– IZOLA DECLARATION – 31st July 2009
Preamble The 3rd European Youth Congress (EYC 2009) – entitled Challenge, Suggest, Act! – was a gathering of around 100 people from XX European Union, EFTA and Neighbouring countries between the 25th July and 1st August 2009 in Izola, Slovenia. Besides teaching constructive approaches to challenging existing policy, the Congress shone a powerful light on an area that has always been concealed and considered as a taboo topic – namely the inclusion of "Young people with fewer opportunities" (YPFOs) in decision-making processes. YPFOs, as defined by current EU policies, are 73 million young European citizens who are at a disadvantage compared to their peers because they face one or more of the following challenges: socio-economic obstacles, mental or physical disability, unemployment, educational difficulties, cultural & ethnic differences, health problems and/or geographical obstacles. It was beyond the scope of this congress to narrow down the EU’s YPFO policy definitions or to prioritise and separate out the needs of the different YPFO groups. We recognize that this is an essential step that needs to be taken as soon as possible by EU policy-makers in close partnership with YPFOs themselves – as, for example, the needs of severely disabled youth are, inevitably, very different from those who are unemployed or those who face ethnic or geographic discrimination. However, there remain many common challenges for YPFOs in all categories, and, though some of the recommendations in this document are related to specific YPFO categories, most refer to all. We look forward to working on narrowing the YPFO definitions, and making more specific proposals relating to the different categories of YPFOs at future EYC meetings. Our purpose in this document is to provide guidelines to the different stakeholders on five key issues that relate to the integration of YPFOs in society and their involvement in decision-making processes. The Izola declaration delivers challenges and offers concrete suggestions on these five important policy areas that relate to most YPFOs: 1. Mobility 2. Employment 3. Non-formal education and competence-building 4. Social integration and political participation 5. Health 1. Improving the mobility of young people with fewer opportunities The main challenges agreed about the issue of mobility of YPFOs are as follows: • there are not enough exchanges; • there is too much discrimination on ethnic and geographic grounds; • there is insufficient harmonization between youth policy and educational systems. Challenge 1.1: Insufficient harmonization between youth policy and educational systems The reasons for insufficient harmonization between youth policy and educational systems include • governments are not aware of the importance of this challenge; • the lack of good practice; • the small number of young people who are involved in the political process.
Suggestions: • To raise awareness about the benefits and issues of youth mobility at government policymaking levels; • link the issue of harmonization to other policy areas; • Ensure – and pay for - better visibility of youth associations in the media in order to push the youth policy further-up in the political agenda (a concrete result would be a Youth law) • Promote the issues and benefits of youth mobility Challenge 1.2: Not enough exchanges One of the main challenges regarding the mobility of YPFOs is that there are simply not enough exchanges which would improve their social integration and their ability to adapt to new environments. Neither are there enough quality exchanges that would deliver equal educational opportunities to YPFOs as to every other young person. The reasons why there are not enough exchanges are: • complicated and long bureaucratic procedures; • non-standardized exchange projects; • lack of funds; • lack of information about existing exchange possibilities. Suggestions: • Creation of a visa-free youth exchange regime for ALL European Youth including those from non-programme countries • Simplification of procedures (to overcome the complicated bureaucracy) • Unified school systems (to increase communication and establish partnerships between universities along the lines of the Bologna system) • One year of compulsory Study Abroad with funding provided for all EU University Students? • More information on exchange programmes distributed to high schools and universities • Increasing the outreach of exchange programmes in small cities Challenge 1.3: discrimination on ethnic and geographic grounds Another problem, which YPFOs face regarding mobility, is the fact that there is too much discrimination on ethnic and geographic grounds. The causes of this are – • xenophobia and prejudice resulting from simplistic media images and lack of education about religions, cultures and languages; • economic challenges which trigger unemployment; • lack of positive examples of integration; • fear of not getting accepted in the society. Suggestions: • To establish information centers around Europe to help with immigration issues • Better media coverage on youth-related topics • To present all the possible ways of inclusion of YPFOs in non-governmental organizations • To organize international events that intentionally include YPFOs with the local community • Networking between the local and “discriminated community" to bridge the differences (e.g. cultural evenings)
2. More and Better employment for young people with fewer opportunities The EU Youth unemployment rate rose to 5 million in 2009, highlighting the problem of employment difficulties for YPFOs. Authorities are not eager to invest in research and development studies that will facilitate the process of job-hunting for this specific group of youngsters. The lack of equal access to labour markets makes it more difficult for YPFOs to integrate in society and creates serious problems like increased crime rates, lower living standards, racism, sexual harassment etc. Challenge 2.1: Lack of jobs for YPFOs A common problem in the EU is the lack of country-specific job planning for the vast number of university graduates in popular disciplines. This causes non-specialized fields to remain unseen, and leads to unemployment. Many companies are moving their production to developing countries to lower labour costs. This decreases the number of jobs in the EU. Non-Formal Education(NFE) is not appreciated as an alternative to formal education. Many vocational studies and apprenticeships exist but are not sufficiently well marketed to appeal to the youth of today. Suggestions: • Free ability tests for YPFOs • More career centres and education group meetings • Free language courses for YPFOs • high school skills' programmes for mentally disabled young people Challenge 2.2: Lack of good-paid job opportunities for YPFOs The equitable distribution of funds in the field of youth development is a challenging and important one. Investment in youth means investment in the future of the country. Cutting funds to education and training inevitably causes a decrease in the growth of the employment field. Suggestions: • Provide training on fundraising for educators • provide scholarships by employers for YPFOs linked to their future employment; • adopt a regulation that requires companies to pay travel costs for disabled employees to their place of work; • invest in facilities to support YPFOs at work places; Challenge 2.3: Social Exclusion Lack of job opportunities makes socialization more complicated for YPFOs. Without a job they have fewer opportunities to socialize with other people. In many cases, this leads to social exclusion. Suggestions: • provide students with part-time jobs teaching/ training YPFOs • provide equal access to education and training for all young people 3. Non-formal education (NFE) and competence-building for young people with fewer opportunities
The NFE group came together at the EYC and realized how important NFE is for YPFOs and how it can help to improve their lives considerably. YPFO groups are diverse and have different problems but at several point, their interests/concerns inter-sect: problems accessing education facilities is one of the crucial challenges, which most YPFO groups suffer. NFE provides a great solution to this challenge. Challenge 3.1: Lack of awareness on importance of volunteerism and activism The majority of the population is not aware of the large number of active young volunteers and the massive contribution they make to delivering positive changes in society. Activism is even seen as dangerous in some societies as it is all considered to be political activism. As volunteerism is not paid, people often don’t volunteer, believing that their work will not be appreciated. Suggestions: • Provide clear information about activism and volunteerism (e.g. through media promotion) • Develop campaigns to promote volunteerism and activism • Promote good practices by rewarding best projects Challenge 3.2: Lack of communication with YPFOs Most YPFO groups usually have problems to deliver useful information about opportunities available to them. The main obstacle is that they are usually out of reach of NGOs and national institutions. Suggestions: • More social activities targetting different YPFO groups, • Mobile information centers informing YPFO groups especially in rural and distant areas about opportunities Challenge 3.3: NFE is not accessible to all due to financial constraints NFE is often expensive for some YPFOs, limiting its availability to them; Suggestions: • More governmental funds for NFE programmes • Donations/ sponsorships for NFE should be encouraged • NFE should be free of charge and accessible for everyone whenever possible 4. Integration of young people with fewer opportunities in society and politics Politics can be difficult for YPFOs. They are usually left out of the decision-making processes and are rarely consulted regarding decisions that concern them directly. However, as they are full members of society, politicians should embrace them as valuable partners in dialogue and action. Challenge 4.1: Improving dissemination and quality of information about the political process In order to make a good choice, everyone should be informed. It is necessary that YPFOs receive all the information they need, and that it is phrased in such a way that they can understand it.
Suggestions: • Politicians should approach YPFO themselves: do not expect YPFOs to approach you • Use the language of the target group you are addressing • Increase the distribution of information in different forms (media, print, internet, advertisements) • Educate and inform politicians to make politics more relevant to young people in general Challenge 4.2: Lack of involvement of YPFOs in the decision-making process Many young people want to be involved. However, for various reasons, they don’t always have the opportunity and means to do so. Suggestions: • Consider all young people, including YPFOs as equal partners in the decision-making process • Improve e-democracy to overcome obstacles related to mobility (provide internet access to all young people) • Make use of the outcomes of social research to improve the quality of dialogue with YPFOs Challenge 4.3: Feeling disempowered It is insufficient merely to create possibilities without ensuring that they are used. YPFOs should be encouraged to take initiative and bring their own ideas forward, while providing them with a supportive and constructive environment. Suggestions: • Provide educational programmes about politics in elementary schools • Provide logistical and financial support for NGOs working with YPFOs • Support initiatives that have been put forward by YPFO’s themselves 5. Health and young people with fewer opportunities Young people have the right to good mental and physical health care. However, this is not always accessible to all youngsters, especially to YPFOs. Challenge 5.1: Obesity Obesity is becoming an increasing problem in Europe, especially among young people. It can lead to health problems and lower the quality of living. Suggestions: • Promote quality food by increasing the taxes on, and banning advertisements for, unhealthy food; • Include health education in the school curriculum • Organize school trips to market places / local farmers • Raise awareness about healthy lifestyle by Europe-wide campaigns • Involve young people in all stages of the development of healthy lifestyle campaigns (planning, implementation and evaluation)
Challenge 5.2: Abuse of alcohol, drugs and tobacco Abuse of these commodities exists due to peer-pressure, media-promotion and lack of knowledge of the effects of its use. Suggestions: • prevention is always better than cure • Inform/ train young people to raise awareness on the topic; • encourage peer-to-peer education • Ban on alcohol and tobacco advertisement (direct and indirect) • Increase taxes on alcohol and tobacco and create a fund to be used specificly for prevention projects • Support cessation programmes Challenge 5.3: Access to physical and mental health-care Mental health problems amongst European Youth are increasing for several reasons: stress, lack of physical activities etc. All young people have the right to get the health care they need. Suggestions: • make sport facilities accessible to everyone • offer a wider variety of sports activities at low – or no – cost • Address bullying in schools • Provide free consultancy to all young people on sexual health • Include YPFOs in decision-making process for health and social care services Conclusion The above challenges and suggestions include several key messages: • provide visa-free regime throughout Europe for ALL European Youth including those from non-programme countries; • fund programmes that raise awareness about the positive role that young people can play in society • provide equal access to education for all young people • introduce a law that makes the employment of some YPFOs in all companies compulsory • provide scholarships by employers for YPFOs for their future employment • provide high school skills programmes for mentally disabled young people • increase tax on unhealthy products (unhealthy food, alcohol, tobacco etc.) and prohibit advertising of such foods; • use the tax collected on unhealthy products to finance programmes that promote healthy lifestyles • assure free access to sport facilities and activities, making them available to everyone • fund EU-wide awareness-raising campaigns on all these issues, involving young people in all stages/phases • assure e-democracy and provide internet access to the ones who cannot access it • recognize non-formal education • recognize that volounteerism is a key to assure an expansion of NFE • provide more opportunities for YPFOs to meet NFE in everyday life