About Youth in Action Programme
On 15 November 2006, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Decision No 1719/2006 /EC, which establishes the Youth in Action programme for the period 2007 to 2013. This document is the legal basis of the Programme for its entire duration.
Youth in Action is the EU Programme for young people aged 15-28 (in some cases 13-30). It aims to inspire a sense of active citizenship, solidarity and tolerance among young Europeans and to involve them in shaping the Union’s future.
Youth in Action is a programme for all! It promotes mobility within and beyond the EU borders, non-formal learning and intercultural dialogue, and encourages the inclusion of all young people, regardless of their educational, social and cultural background.
Youth in Action is the successor of the YOUTH Programme (2000-2006). Building on the experience of the previous programmes for youth, Youth in Action is the result of a large consultation with the different stakeholders in the youth field and aims to respond to the evolutions and needs of young people at European level.
With a total budget of 885 million euros for seven years (2007-2013), the Programme supports a large variety of activities for young people and youth workers through five Actions.
Programme Actions
The Youth in Action Programme aims to achieve the following general objectives:
- promote young people’s active citizenship in general and their European citizenship in particular;
- develop solidarity and promote tolerance among young people, in particular in order to foster social cohesion in the European Union;
- foster mutual understanding between young people in different countries;
- contribute to developing the quality of support systems for youth activities and the capabilities of civil society organisations in the youth field;
- promote European cooperation in the yout field.
To this end, the Programme is structured around 5 Actions:
Action 1 - Youth for Europe
encourages young people’s active citizenship, participation and creativity through youth exchanges, youth initiatives and youth democracy projects.
Action 2 - European Voluntary Service
helps young people to develop their sense of solidarity by participating, either individually or in group, in non-profit, unpaid voluntary activities abroad.
Action 3 - Youth in the World
promotes partnerships and exchanges among young people and youth organisations across the world.
Action 4 - Youth Support Systems
includes various measures to support youth workers and youth organisations and improve the quality of their activities.
Action 5 - Support for European Co-operation in the Youth field
supports youth policy co-operation at European level, in particular by facilitating dialogue between young people and policy makers.
Youth for Europe is geared towards the specific needs and expectations of young people. The aim is to promote a sense of ‘Europeanness’ among young people from every strata of society and encourage them to participate in the democratic process.
This Action supports three main types of activities: Youth Exchanges, Youth Initiatives and Youth Democracy Projects. The detailed criteria to submit applications are specified in the Youth in Action Programme Guide. Further information and support can also be obtained by contacting your National Agency. For youth initiatives and democracy projects, the SALTO Participation Resource Centre can also provide specific advice and support (for project ideas, partner-finding, etc).
Pilot Projects on Thematic Networking can also be supported as a means to better structure projects of a similar nature, to pool experiences in a specific thematic field and to increase the visibility of project results. Criteria on how to obtain funding for this type of projects are specified in a specific call for proposals.
Youth Exchanges(Action 1.1)
The aim of Youth Exchanges is to get groups of young people from different countries together so they can explore their social and cultural differences and similarities. Youth Exchanges are targeted at young people between the age of 13 and 25. They receive the unique opportunity to experience significant mutual learning situations and to strengthen their feeling of being Europeans.
Each exchange must have a theme that is relevant to the daily experiences of the young people involved but also has a clear European dimension. Themes could cover numerous issues, such as young people in society, racism and xenophobia, local heritage, drugs, the environment, etc. In accordance with its inclusion strategy, the Youth in Action programme particularly encourages youth exchanges involving young people with fewer opportunities.
By participating in a youth exchange, young people go through a non-formal learning experience, which is recognised through a specific certificate called Youthpass.
