[CoE] Youth delegates invited to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
Call for applications for young people to take part in the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities’ 30th and 31st sessions
22 – 24 March and 18 – 20 October 2016, Strasbourg (France)
Deadline: 5 February 2016
In view of the apparent disengagement of young people from conventional political participation in recent years, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe has been taking a closer look at the issue of youth participation. Its work over the past three years has concluded that, contrary to popular belief, young people are still committed to participating in society, however they are engaging differently in a society in which they feel marginalised from the political process.
In close co-operation with the European Youth Foundation and the Council of Europe Youth Department, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe is inviting a number of young people to take an active part in its 30th and 31st sessions. Through the sessions, the aim is to create a space for dialogue between the youth delegates and local and regional elected representatives and to enable young people to express their views on the issues being debated.
The sessions will be an opportunity for the youth delegates to examine the state of youth participation at local and regional levels in Europe in order to identify opportunities for and obstacles to its effective implementation.
The Congress is a pan-European political assembly, its 648 members hold elective office (they may be regional or municipal councillors, mayors or presidents of regional authorities) and represent over 200,000 authorities in 47 European States. Its role is to promote local and regional democracy, improve local and regional governance and strengthen authorities’ self-government. It meets in session twice a year.
Application procedure and selection of participants
Those wishing to apply to take part in the 30th and 31st Congress sessions must do so by means of the application form enclosed. Participation in only one session is not possible. Applicants must also submit a short video, for example via YouTube, of no more than 30 seconds, to support their application. The link to the video should be sent together with the application.
The deadline for submitting completed applications is Friday 5 February 2016. Completed application forms must be sent to: congress.youth@coe.int.
Travel, subsistence and accommodation
The youth delegates’ travel and subsistence expenses will be covered jointly by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities and the European Youth Foundation according to the Council of Europe’s rules.
Accommodation will be provided and paid for by the organisers, in single-occupancy or shared rooms according to availability. The organisers cannot cover the cost of accommodation elsewhere.
For more information, please consult:
Call for applications 2016 youth sessions
