Irish Presidency hosts major EU Youth Conference in Dublin

Frances Fitzgerald TD, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs today joined Ms. Androulla Vassiliou, EU Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, at the opening of a major EU Youth Conference. The Conference is the highlight of Ireland’s EU Youth Presidency Programme and marks the culmination of consultations with 11,000 young people across 27 EU member states.

Commenting on the findings of this EU-wide consultation, Minister Fitzgerald stated: “Europe’s young people have told us that unemployment is one of their biggest concerns and represents the greatest challenge to young people’s social inclusion throughout the EU. This justifies Ireland’s decision to prioritise youth employment during our EU Presidency; and as President of the EU Council of Youth Ministers I have put youth employment at the top of our Council’s agenda.”

Minister Fitzgerald noted: “young people identified the transition from education to employment as the time they are most vulnerable to social exclusion. Better facilitating this transition is critical to young people becoming independent and active in economic and community life. This requires the provision of effective training and activation measures and during Ireland’s EU Presidency I have strongly championed the role of youth organisations and youth work services in contributing to this task.”

Commenting on the Conference Minister Fitzgerald said: “This conference is highly significant and will discuss the findings of consultations held with over 11,000 young people across Europe. At the Conference, some 150 young people and 100 key policy-makers from all 27 EU member-states will discuss and agree conference outcomes and conclusions. As President of the EU Council of Youth Ministers, I will present these conclusions for adoption by the Council of Ministers in Brussels in May 2013 and the findings will feed into policy-development by the Council.”

Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, said: “Young people have borne the brunt of the current crisis – and an alarmingly high number of them are facing social exclusion. We cannot afford a lost generation: we need to give them hope and ensure that inclusion brings tangible results. That means we have to make the most of our funding opportunities and do more to promote active participation in civil society and civic life. My message to the EU Youth Conference is that the European Commission is 100% committed to working with youth organisations to address social exclusion.”

Peter MatjašiÄ , President of the European Youth Forum said: “We cannot tolerate young people’s social exclusion. To overcome it, we need real investment in young people, both financial and political: an investment in their education, to support their autonomy, to allow them find their way to the labour market and quality jobs, and to ensure that they are not submitted to any kind of discrimination. The Youth Guarantee is a first step in that direction, but more needs to be done. The Youth Forum and its members are ready to play their part. Now it is time for the EU and its Member States to make youth a priority!”

Mary Cunningham, Director, National Youth Council of Ireland, said: “As Ireland has one of the highest youth populations in Europe, we are delighted to bring so many young people from all over the EU here to ensure they have the opportunity to influence decisions affecting young people at both a national and European level. Almost 400,000, or 40% of all young people in Ireland, are involved in youth work, and with similar levels of participation across the EU it is clear that the youth work sector is well placed to have a decisive role in addressing the issues around social inclusion, employment and participation which have been raised by the young people representing their countries at this conference today.”