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The European programme : Youth in Action

Pascal LEJEUNE, Head of unit \"Youth in Action\", European Commission

Could you give us a quick but detailed definition of the programme that you are in charge of? Could you tell us what is the main objective of the programme?

The European programme dedicated to youth, which promotes citizenship and informal learning, aims to associate youth to the development of the society and of the EU, to strengthen solidarity and tolerance, to reinforce mutual understanding between youth from different countries, to contribute to developing the quality of support systems for youth activities and the capabilities of civil society organisations in the youth field, and to promote European cooperation in youth policy.
Learning mobility activities, like Youth Exchanges and the European Voluntary Service, as well as other projects granted by the programme promote European citizenship, the involvement of youth in the democratic life, the intercultural dialogue, the inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities and the support to youth workers and youth organisations.

Why has been created the European fund for youth? Were there any specific needs?



The current programme, called \"Youth in Action\", is the most recent one in a series of programmes, the first of which, \"Youth for Europe\", was established in 1989.


Already at that time, the programme aimed at offering transnational non formal learning opportunities to young people, based on the belief that the development of human resources in Europe can benefit from transnational learning mobility and that this mobility should not be restricted to student exchanges - Erasmus had just been established two years before. In other words: we do not learn only at school, and promoting transnational youth mobility and the exchange of good practice at European level in the non formal learning sector contributes to the improvement of the youth support systems in the Member States. Furthermore, participating in such a programme reinforces the sense of being European and makes Europe closer to young people.


These two objectives, the development of youth skills and competences and the strengthening of their citizenship, still motivate the intervention of the European Union in the youth field today. In so doing, the Youth in Action programme also supports a more political cooperation at European level, which keeps developing since the beginning of the 2000s, the most recent expression of which being the strategy for the coming years adopted in 2009 by the European ministers, based on the communication of the European Commission called \"An EU strategy for youth: investing and empowering\".



since its implementation, did the demand concerning the programme evolved? If so, how and did it have any impact on the call for proposals?



The programme certainly evolved, since it was established in 1989.

First of all, it increased quantitatively; its budget overpasses today 140 million euro per year – but is still not sufficient to respond to the growing demand. This budget allows for about 130 000 youngsters or youth workers to participate in the programme.


The programme\'s content also evolved, although the basic characteristics remain the same over the years, notably its transnational dimension. This is illustrated by the level of the funds allocated to the youth exchanges and the importance of the training for youth workers. One of the most relevant evolutions in the programme has been, since the late 1990s, the development of the European Voluntary Service, which gives the opportunity to young people to spend a year to volunteer abroad in an activity of general interest. This action is well-known and emblematically representative of the programme objectives, as it offers young people opportunities to learn by experience and to develop solidarity toward the local community of the host country.


The current programme, Youth in Action, covers the period 2007-2013 and evolves in order to maximize its impact on national and local youth systems. To give an example, a new action has just been launched to enhance cooperation between European regions and the European Commission, by offering opportunities to build partnerships to support youth activities at regional level.



By reading the council resolution, we learnt that the year 2011 will be dedicated to European Voluntary service for youth into local communities. Could you tell us if there is any relation with the next programming period for the programme? If so, could you be precise?



2011 will be the European Year of Volunteering. It will not only target youth voluntary service, but it is clear that this Year will also tackle the voluntary activities for young people and particularly projects supported by the European Voluntary Service – about 50 000 young people have benefited from the EVS since its creation.


Being particularly relevant to support the skills and employability of young people, but at the same time also their feeling of citizenship and solidarity, it is obvious that the European Voluntary Service will continue to be a flagship strand of the programme for young people under the next programming period, from 2014 onwards.