Participants are invited to choose one of the thematic workshops presented below to follow during the two days of the conference. The themes of the workshops concern either fields of action that are proposed to be prioritised in the future EU cooperation, or methods/instruments that will be used.

Some of these topics have been discussed also at the Czech Presidency Youth Event in June 2009, and in these cases, the discussions will build on what was said there. For each theme a background document are to be found to the right under the heading "Documents".

Each workshop will be lead by two experienced facilitators and assisted by two resource persons that are experts on the theme at hand and/or European cooperation in the youth field.

1. Education – empowering young people

Equal access for young people to high quality education and training at all levels and opportunities for life-long learning are of the highest importance for empowering young people. Complementary to formal education, non-formal education for young people can also be developed. This has been highlighted in the Commission communication, as well as by the Council and at several Presidency Youth Events.

Examples of questions for discussion: What is the main contribution of non-formal learning and how can it be developed and recognised? How can non-formal and formal education complement and strengthen each other? How can education be better matched with the needs of the labour market? 

2. Employment and Entrepreneurship – tackling the challenges ahead

The youth unemployment rate in the EU has for a long time been twice as high as that of the general population. In the current economic crisis young people also risk to be among the groups most negatively affected, not the least in the labour market. EU Youth Ministers have on several occasions agreed that it is urgent to intensify the work to facilitate and support the integration of all young people in the labour market, either as employed or as entrepreneurs.

Examples of questions for discussion: What kind of measures can be taken in order to decrease the number of young unemployed? Which actors can support young people wanting to become entrepreneurs, and how can obstacles for young people wanting to become entrepreneurs be removed?

 3. Equal Opportunities and Non-discrimination – a win-win approach 

The principle of equal opportunities and non-discrimination is firmly anchored both in EU Treaties and in the EU Charter on Fundamental Rights, as well as in various UN Conventions on Human Rights. At the same time, we know that the living conditions and opportunities among young people may vary due to factors such as age, sex, socio-economic situation, minority background, sexual orientation and possible disabilities.

Examples of questions for discussion: How do we take different groups of young people into consideration while formulating the future framework? How can we in practice combat discrimination and ensure that young people enjoy the same opportunities? How can the fact that young people might have different interests, needs and attitudes be used as an asset rather than viewed as a problem?

4. The European Youth Pact – 2:0, new and improved?

The European Youth Pact was adopted by the heads of states and governments in the EU in 2005. The aim of the Pact is to take young women and men into account in the work of the EU with the Lisbon Process to promote jobs and growth. There are three priorities in the European Youth Pact; employment/social inclusion, education/training, reconciliation of work and private life. During the Spanish Presidency of the EU next spring the Lisbon Process will be revised.

Examples of questions for discussion: What should be the message regarding the Youth Pact in the discussions about a renewed Lisbon Strategy after 2010? In what ways can young people’s transition between education and the labour market be supported? What measures, in addition to for example child care and flexible working time, can facilitate for both young women and men to combine working life with family life? 

5. Health and well-being – a good life

Lately, more focus has been placed on young people’s health in the EU cooperation. For example, during the French Presidency in 2008, a resolution on the health and well-being of young people was adopted. In the Prague Youth Event participants stressed that a cross-sectoral approach to health issues is important, meaning that it should be recognized that health is connected to active citizenship, education, employment etc. It was also said that health and well-being should be considered as a broad concept including not only possibilities to achieve a good health, but also for instance to be able to enjoy your human rights and not suffer from stress.

Examples of questions for discussion: Which are the key factors for a healthy life of young people? How can we tackle health issues in a cross-sectoral way in practice?

6. Participation – for better decision-making

Supporting young people’s participation has been an objective of EU cooperation in the youth field since its beginning. Participation of young people can be considered as an objective in it self, as well as a means to promote active citizenship. On the Prague Youth Event it was suggested that participation should be an underlying principle in EU cooperation in the youth field as a whole.
 

Examples of questions for discussion: How can a participatory approach be made a reality in the future framework of cooperation? What tools do we have to involve young people and can we develop new ones? What kind of obstacles are there for young people to fully participate and how can they be removed?

7. Youth and the world – a global perspective

In the proposal on a new framework of cooperation in the youth field for the coming years from the Commission a new field of action –“Youth and the world” – has been suggested. The idea is that young Europeans trough this field of action could be mobilized in global policy-making regarding various themes such as the Millennium Development Goals, climate etc.

Examples of questions for discussion: What are your views regarding this proposed new field of action? What should be the themes and the tools of work?

8. Youth Workers – everyday heroes

Youth workers within many different kinds of organizations are key actors, working with young people at the local and regional level. For the future EU cooperation in the youth field, EU Youth Ministers have agreed that it is important to more clearly define the contribution that youth work can make to the improvement of young peoples lives.

Examples of questions for discussion: Which are the players in the youth field on local and regional level? What can they do? What kind of support do they need?

9. Structured dialogue – getting there together

The structured dialogue with young people and their organisations, which was initiated in 2006, serves as a forum for continuous joint reflection on European cooperation in the youth field. Youth ministers, as well as youth representatives at Youth Events and the European Youth Forum have expressed that the structured dialogue could be developed and improved. The next Presidency Trio (Spain, Belgium and Hungary) has initiated work to propose how the structured dialogue could be implemented in a better way. This proposal will serve as a basis for the discussions in this workshop.

Examples of questions for discussion: How can the dialogue be better linked to the priorities of the EU cooperation? How can we ensure continuity and coherent follow-up of the dialogue? How can the structured dialogue at local and regional level be supported and developed?

10. Better Knowledge – the key to change

EU Youth Ministers have agreed that youth policy should be evidence based. Better knowledge of the living conditions, values and attitudes of young women and men needs to be gathered and shared with other relevant policy fields to enable appropriate and timely measures to be taken. The participants of the Prague Youth Event shared this view.

Examples of questions for discussion: What do we need to know about the situation of young people in the EU? What kind of data do we need? What instruments for knowledge acquirement do we have and are there more instruments that need to be developed?