Deadline: 6-Jan-23
As part of its “Rejuvenating Politics” initiative, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe is calling for applications from young people from Council of Europe member States, aged between 18 to 30.
One young person from each of the 46 member States of the Council of Europe will be invited by the Congress to:
- to take an active part, as a youth delegate, in its 44th (21-23 March 2023) and 45th (24-26 October 2023) Congress sessions.
- to develop their own grass-roots project back home (under the Congress’ aegis).
Aims and Objectives
- By inviting a number of young people to take an active part in its sessions the Congress aims to give young people an opportunity to express their opinions about all the issues being discussed directly to the local and regional elected representatives.
- The specific objectives are to:
- involve young people directly in all aspects of the Congress’ work;
- make young people aware of the Congress’ work and the tools it has developed to support youth participation;
- discuss with young people how local and regional youth participation can be boosted;
- bring the youth perspective to all thematic debates within the Congress;
- motivate the youth delegates to multiply the information and experience acquired during the sessions on their return home in particular through the development and implementation of their own projects at local and regional levels;
- share information about existing models of youth-led structures and motivate young people to spread the word about the Congress’ work;
- promote co-operation between members of the Congress and youth delegates;
- show national delegations the importance of officially including more young people as members.
Activities
- The entire youth delegate programme is compulsory, youth delegates who do not take part in one or more of these aspects will be replaced by their national substitute delegate.
- Compulsory activities include:
- participation in online preparation with the trainers prior to each session;
- full attendance during both sessions (which includes the preparation day on the eve of each session and the evaluation meeting on the last afternoon of each session);
- participation in several meetings via videoconference (April – September) with trainers to prepare the youth project;
- implementation of the project between April and mid-September 2023.
Eligibility Criteria
All youth delegates should:
- be open, committed and motivated to develop and strengthen dialogue between young people and elected representatives at local/regional level;
- be between 18 and 30 years old;
- live in and hold the passport of one of the 46 Council of Europe member States;
- be active in youth work at local and regional levels;
- be available to engage in the whole of the activity including the preparation of grass-roots projects;
- have an interest in actively participating in policy making at local and/or regional levels but not be an elected representative;
- be able to multiply the information obtained during the session on their return home;
- have good writing and public speaking skills;
- be committed to working in an intercultural team;
- not have participated in the initiative previously;
- speak English fluently.
For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3EjOFE9