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European young people and policymakers provide solutions for youth-exclusion problems

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1187246_10151672096358533_1296254133_nThe EU Youth Conference in Vilnius has adopted 21 Joint Conclusions. More than 250 young people and policymakers from all 28-member states of the EU expressed concrete proposals on enhancing social inclusion of the youth, especially of young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs), into labour market, education system and social life.
 
The conclusions present proposals in areas of adapting education to the needs of young people and demands of the labour market, informing and guiding young people in their transitions, facilitating the transition from education to employment, improving the labour market for young people, supporting young people’s autonomy, enhancing the role of youth organisations and developing cross-sectoral cooperation.
 
Young people and policy-makers at the EU Youth Conference propose that a binding framework for quality and paid internships should be adopted in the European Union.
 
It is also suggested that EU Member States should establish or develop national coordinative bodies for the Youth Guarantee involving representatives of the youth sector and other social partners.
 
Among other adopted conclusions it is proposed that member states should develop and implement national policies that would help young people, including NEETs, students, employees and others, access affordable and decent housing in order their autonomous life would be ensured.
 
According to Director General for Youth Affairs Steponas Kulbauskas, he is very pleased to see that young people are not only well aware of the importance of youth social exclusion issue, but also suggest concrete solutions. “Today we were given a lot of good ideas which, we promise, will be heard, considered and, hopefully, implemented,” he said.
 
Peter Matjašič, President of the European Youth Forum (YFJ) said: “The message is clear: young people need a more just and fair labour market with more permanent, stable jobs. Social inclusion of young people passes through the right to decent work and to be treated equally in the labour market. The EU and member states need to do more to prevent in-work precariousness and ensure quality employment for young people. They must act now! It is time to regulate contractual arrangements and eliminate all discrimination, including on the ground of age, in the labour market”.
 
Lithuanian Youth Council President, Loreta Senkute added: “In the two conference days the participants managed to agree on basic measures to be implemented, which would emphasize on the social inclusion topic. Most important for young people are not to lose what was expressed in the conference and to create effective monitoring mechanisms which would turn expressed conclusions into concrete youth policies all over Europe”.
 
These conclusions have been formulated in live joint discussions during the conference across seven workshops. Each one of these developed three concrete, innovative joint conclusions for the final document. The EU Youth Conference, which is a core element of the EU process of the structured dialogue with the youth, is run in each presidency on a yearly basis. This year event was focused on the Lithuanian Presidency’s main priority in the youth policy field: social inclusion of young people with a particular emphasis on the inclusion of young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs).
 
Conclusions that have been adopted today will contribute to the draft EU Council Conclusions that are being developed in the EU Council on enhancing the social inclusion of young people not in employment, education or training and that are expected to be adopted by the EU Member States’ Ministers for Youth in November 2013. Additionally, the conclusions will provide input to the draft Council Resolution on structured dialogue with young people regarding social inclusion, which will be adopted under the upcoming Greek EU Presidency.

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