European Youth Conference

Aims & objectives

The European Youth Conferences are an integral part of the Structured Dialogue process of the European Union. They bring together ~250 people people and ministry representatives to discuss the outcomes of the national consultations of the Structured Dialogue. The conferences prepare conclusions to be presented to the Council of Ministers meeting, which takes place right after the Youth Conferences.

Target group & international/intercultural composition of the group & team

The national delegations consist usually of 3 young people and up to two ministry representatives. Additionally the European Youth Forum has a delegation of 14 participants, consisting of staff and board members, as well as representatives of its member organisations.

Training methods used & main activities

The European Youth Conferences are very much aimed towards policy development. Therefore the methods are strongly discussion based and aimed to forge consensus in the group. The sessions are evolving around a common review of the consultations, followed by discussions, brainstorming and then collaborative working to create workshop conclusions.

Outcomes of the activity

The final recommendations:
http://gr2014.eu/sites/default/files/Final%20recommendations%20Greek%20Presidency.pdf

I was responsible to ensure a quality outcome for WS 2.

Your tasks and responsibilities within the team

In the conferences we are facilitators for the process and need to make sure the group can express themselves freely, respects each other and exchanges their views on youth policy. In particular the exchange between youth representatives and ministry representatives is of importance, to ensure an impact on the Council of Ministers. As facilitator I need to make sure to have a good flow through the programme, ensure a common level of understanding of the issues and a continuous discussion on the topic, with an outcome oriented approach.

I worked on this training for 3 days as a full time trainer.