On 13-14 March 2025, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) will bring together nearly 100 young participants from youth organisations, national youth councils and secondary schools as well as 37 teachers from EU Member States, candidate countries and the UK for its annual Your Europe, Your Say! (YEYS) event. This year, YEYS will focus on the role of young people in collectively shaping a resilient future. It aims to equip them to engage in civic action and continue to contribute to participatory democracy activities in their communities and beyond.
Stand up for democracy & speak up for Europe: Youth priorities for the next EU legislative term
Location
EESC | Brussels
Belgium
Your Europe, Your Say! (YEYS) will take place on Wednesday 6 March 2024 as part of the EESC's Civil Society Week. With the 2024 edition of YEYS taking place in the run up to the European elections, the one day event will seek to inspire its young participants to exercise their democratic right to vote and actively encourage others to do so too.
The sustainable economy we need - With Executive Vice-President Timmermans
Location
10:30 - 11:30 CEST - Webstreamed
Brussels
Belgium
Following the success of the previous Youth Climate and Sustainability Round Tables, the EESC will host the fourth EU Youth Round Table on Tuesday 18 July, 10:30-11:30 CEST. Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, will participate in the event and will engage with the youth representatives on the topic: the sustainable economy we need for a successful implementation of the European Green and Social Deal.
The EESC is organising a hybrid public hearing to gather the view of youth representatives, rural development experts and various stakeholders on how to promote sustainable and inclusive rural development that benefits young people and rural communities as a whole.
The EESC included a youth delegate in its UNFCCC COP delegation for the first time in 2021 and committed to repeating this experience in the years to come. The EESC youth delegate to COP has a mandate of two years and at the end of each mandate a transparent and open selection process is carried out to designate the new delegate. This webinar will provide useful information for applicants.
Food security and sustainable food systems - With Commissioner Wojciechowski
Location
14:30 - 16:00 CET - Webstreamed, Brussels
Belgium
The EESC will host the third EU Youth Round Table on Wednesday 30 November, 14:30-16:00 CET. Janusz Wojciechowski, Commissioner for Agriculture, will participate in the event and will engage with the youth representatives on the topic: food security and sustainable food systems.
The EESC will host a public hearing in the context of its own-initiative opinion: Empowering youth to achieve sustainable development through education. The event aims to explore innovative ideas to foster opportunities and overcome challenges for the implementation of a transformative education for sustainable development.
The Western Balkans Civil Society High-Level Conference brought together EESC members, civil society representatives from the countries of the Western Balkans, as well as Czech officials and members of organised civil society. The conference complemented the work the EESC has already been undertaking by organising the Western Balkans Civil Society Forum every two years since 2006.
The main topics on the agenda were:
European path for the Western Balkans: Roadmap towards clear accession perspective and the role of young people
Contribution of civil society to youth policy in the Western Balkans: challenges and opportunities in building a better future for the Western Balkans and amplifying the voice of young people from the Western Balkans
Human capital development in the Western Balkans
Youth employment challenges in the Western Balkans
Young people in the Western Balkans as an important force in regional cooperation and promoting European integration
Category meeting centred around the question of Workers' Voice in EESC work and also in particular in the youth, dealing with the specific challenges of unionising young workers.
The EESC is organising a virtual public hearing which will feed into its own-initiative opinion on “The EU Youth Test”. This opinion will look at how youth engagement can be fostered to bring a youth perspective into policy-making at all levels.
The aim of the hearing is to find out more about the experience of Member States already implementing the Youth Test and to look at youth participation in the context of Europe's future.
This interactive conference with experts in circular economy competences and youth, policy-makers, academics and business representatives will explore the outputs from the CESCY project.
The NAT section of the EESC will hold a public hearing on 26 April 2022 to engage stakeholders and civil society actors and discuss the engagement of young people towards achieving sustainable development. The conclusions of the hearing will feed into the preparation of the EESC information report on this topic.
On 28 March 2022, the EESC's Labour Market Observatory will hold a remote public hearing on youth participation in the EU labour market.
The COVID-19 crisis has aggravated inequalities and the impact on young people is stronger than for other age groups. The youngsters who were in education or training at the time of the pandemic have seen their schooling interrupted and often need to catch up. Among those in employment, many lost their jobs and the recently graduated have not always found employment. In the context of the European Year of Youth, the event will examine, through a discussion with civil society organisations and socio-professional stakeholders, the challenges, opportunities, and current trends concerning youth on the EU labour market.
Speakers due to attend include representatives of the European institutions, Eurofound and the EESC, as well as the social partners and other civil society organisations.
The EU as a driver of shared prosperity – civil society for an economy that works for people & the planet
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Location
HYBRID EVENT • EESC
Brussels
Belgium
While Europe and its societies are still in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic and with the Conference on the Future of Europe in its closing stages, the EESC will be holding its annual Civil Society Days in March 2022.
