Youth Policies within and beyond the AER

The participation of young people is important in all political life precisely because young people are affected by the decisions made by governments, whether at a regional or national level. Policy areas such as housing, the environment, transport and education, to name but a few, have a direct impact on the lives of young people just as much as those of adults.

The world of today is just as much the concern of young people as the world of tomorrow. To deny the young people of today an opportunity to participate in the governance of society is to deny them the right to effect that which happens around them. 

Towards the association of young people in public affairs

While the voice of young people has been ignored in the past, perhaps due to the fact that they can not directly effect the outcome of elections, there is a growing recognition of the role that young people have to play in the functioning of democracy. The AER's moves towards the inclusion of young people in its work comes at a time when governments, both national and supranational, are attempting to include young people in their policy-making process. It seems that governments have realised that young people do have a not insignificant role to play. Not only do they have first hand experience of the way policy works on the ground but they also often have many innovative solutions to the problems that society faces, if only they were listened to.

AER: unique platform for young people from European Regions

The AER is a unique platform for young people to confront and exchange their views and to widen their horizons. They are thus contributing to breaking down barriers and struggling against intolerance, ignorance and mistrust even before they develop and become ingrained in adulthood. AER Youth projects:

Youth Summer School: the Youth Summer School was introduced in 2001. Those events are meant to allow young people to exchange ideas with Regional politicians and officials attending the Summer School. Organised annually as a 5-day event, the Summer Schools aim at developing to the participants, new skills and further knowledge about European issues. This is why each YSS is thematic.

AER Youth Ambassadors Project: each participant in the AER Youth Summer School is a Youth Ambassador. Its role is to get other young people in his/her region interested in co-operation between young people in the regions of Europe. After the Summer School, Youth Ambassadors must organise in their regions activities on the topic discussed during the Summer School. The next year, the best activities/projects are selected and the best of them will be awarded the AER Youth Ambassador Project Award.

AER Youth Team: Youth Team was set up to provide a unique structure to involve young people in the work of an international organisation. The strategy and activities of the Youth Team were based on three levels: regional (they promote the AER’ projects at regional level, involve in the organisation of the AER events and offer assistance to the youngsters in their region), European (by participating and encouraging young people from European regions to participate in projects conducted at European level and by staying in contact with European institutions: CoE, EU, or associations dealing with youth matters) and inter-AER (cooperation between the Youth Team members and all AER committees). As this scheme of cooperation proved successful, Youth Team was next developed into the AER Youth Regional Network - a much wider structure, bringing together not only former Youth Team members, but also members of regional youth councils and parliaments. 

AER Youth Regional Network: AER set up the AER Youth Regional Network (YRN) conceived as a common platform of youth regional organisations/councils/parliaments on regional level in Europe. This platform is a forum for discussion and exchange of experience between youngsters across all the European Regions. The idea is to bring together young people from European Regions and give them an opportunity to exchange, to share ideas, experiences, and to find together solutions to their problems or fears.

AER Youth Peer Review: Developed by AER, a peer review methodology allows regional authorities to assess and improve their performance in key areas of regional responsibility. Until now it has been implemented in such fields as alcohol policies, tourism, economy and rnewable energies. The methodology can also prove successful for the area of youth policies in the AER member regions. 

Do you speak European?: This is a public speaking and personal expression contest, which gives teams of young people between the ages of 14 and 18 the opportunity to prepare and present their views on the question ‘What Does Europe Mean to You?’. The competition is taking place across the whole Europe on three levels: regional, national and European.

The Most Youth-Friendly European Region Award: The AER launched the competition for the Most Youth-Friendly European Region for the first time in 2001. It offers the European Regions every two years the chance and possibility to make their projects and initiatives in youth issues known to a wider public and to spread the good experience gained in this work.

AER Scholarship: AER is offering one annual scholarship for a student from an AER member region to undertake a course of study at Masters degree level in a topic related to regional democracy. The scholarship will cover tuition fees and living costs for a one-year course at a university in another AER member region in a foreign country. EDITION 2010 has been postponed. 

AER European Citizens’ Forum: The aim of the Forums is to engage young citizens and regional politicians in a debate with representatives of the European Union on the future of Europe. The Forums operate as a two-way process, informing youngsters about the Europe, and listening to people expectations about what should be done in the future on the different topic.

Eurodyssey: this programme is the first AER programme created in 1985 and aims to improve the opportunities for young Europeans and provides them the possibility to acquire professional experience abroad.