Youth

To bring together key stakeholders to explore the phenomenon of the “shrinking civic space”, its effect on young people and their organisations, and to examine models that are being used to ensure the meaningful participation of civil society.

• to explore the challenges and restrictions faced by civil society organisations – with particular emphasis on young people and their organisations – to their activities and involvement in public life that are in contradiction with the relevant Council of Europe and other international standards;^[1]
• to allow for indepth reflection on and discussion of the current situation and its consequences, including various perspectives from civil society, governments, international organisations, and other stakeholders;
• to explore positive examples that promote civil society participation, including mechanisms used by national and/or local/regional authorities and initiatives/practices used by civil society;
• to identify realistic and effective courses of action for the Council of Europe youth sector, and possibly other sectors, to support youth participation on local, national, and international levels in the current political and legal environment.

To provide recommendations and ideas to the Joint Council on Youth (CMJ) on how to effectively address, within its mandate, the challenges faced by youth civil society organisations and the restrictions on their work, as well as examples of good practice that can be promoted in the states parties to the European Cultural Convention.