On the 23rd of November 2011 the European Commission presented its Communication “Erasmus for all: the EU Programme for Education, Training, Youth and Sport” that details its vision for the EU budget in the field of youth and education, which is foreseen to be a substitute for several programmes, including Youth in Action. Many of you already know that it is the youth programme of the EU, supporting non-formal education, and that the current YiA programme is only running until the end of 2013. From 2014 onwards, a new programme will be implemented, which will run until 2020.
In the past years, EYCE has received substantial amounts of its budget from the different subsections (actions) of the YiA programme. In addition, many of your organisations also use the YiA programme for volunteer services, youth exchanges and other projects. The YiA programme does not only support activities inside the EU, but also outside the EU. The situations in youth work are quite different in various European countries. In some, youth work is funded well by national states, but in others the YiA programme is the main source of funding for youth work at all.
Within the “Erasmus for all: the EU Programme for Education, Training, Youth and Sport” proposal, much importance is given to the mobility of young people and to formal education of young people, non-formal education is seen only as part of the formal education system and a tool for the better employability of young people. Parts of the current YiA programme will remain only in the sector of volunteer services and youth exchanges. This development will be disastrous for youth work all over Europe, including EYCE and its members! Although the overall budget for this new programme, named Erasmus for All (!), will be increased, key elements of the current programme will not continue to exist or only on a very low scale.
Final decisions about the new programme will be made in early summer 2012. This means that there is time now for youth organisations on the international and national level to lobby for a better programme for young people that also supports non-formal education and values of active citizenship and participation! Therefore, EYCE calls you as member organisations to use your network, contacts and energy to lobby for an independent Youth in Action Programme 2.0 (2014-2020)!
We know that many of you are small organisations, but we ask you to cooperate with national youth councils and other youth organisations in your country to approach your governments, ministers of youth and education and other relevant actors on national level, as well as members of the European Parliament from your countries/ regions and ask them to support an independent YiA programme with adequate funding for youth work!
However, it is also important to try to address your governments and MEP’s through your churches, as they can advocate for young people and are often listened to by governments. EYCE will do its best on the international level, but WE NEED ALL OF YOU to support this work, as it is not only a question of national interest, but of European solidarity and equal participation!
Please let us know about your actions and support that you can give! Even if your member organisation is outside the EU, you can still support youth organisations in other countries and your contacts to churches and institutions in other countries can be of use also to them!
We will keep you updated on developments regarding the process! Let us stand strong together for the future of young people and youth organisations!
You can find more information on the new proposal of the European Commission here:
Campaign of the European Youth Forum:
http://www.whereareyouthgoing.eu/background-docs/
https://www.facebook.com/whereareyouthgoing
Website of the European Commission:
http://ec.europa.eu/education/erasmus-for-all/