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A total of five (5) contributions were received from the following CoR Subsidiarity Monitoring Network Partners:
- Government of Flanders (BE)
- Assembly of Extremadura (ES)
- Austrian State Governor's Conference (AT)
- Local Government Denmark (DK)
- Government of the Region of Skåne (SV)
ПРИЛОЖНИЕ III: ПРЕДСТАВЕНИ ВЪПРОСНИЦИ
Правителство на Фландрия
COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS – DIRECTORATE FOR CONSULTATIVE WORK
EDUC Commission and "Networks & Subsidiarity" Unit
QUESTIONNAIRE ON THE EU STRATEGY FOR YOUTH
Refers to the communication on An EU Strategy for Youth – Investing and Empowering
COM (2009) 200 final
Submitted to the EDUC Commission and the Subsidiarity Monitoring Network for consultation purposes
by Mr Anton Rombouts (NL/EPP)
EN
Please complete and submit by Friday 23 October 2009. You can upload the completed questionnaires directly onto the Subsidiarity Monitoring Network webpage (http://subsidiarity.cor.europa.eu – remember to log on). Alternatively, you can send them by email to subsidiarity@cor.europa.eu.
Name of the authority:
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Agentschap Sociaal Cultureel Werk Jeugd en Volwassenen – Afdeling Jeugd – cel lokaal jeugdbeleid
(Social and cultural work agency for young people and adults – youth division – local youth policy unit)
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Contact person:
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Els Cuisinier
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Contact details (phone, email)
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02/553 4140
Els.cuisinier@cjsm.vlaanderen.be
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The questionnaire is divided into two sections referring to: (1) the fields of action for youth in Europe proposed by the EC; and (2) the role of local and regional authorities within the Open Method of Coordination.
S ECTION I: Fields of action
In the communication "An EU Strategy for Youth", the European Commission proposes a framework for the future of youth policies in Europe. In the interests of creating opportunities for youth, improving their access and participation in society as well as fostering solidarity, the communication clearly identifies eight main fields of action and puts forward different measures that can be taken at EU or MS level. These fields of action are: Education – Employment – Creativity and Entrepreneurship – Health and Sport – Participation – Social Inclusion – Volunteering – Youth and the World
This section of the questionnaire addresses the aforementioned eight fields of action as well as the overarching issue of youth work. You are kindly invited to answer only questions referring to the fields that are of relevance for your institution.
A. Education
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Challenges faced by local and regional authorities:
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What challenges do local and regional authorities in your country face with regard to the education of young people?
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N/A
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Competence in this field:
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Within which level of governance/ government does responsibility for youth education lie in your country?
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N/A
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Responsibility regarding the actions contemplated:
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Please take a look at the specific actions contemplated by the European Commission within the youth education field of action (see section 4.2.1. of the communication). Taking into account the subsidiarity principle, what should be the role of the following tiers of authority in pursuing these actions?
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(a) Local and regional authorities:
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N/A
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(b) National authorities:
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N/A
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(c) The EU:
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N/A
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Existing measures taken at your level:
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Has your local authority/ city/ region already taken (or is currently contemplating) any specific measures to address challenges in the field of youth education?
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N/A
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Additional measures needed:
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Do you consider that there are other or additional lines of action that need to be taken with regard to youth education, that have not been proposed by the Commission communication under consideration?
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N/A
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B. Employment
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Challenges faced by local and regional authorities:
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What challenges do local and regional authorities in your country face with regard to the employment of young people?
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N/A
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Competence in this field:
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Within which level of governance/ government does responsibility for youth employment lie in your country?
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N/A
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Responsibility regarding the actions contemplated:
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Please take a look at the specific actions contemplated by the European Commission within the youth employment field of action (see section 4.2.1. of the communication). Taking into account the subsidiarity principle, what should be the role of the following tiers of authority in pursuing these actions?
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(a) Local and regional authorities:
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N/A
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(b) National authorities:
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N/A
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(c) The EU:
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N/A
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Existing measures taken at your level:
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Has your local authority/ city/ region already taken (or is currently contemplating) any specific measures to address challenges in the field of youth employment?
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N/A
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Additional measures needed:
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Do you consider that there are other or additional lines of action that need to be taken with regard to youth employment, that have not been proposed by the Commission communication under consideration?
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N/A
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C. Creativity and Entrepreneurship
The CoR (comité van de regio’s) believes here that art and culture generally, and formal and informal cultural education in particular, are very important for the development of active citizenship among young people in the Union
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Challenges faced by local and regional authorities:
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What challenges do local and regional authorities in your country face with regard to the creativity and entrepreneurship of youth?
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It is important that all children have the same opportunities to develop their creativity and to enhance their cultural skills. The biggest challenge is ensuring equal opportunities for all young people. It is important that full use is made of both the formal and informal paths and that there is better coordination of the various initiatives that already exist.
In this connection, it is important to, as far as possible, take young people themselves as the basis and also to value and support the way in which they express themselves. It is important here to abandon existing frameworks for discussion. Solid support and raising the awareness of the local level is vital here. It is equally important to bring children into contact with culture and to allow them to become familiar with different forms of expression.
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Competence in this field:
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Within which level of governance/ government does responsibility for creativity and entrepreneurship of youth lie in your country?
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Mainly at the Flemish level, within the policy fields of education, culture and youth work (Flanders).
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Responsibility regarding the actions contemplated:
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Please take a look at the specific actions contemplated by the European Commission within the "creativity and entrepreneurship" field of action (see section 4.2.1. of the communication). Taking into account the subsidiarity principle, what should be the role of the following tiers of authority in pursuing these actions?
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(a) Local and regional authorities:
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(b) National authorities:
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On the basis of its policy on subsidies and (existing) rules, which must be continually backed up by awareness-raising and support measures, the Flemish government can encourage local authorities to give greater consideration to young people's creative development. It goes without saying that the details will have to be worked out by local authorities. They are the closest to young people and are best placed to flesh out a policy for supporting and promoting youth culture. It goes without saying that this must take place with the close involvement of young people themselves.
As for cultural education, the Flemish government has the important task of overseeing education in this area (setting final attainment levels) and establishing framework conditions. It can also promote and encourage "extended" school projects. The local level is asked to play a leadership role here. In this way, networks between schools themselves, but also between schools, institutes for part-time art education, youth work, organisations involved in cultural education, etc., can be expanded and function as effectively as possible. In this way, more young people have the opportunity to develop their creativity. It goes without saying that "extended" schools are just one instrument that must be supported by a whole series of measures.
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(c) The EU:
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Existing measures taken at your level:
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Has your local authority/ city/ region already taken (or is currently contemplating) any specific measures to address challenges in the field of creativity and entrepreneurship of youth?
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On the basis of the decree supporting and promoting municipal, inter-municipal and provincial youth and youth work policy, Flanders will ask local authorities to pay more attention to youth culture in the upcoming local planning period (2011-2013). Local authorities which are taking this forward within the framework of their youth policy plan, can count on an extra financial stimulus here. Additional back-up measures to support the local policy, such as training, publications, etc. will be developed for this purpose.
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Additional measures needed:
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Do you consider that there are other or additional lines of action that need to be taken with regard creativity and entrepreneurship of youth, that have not been proposed by the Commission communication under consideration?
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N/A
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D. Health and Sport
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Challenges faced by local and regional authorities:
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What challenges do local and regional authorities in your country face with regard to health and sport?
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N/A
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Competence in this field:
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Within which level of governance/ government does responsibility for health and sport lie in your country?
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N/A
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Responsibility regarding the actions contemplated:
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Please take a look at the specific actions contemplated by the European Commission within the health and sport field of action (see section 4.2.2. of the communication). Taking into account the subsidiarity principle, what should be the role of the following tiers of authority in pursuing these actions?
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(a) Local and regional authorities:
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N/A
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(b) National authorities:
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N/A
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(c) The EU:
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N/A
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Existing measures taken at your level:
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Has your local authority/ city/ region already taken (or is currently contemplating) any specific measures to address challenges in the field of health and sport?
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N/A
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Additional measures needed:
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Do you consider that there are other or additional lines of action that need to be taken with regard to health and sport, that have not been proposed by the Commission communication under consideration?
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N/A
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E. Participation
The CoR believes that networks of young people's associations operating at local level should be involved in the process of consulting and involving young people, to avoid the danger of only major national networks participating, and calls for the development of channels for the involvement and consultation of young people who do not belong to associations. To this end, direct involvement of municipalities which can develop their own models for young people to take part in the consultation and cooperation processes will be welcomed.
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Challenges faced by local and regional authorities:
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What challenges do local and regional authorities in your country face with regard to the participation of young people in civic and political life?
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While involving young people in politics poses a considerable challenge, involving young people in the EU does appear to be the biggest challenge. For many young people (and adults) European politics is very distant. Their knowledge and understanding of it is very limited, with young people having little insight into the EU's impact on their lives and which rules are in fact a translation of European directives. In Flanders, nearly all levels of government have a youth council. This is an advisory body recognised by the legislative authority with responsibility for recommending policy as well as consulting young people on policy issues that are relevant to them. It goes without saying that this is just one of the instruments providing a formal framework for the participation of young people in policy.
At local level, it is fair to say that nearly all Flemish local authorities have a youth council approved by the municipal council. This youth council is mainly made up of young people who are also active in the local voluntary sector and are therefore already involved in one way or another. Involving young people who have yet to be attracted by the voluntary sector is the biggest challenge here. It should be pointed out that, in this instance too, it is mainly a question of young people from socially vulnerable backgrounds. Alongside efforts to broaden the youth council as an instrument of participation, an even bigger challenge is to promote other instruments facilitating participation and involvement of children and young people in all those areas of life which are relevant to them. We are referring here to youth impact reports or indicators, for example. Comprehensive measures must be put into effect, while always taking account of the unique nature of children and young people.
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Competence in this field:
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Within which level of governance/ government does responsibility for the participation of young people in civic and political life lie in your country?
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This is decided within the framework of youth policy and comes under the authority of the Flemish government.
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Responsibility regarding the actions contemplated:
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Please take a look at the specific actions contemplated by the European Commission within the "participation" field of action (see section 4.2.2. of the communication). Taking into account the subsidiarity principle, what should be the role of the following tiers of authority in pursuing these actions?
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(a) Local and regional authorities:
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The Flemish government must maintain, expand and strengthen the framework that encourages local authorities to involve young people in policy. Making youth councils compulsory could be a way of achieving this. Other channels of participation must also be supported and local authorities must be encouraged still further to involve a more diverse group of children and young people in policy and society. To this end, the Flemish government subsidises an organisation whose task is to support local authorities in their activities involving youth participation.
Local authorities must continually support youth councils and give them even greater recognition as genuine advisory bodies. The necessary conditions must be created so that youth councils can offer independent advice using key knowledge of the issues.
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(b) National authorities:
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(c) The EU:
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To encourage young people, organisations and local authorities to play an active role in society and to participate on the basis of programmes such as Youth in Action.
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