From May 16 to 18, Programme Coordinator, Anja Jokić, was in Sofia, Bulgaria, representing KOMS at the Kick-off meeting of the Erasmus+ project “Independence of Youth Councils”.
In addition to the KOMS representative, the meeting was attended by representatives from the following national youth councils (NYCs):
- National Youth Council of Bulgaria (Национален младежки форум NMF),
- National Youth Council of Macedonia (Национален младински совет на Македонија NMSM),
- Youth Council of Slovenia (Mladinski svet Slovenije MSS),
- Cyprus Youth Council (Συμβούλιο Νεολαίας Κύπρου/Kıbrıs Gençlik Konseyi CYC),
- Youth Council of Spain (Consejo de la Juventud de España CJE) and
- Latvian Youth Council (Latvijas Jaunatnes padome – LjP).
The project partners also include NYCs from Romania (Consiliul Tineretului din România CTR) and Italy (Consiglio Nazionale dei Giovani CNG).
During the meeting, the project managers got acquainted with each other and discussed project activities, responsibilities, and the roles of all partners to ensure effective collaboration throughout the project implementation process.
This project is unique as it aims to explore the independence of NYCs in decision-making and actions within these and other European countries, in order to ensure authentic youth representation in important democratic processes relevant to young people.
For this reason, until the end of 2024, the partner organizations will work together on an analysis mapping the independence and position of NYCs. They will also meet in Spain and Latvia to exchange good practices and discuss the challenges faced by youth representatives in their work with institutions in their respective countries.
The meeting was held within the Erasmus+ project “Independence of Youth Councils”, supported by the European Union.