mutual understanding’’. Submit your activity proposal and contribute to build the University! Deadline for submission of proposals is 5th March 2010.

Following the success of a first Conference in Paris in 2008, which launched an International Prevention Network, the Forum on Implementing Preventive Actions for Children and Youth invites prevention specialists from all European countries to share their experience. This international forum :Implementing preventive actions for children and youth. The benefits of preventive work with children and youth- Investing in the future will take place in Stockholm, Sweden on the 1st-2nd March 2010

This international review of Hungarian national youth policy is the sixteenth in the series started in 1997 by the Directorate of Youth and Sport of the Council of Europe.

The Netherlands Youth Institute and Foundation JONG Rotterdam would like to inform interested participants to the European Expert Meeting for youth workers "Empowering youth work : Placing youth work in Europe as evidence based practice" that they extended the deadline for online registration until 12th Februrary 2010. This meeting will take place in Rotterdam (Netherlands) from 17th to 19th March 2010.

On the 27th November 2009, the Council of the European Union adopted a resolution on a renewed framework for European cooperation in the youth field (2010-2018)

The Council of Europe has since long considered the role of young people and their organisations in the building of Europe and securing its core values as a crucial one. Providing opportunities for young people most actively involved in international youth organisations and in international youth work to develop their leadership and communicationskills became one of the main missions of the youth sector of the Council of Europe. Following the brilliant course held in 2008, the Directorate of Youth and Sports of the Council of Europe is organising a second round to be held from 6 to 14 April 2010 in the European Youth Centre Strasbourg. How to develop democratic leadership and management structures to be the driving force behind the strengthening of the capacity and sustainability of youth organisations?

Following the "Second round-table on youth policy cooperation in the broader Euro-Mediterranean context", organised by the partnership between the European Commission and the Council of Europe in the field of Youth in cooperation with the League of Arab States, the report by Asuman Göksel is available at: http://www.youth-partnership.net/youth-partnership/euromed/Euromed_Youth_policy.html

In November 2009, the youth unemployment rate (under-25s) was 21.0% in the euro area and 21.4% in the EU27. In November 2008 it was 16.6% in both zones. The lowest rate was observed in the Netherlands (7.5%), and the highest rates in Spain (43.8%) and Latvia (36.3% in the third quarter of 2009). The euro area (EA16) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 10.0% in November 2009, compared with 9.9% in October. It was 8.0% in November 2008. The EU27 unemployment rate was 9.5% in November 2009, compared with 9.4% in October. It was 7.5% in November 2008. For the euro area this is the highest rate since August 1998 and for the EU27 since the start of the series (January 2000).

Since 2000 the Directorate of Youth and Sports of the Council of Europe has been running a Youth Programme on Human Rights Education. The programme is on again throughout 2010 with National and Regional Training Courses to be held between 15 March and 15 December 2010. This call is addressed to INGYOs and/or other NGYOs and/or other non-governmental and governmental organisations and institutions involved in human rights education with young people. More information on the Human Rights Education Programme on http://www.coe.int/hre

The European Youth Card Association has just launched its new portal targeting young people. Articles, news, videos and photos are brightening up and opening issues that are important to youngsters.

The United Nations proclaimed in December an International Year of Youth starting on 12 August 2010, in an effort to harness the energy, imagination and initiative of the world’s youth in overcoming the challenges facing humankind, from enhancing peace to boosting economic development.

The secretariat of the partnership between the European Commission and the Council of Europe in the field of Youth is wishing you a fabulous 2010, full of achievements and experiences

Steunpunt Scouting Gelderlandis a regional office for training and support of leaders in scouting and guiding in The Netherlands. Since 7 years we are involved in projects concerning the validation of non-formal learning. We believe that through voluntary work people can develop a lot of competences that are useful for their job and/or their studies and can strengthen their position on the labour market. Having this in mind Steunpunt Scouting Gelderland is looking for possible partners - volunteer organisations that are involved in validation of non-formal learning in voluntary work, prefarably organisations that are working on two or three levels: local, national, and/or European.

Steunpunt Scouting Gelderlandis a regional office for training and support of leaders in scouting and guiding in The Netherlands. Since 7 years we are involved in projects concerning the validation of non-formal learning. We believe that through voluntary work people can develop a lot of competences that are useful for their job and/or their studies and can strengthen their position on the labour market. Having this in mind Steunpunt Scouting Gelderland is looking for possible partners - volunteer organisations that are involved in validation of non-formal learning in voluntary work, prefarably organisations that cooperate with schools for vocational education.

The data provided in the latest Eurostat news release doesn't show a positive trend in regard to youth unemployment problem. Numbers continue to increase.

The Netherlands Youth Institute and Foundation JONG Rotterdam will organize the European Expert Meeting for youth workers "Empowering youth work : Placing youth work in Europe as evidence based practice" from the 17th – 19th of March 2010 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Commission launched an on-line consultation on the EU 2020 Strategy, as the successor to the current Lisbon Strategy on Growth and Jobs.

The publication "Youth in Europe - A statistical portrait" published by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities last week gives an overview of the state of Youth in the 27 member states of the European Union.

This manual addresses facilitators in non-formal education involved in delivering non-formal education intercultural activities and provides them with essential information and practical tips.

On Monday 9 November 2009, the European Commission published its third Eurobarometer survey which aims to track perceptions of people in Europe towards different forms of discrimination and diversity.

The Youth Directorate of the Council of Europe has published its 13th review on youth policy.

The Pompidou Group is launching its European Drug Prevention Prize 2010 and calling for projects to apply. This 4th Prize will be awarded at the Ministerial Conference taking place on 3-4 November 2010 in Strasbourg. For the first time, projects from all 47 Council of Europe member states are invited to participate. These projects must be currently running, managed by young people, targeting children and young people and be innovative in as many ways as possible. Three youth projects will be rewarded for their work and will each receive a trophy, a diploma and the sum of € 5,000. The applications should reach the Pompidou Group Secretariat by 31 March 2010. They are to be sent by e-mail to the following address: preventionprize2010@coe.int

Following the European Council decision of the 24th November 2009, 2011 will be the European Year of Voluntary Activities Promoting Active Citizenship. The overall purpose of the European Year shall be to encourage and support — notably through the exchange of experience and good practices — the efforts of the Community, the Member States, local and regional authorities to create the conditions for civil society conducive to volunteering in the European Union (EU) and to increase the visibility of voluntary activities in the EU.

The Assembly of European Regions has the pleasure to invite young representatives from regional youth parliaments or councils to attend this third meeting that will take place between 10 and 12 December 2009 in Paris.

Euromed Youth Policies in Interculturel Dialogue. Preparation seminar for the Anna Lindh Foundation. The seminar will aim at the further development of the work on youth policy with a new focus on intercultural dialogue.

The programme of the seminar of youth research, policy and practice : Young People and Social Change after the Fall of the Berlin Wall - Budapest, Hungary (20th November 2009) is now available on the website of the partnership between the European Commission and the Council of Europe in the field of youth www.youth-partnership.net

UNIQUE network is organising the seminar : Assessment of (non formal) learning – a 360° exploration in Vienna from the 27th March to the 2nd April 2010. UNIQUE experts have been involved for a number of years in European level training of trainers programmes as well as developing studies and products like the portfolio for European youth workers.

The Netherlands Youth Institute and Foundation JONG Rotterdam will organize the European Expert Meeting for youth workers "Empowering youth work : Placing youth work in Europe as evidence based practice" from the 17th – 19th of March 2010 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands

The Statistical Office of European Commission (Eurostat) has released the latest data on unemployment. There are more and more young people without job in Europe.

The annual European Charlemagne Youth Prize was launched today. The prize, now in its third year, targets young people who have been involved with projects helping to promote understanding between peoples from different European countries. The deadline for submitting projects is 22 January 2010.

Youth policy manual - How to develop a national youth strategy (2009) What is youth policy, and what major elements should a national youth policy strategy include? How can young people be consulted and otherwise involved in developing youth policy? How do institutions such as the European Union, the Council of Europe and the United Nations address youth policy, and how can this work be concretely linked to the efforts of a national government to develop a youth policy agenda?

IJAB - International Youth Service of the Federal Republic of Germany has launched a call for papers for its book series "Forum Jugendarbeit International" (Forum Youth Work International). This year's edition focuses on how to improve participation and equal opportunities of disadvantaged young people in international youth work.

In this Study "The eight key competencies for lifelong learning: An appropriate framework within which to develop the competence of trainers on the field of European youth work or just plain politics?" by Hendrik Otten and Yael Ohana (2009), the researchers focus on the link between essential and generic key competences trainers should have and the framework of the eight Key Competences. This study is a sequel of the study by Hendrik Otten and Helmut Fennes on Quality in non-formal education and training in the field of European youth work of 2008.

The University of Strathclyde as organiser of this international conference has launched a call for papers. The conference takes place from 7th until 9th September 2010 in Glasgow (UK). It crosses disciplinary boundaries to examine research, theories and practices that contribute to youth work and our understandings of young people in the 21st century.

The Research Committee 34 - Sociology of Youth has launched a call for papers within the framework of the International Sociological Association’s XVII World Congress of Sociology – Sociology on the Move to be held on 11-17 July 2010 in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Youthpass, a tool for recognition and validation of non-formal education within the Youth in Action Programme, has become available also for Youth Exchanges and Training Courses under Action 3.1.

As a result of the Call for experts on behalf of the European Commission (DG EuropeAid), seven experts undertook research on the development of youth policies in ten Mediterranean partner countries (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey).

The Directorate General Education and Culture of the European Commission has launched a call for proposals ‘Partnerships’ within the framework of sub-action 4.6 of the Youth in Action programme.

The handbook is one of the results of the German-Romanian ”Child offenders“ Twinning Project, the first EU Twinning project ever realized in the youth field. The Twinning Project was finished in July 2009.

On the 9th and 10th October 2009, the City of Reykjavik and The President of Iceland will host a conference in Reykavik entitled “Catalysts for Change in Drug Prevention”

The Partnership between the European Commission and the Council of Europe in the field of youth is pleased to announce the publication of its 26th Newsletter. It contains a review on the Partnership's Management Board meeting.

Recreational use of drugs in nightlife settings is a common feature among European cities. In order to support the EXASS Net member cities in responding this problem, a guide has been produced which provides information on the situations and responses among European Union countries as well as descriptions of European policies and Networks acting in this field.

The Research Committee 34, Sociology of Youth, International Sociological Association; in co-operation with The Directorate for Youth and Sport of the Council of Europe; the Youth Partnership between the Council of Europe and the European Commission; the Italian Sociological Association; the Department of Sociology and Social Research of the University of Milan-Bicocca is organising a seminar of youth research, policy and practice entitled "Young People and Social Change after the Fall of the Berlin Wall" on the 20th November 2009 in Budapest.

UNITED CONFERENCE 23-28 October 2009 in Kiev (UA) CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

Anna Lindh Foundation Euromed Bloggers Training on Intercultural Dialogue

From 16 to 18 March 2009, the Council of Europe’s Directorate of Youth and Sport organised a seminar on “New ways of participation based on Information and Communication Technologies” in Strasbourg. During the seminar, 48 youth researchers, policy-makers, youth organisations and young people discussed the new trends in youth participation based on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), through a constructive exchange of information and practices amongst the main stakeholders in the field of youth participation. The final documentation of the seminar is now available in the library of the EKCYP (European Knowledge Centre on Youth Policy).

The European Commission and the Council of Europe are pleased to announce the publication of the 25th issue of the Youth Partnership Newsletter. It contains an update on the launch of the Youth-Partnership long-term Training for Trainers (TALE)

Progres Institute for Social Democracy, Kalevi Sorsa Foundation and Friedrih Ebert Stiftung, office in Skopje are launching an call for trainer for the „Intercultural Dialogue and Communications 2009“. The 2009 series of trainings are continuation of the „Intercultural learning and Managing Diversity 2008“ series of trainings, which were an opening and basic oriented trainings in the intercultural learning and diversity field. Working topics that were covered with the trainings were: Diversity, Decentralization, Intercultural Learning, Stereotypes and Prejudices, Communication etc.

Progres Institute for Social Democracy, Kalevi Sorsa Foundation and Friedrih Ebert Stiftung, office in Skopje are launching an call for trainer for the „Intercultural Dialogue and Communications 2009“. The 2009 series of trainings are continuation of the „Intercultural learning and Managing Diversity 2008“ series of trainings, which were an opening and basic oriented trainings in the intercultural learning and diversity field. Working topics that were covered with the trainings were: Diversity, Decentralization, Intercultural Learning, Stereotypes and Prejudices, Communication etc.

The Directorate of Youth and Sport of the Council of Europe together with the General Directorate of Youth and Sport of Turkey is lloking for participants to a Training course on youth participation and youth policy development in Turkey, to be held on 22 – 29 June 2009 in Ankara, Turkey.

The Directorate of Youth and Sport of the Council of Europe is looking for participants for the Forum on Human Rights to be held at the European Youth Centrre Budapest from 15 to 17 October 2009.

The Directorate of Youth and Sport of the Council of Europe with the support of the Flemish Department of Foreign Affairs is looking for participants for the Long Term Training Course on Access to Social Rights for Young People from Disadvantaged Neighbourhoods, to be held from July 2009 to March 2011.

The Communication adopted by the European Commission on 29th April 2009 presents the age-related expenditure projections on the basis of new population projections provided by Eurostat for up to 2060. It takes an in-depth look at the economic and budgetary impact of an ageing population over the long-term.

This publication deals with training and employment issues encountered in the Northern Mediterranean Countries (Spain, France, Greece, Italy and Turkey) and the nine southern and eastern Mediterranean countries participating in the MEDSTAT II programme (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, occupied Palestinian territory, Syria and Tunisia)

Twenty organizations working with and for youth from fourteen countries of Europe came together to establish the Youth Culture in Action Network – Youth CAN.

Supported by the Council of Europe’s drug abuse policy body – the Pompidou Group, a multi-national study of tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs use amongst 15-16 year-old European students was released on the 26th March 2009 as part of the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD). Trend developments over the 12 years of the ESPAD project indicate a fall in smoking in a majority of the countries. The situation is more or less unchanged as regards alcohol use in the past 12 months and the past 30 days. On the other hand, heavy episodic drinking shows a small but continuous increase throughout the period. Use of illicit drugs is still dominated by cannabis use. Four out of the six countries that had the highest prevalence for cannabis in 2003 show a decline in 2007, and not a single country displays an increase for recent use of cannabis. The overall impression regarding illicit drug use is that the upward trend between 1995 and 2003 now has come to a halt, with a slightly lower figure in 2007 than in 2003.

“Developing European youth co-operation through youth policy, youth work and non-formal education/learning” - priorities for the Council of Europe's youth sector 2010-2012. The Joint Council on Youth has adopted four thematic priorities for the youth sector's next three-year programme.

The European Commission and the Council of Europe are pleased to announce the publication of the 23rd issue of the Youth Partnership Newsletter, which contains an update on the Seminar on the Health and Well-being of Young People organised by the Youth Partner­ship, the Ministry of Health, Youth, Sports and Voluntary Organisations, in the frame­work of the French Presidency of the EU, in coope­ration with the European Commission,Euro­pean Youth Forum and the two French Youth Councils.

The European Commission and the Council of Europe are pleased to announce the publication of the 24th issue of the Youth Partnership Newsletter. It contains an update on the European Citizenship Training Course organised in London last week in relation to the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Council of Europe.

The Commission has adopted a new EU strategy for youth policy for the coming decade. Entitled "Youth – Investing and Empowering", the new strategy acknowledges the fact that (1) young people are one of the most vulnerable groups in society, especially in the current economic and financial crisis, and (2) in our ageing society, young people are a precious resource.

What? “Intercultural Dialogue in Youth Work” - Training courses with Arabic, Russian or Turkish language option for the partners of the Youth Sector When? Summer 2009 Where? Rabat, Moscow, Istanbul and Trabzon Deadline to apply: 3 different deadlines according to the training course

For the first time, promoters based in Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia have the possibility to seek support for their youth projects directly in their own country! As EU candidate countries, Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are preparing for full participation as Programme Countries in the Youth in Action Programme.

The Faculty of Applied Social Sciences & Social Work at University Niederrhein (Germany) will host the XIV. European Social Work Symposium in cooperation with the Social Work Network Partners from all over Europe from 27 to 28 April 2009.

Survey on the evaluation and follow-up of the Euro-Mediterranean Youth Policy Co-operation activities, organised in the framework of the Youth Partnership

The European Youth Forum is collecting good practices and experiences of civil society organisations working with the most vulnerable groups of migrants, in view of developing its work focusing on migrant youth. To this aim, it invites civil society organisations to fill in a short survey.

In view of the upcoming Spring European Council, the Youth Working Party proposed a serie of key messages to be communicated to the heads of state or government of the Union's member states

‘Youth - actor of social change‘ brings together EU-funded research projects concerned with investigating the life chances, choices and strategies of young people in contemporary European societies. It is organised through the framework of the project ‘Youth - Actor of Social Change‘ (UP2YOUTH) which has been funded under the EU‘s 6th Framework Programme for Research

In his last Viewpoint, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, said that “Children should not be treated as criminals. Young offenders are children first and foremost and should be protected by all the agreed relevant human rights standards”.

Youth Participation is one of the main priorities in the field of youth policy. It is aimed at encouraging young people to be active citizens by taking an active part either in the civic life of their community or in the structures of representative democracy. In this framework, the Swedish National Agency in cooperation with SALTO-YOUTH Participation Resource Centre and the municipality of Jönköping decided to host a Seminar entitled “Youth Influence at local level”. This seminar will take place in Jönköping, Sweden from the 16th (arrival) to the 20th of March 2009 (departure).

"Training Trainers in Human Rights Education with Young People" builds on the experiences acquired through the Human Rights Education Youth Programme of the Directorate of Youth and Sport of the Council of Europe and aims to develop the competences of the participants in working with human rights education at national and regional level and to enable them to act as trainers or facilitators of human rights education activities with young people based on non-formal learning approaches.

This quadrennial report analyses the social integration of young people in Spain and provides statistical data on a variety of aspects concerning Spanish youth.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) conducts survey on sustainable lifestyles among youth

This international review of Hungarian national youth policy is the fifteenth in the series started in 1997 by the Directorate of Youth and Sport of the Council of Europe.

Call for partners for a training course where you can learn more about renewable resources and about a more sustainable way of life.

Call for partners: Seminar How Should I start?

The Council of Europe’s youth policy priorities for the coming years are at the heart of the Resolution just adopted by the organisation’s decision-making body - the Committee of Ministers.

In 2008, the Youth Partnership organised two experts workshops, one on the recognition of non-formal learning in the youth field in Prague (Czech Republic) and the second one on the History of Youth work in Prague (Blankenberge)

The Youth Partnership is pleased to announce the publication of the 21st issue of the Youth Partnership Newsletter, which contains an update on its Regional Cooperation activities and more specifically on the Second joint workshop on the Co-operation between the Youth Sector of the Council of Europe, the Russian Federation and the European Commission and on the Workshop : Youth Policy Development in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus.

Ministers responsible for Youth from 49 participating states of the European Cultural Convention have adopted October 11 in Kyiv a Declaration of the Youth Policy Development of the Council of Europe. The declaration became a final document of the 8th European Conference of Youth Ministers entitled "The Future of the Council of Europe Youth Policy: Agenda 2020".

Researchers working on the topics of health and well-being of young people in Europe and interested to attend the seminar on this topic organised by the Youth Partnership with the French presidency of the European Union are invited to submit abstracts of research papers they intend to present. Deadline for submission of abstracts: 18/09/2008

The French Ministry for Culture and Communication is organising a conference on "New Perspectives of Intercultural Dialogue in Europe" which will take place the 17th, 18th and 19th November 2008 in the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.

The Youth Partnership is pleased to announce the publication of the 20th issue of the Youth Partnership Newsletter, which contains an update on its Youth Policy Activities and more specifically on the Expert workshop ''The history of youth work in Europe and its relevance for today’s youth work policy'' and the Expert workshop on the recognition of non-formal learning in the youth field ''Continuing the Pathwaytowards Recognition''.

Your future, your say ! Tell politicians what young Europeans need !

Mr Mairesse, Director of Youth, Sport and Citizenship in DG Education and Culture of the European Commission, has received the 2008 Champion of Youth Award at the 4th World Youth Congress!

Youth and Environment Europe (YEE) is happy to celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2008. Being an international youth non-governmental organization, YEE has a big responsibility and many opportunities. YEE is a federation of 53 member organizations in 28 countries and it aims to serve the will of its members at all times. 2008-2009 will be a year of commitment, inspiration, synergies and cooperation in YEE. We will all work together for bringing YEE to its full potential in the field of nature and environment.

The "Handinnov Europe 2008" competition will reward exemplary practices introduced in each Member State of the European Union in favour of young disabled people

The conference is organized by EFIL (European Federation of Intercultural Learning)/Brussels, AFS Interkulturelle Begegnungen/Germany and IDRI (The Intercultural Development Research Institute)/Milan, in cooperation with AFS Intercultural Programs/New York, AJA (Arbeitsgemeinschaft gemeinnütziger Jugendaustauschorganisationen), and the Friedrich-Schiller-University of Jena. It is aimed at researchers, practitioners and experts in the field of international youth exchange and intercultural learning who are interested in the educational impact, success stories and obstacles of exchange programs.

A "Data Archive of Youth Research in Slovakia" (DAYR) available on www.vyskummladeze.sk

The Seventh ASEM Summit will be held in Beijing 24-25 October 2008. Leaders from 45 ASEM members are expected to attend the meeting. The theme of the Summit is 'Vision and Action -- Towards a Win-Win Solution'.

The Youth Partnership kindly invites you to apply for carrying out an evaluation study of the research and policy strand of the Partnership on Youth between the Council of Europe and the European Commission.

Researchers working on the topics of health and well-being of young people in Europe and interested to attend the research seminar “on health and well-being of young people in Europe" organised by the Youth Partnership with the French presidency of the European Union are invited to submit abstracts of research papers they intend to present. Deadline for submission of abstracts: 15/09/2008

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An European information campaign on sustainable use of renewable materials and energies : Sunny campaign

The report, presented by the European Commission to the Parliament and the Council, is the first evaluation on the use and the implementation of the Europass initiative.

Youth & Generation is a research network of European Sociological Association that is open for participation from youth researchers from all over Europe and abroad. It covers all aspects of sociological and cultural youth research.The purpose of the network is to advance research and development in the field of youth sociology, trans¬disciplinary youth studies, and intergenerational issues, and to provide the main forum for sociological advancement and debate within this field on a European scale.

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On July the 3rd 2008 the European Commission proposed the launch of an initiative to create more opportunities for young people to volunteer across Europe.

Commission report to the European Parliament, The Council, the European Economic ans Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Brussels, 26.6.2008

Resolution and recommendation on integration and participation of young people at local and regional level published by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.

The Council of Europe’s Directorate of Youth and Sport is looking for a / several consultant(s) acting as authors and editor for a resource publication on participation.

Representative survey of public opinion conducted by GfK Slovakia in May of this year; 1,000 young people between the ages of 14 – 30 and 200 representatives of local governments were polled.

The pan European campaign against corporal punishment of children was launched by the Council of Europe on Sunday, 15 June in Zagreb, Croatia

The number 19 of the Council of Europe’s series: “Trends in social cohesion” dedicated to the welfare state of migrant people is now available.

On the occasion of the 2868th EDUCATION, YOUTH AND CULTURE Council meeting, the Council of the European Union and the representatives of the Governments of the Member States held an exchange of views on the participation of young people with fewer opportunities.

The Youth Partnership is pleased to announce the publication of the 19th issue of the Youth Partnership Newsletter, which contains an update on the European Knowledge Centre for Youth Policy.

"Living Books", awarded First Price as most innovative social project in Austria 2008. "Living Books" is based on " The Living Library - Don't judge a book by its cover", which is part of the Council of Europe - Directorate of Youth and Sport's human rights education youth programme since 2002

Dear Friends, Please join in little experiment for Coyote Magazine. For the next issue of Coyote, the theme will be Youth Participation and we would like to create an article based on the views of readers and anyone else with an interest in the subject.

The EACEA (Education, Audiovisual and Cultural Executive Agency of European Commission) calls for researchers and all interested stakeholders working on youth topics to carry out a study on the access of young people to culture.

On behalf of the European Commission, WSF (Wirtschafts- und Sozialforschung) Economic and Social Research has carried out the following survey: “Impact Analysis of LEONARDO DA VINCI Mobility Measures on Young Trainees and Employees, and the Influence of Socio-economic Factors”- Now available on the EKCYP library.

From September 2008 to May 2009, a new series of five Training Courses on European Citizenship will constitute a great opportunity for youth workers and youth leaders alike to explore this topic and its concrete significance in youth work.

Researchers, scholars and professionals with an interest in the topic of the conference are invited to tackle the issues hereby raised thus contributing to the encounter of different disciplines and critical perspectives.

The second volume of the monograph “Supporting young people in Europe” is now available.

DJI Bulletin is the quarterly of the German Youth Institute (DJI), an independent social science research institute based in Munich. The latest English edition on European Youth policy is now available in the EKCYP library. This number offers a wide range of articles about the life situations of young people in Europe: from future expectations in the fields of employment and social security to health, from migration and social integration to youth and family policies. A remarkable tool for researchers and stakeholders committed to youth policies all over Europe.

Are you a young environmentalist, committed to work for a sustainable future? Are you trying to get closer to your vision by working together with other people? Do you wish that the group work in your organisation could be more democratic, inclusive to new members and with more effective meetings? Then this is a course for you!

For the first time since their creation, one of the renowned Training Courses on European Citizenship of the Youth-Partnership will be organised in another language than English. On the occasion of the French presidency of the European Union, the Training Course “EC-FR” (France, 1-7 September, 2008) will indeed be organised in French by the Partnership and the French National Agency of the Youth in Action programme.

The youth event entitled ‘Promoting the Participation of Socially Disadvantaged Youth’ was a European gathering of young people, which hosted 150 young participants from all EU Member States and EFTA countries, three EU candidate countries and the Western Balkans countries.

Conferences and Expert Meetings took place in Brdo on 19-22 April 2008. The directors-general meeting was an opportunity to start discussions on the new cycle of the open method of coordination (OMC) post-2009, which will provide a basis and guidelines for future youth policy. The meeting was also an opportunity to define the long-term prospects in youth policy.

The Editorial Team of Coyote decided to conduct a survey in order to collect readers' feedbacks concerning the last issue of the magazine.

"Have your say!", manual on the Revised European Charter on the Participation of Young People in Local and Regional Life (Book + CD) now available.

The Partnership is launching a new internet platform on European Citizenship!

The Youth Partnership is pleased to announce the publication of the 18th issue of the Youth Partnership Newsletter, which contains an update on the New Partnership initiatives on European Citizenship.

Report on the Council of Europe' s symposium "Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue in Youth Work" now available.

Young people from around the world are invited to enter the 2008 International Essay Contest organized by UNESCO and the Goi Peace Foundation with the sponsorship of the Earthrise Society.

The Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen is searching a grantholder (“Category 30. Post-Doc researchers “) for a duration of 36 months in the field of “Lifelong Learning”

The Partnership is looking for a convener and a reporter of the Youth research seminar on Health and Well-being of Young People, European Youth Centre Strasbourg, 26-28th November 2008.

The Council of Europe' s publication "New challenges in recognition" on Higher education (series No.10) has been issued and is now available.

The last issue of the Coyote magazine on "Intercultural dialogue" has been issued and is available on-line

“Diversity” has become a key term in contemporary social politics, and is often used as both a description of complex social realities and a normative prescription for how those realities should be valued, influenced by the politics of multiculturalism and by social movements asserting "the right to be different" diversity has emerged as an open, fluid discourse that challenges reductive visions of legitimate identities and human possibilities.

The World Youth Report 2007 examines the challenges and opportunities existing for the roughly 1.2 billion young people between the ages of 15 and 24 in the world.

France, which will hold the presidency of the European Union during the second half of 2008, is required to organise the colloquium closing the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. The colloquium will take place in Paris at the Pompidou Centre on 17, 18 and 19 November 2008.

EU should tackle youth unemployment and get disadvantaged young people integrated into society: Message from the 2484th European Council

The 10th Nordic Youth Research Information Symposium wants to highlight young people´s social ties - from the closest of dyads to the most distanced of the global, from the nourishing to the destructive. Each person wishing to attend the Conference needs to register individually; no group bookings can be made. All participants must register before April 13th, 2008.

Application deadline: 25 February 2008 The SALTO-YOUTH SEE Resource Centre is looking for training providers to become part of their trainers' pool for runnnig EVS training sessions for volunteers in South East Europe.