Youth and Democracy in Focus: Council of Europe Youth Ministers Reaffirm Their Commitment to Youth-Oriented Democracies in Malta

At the conference, two key documents were adopted: a Final Declaration and a Resolution on the Council of Europe Reference Framework on a Youth Perspective. In terms of meaningful youth participation, the conference marked a significant success: for the first time, youth representatives were part of the delegations of 41 out of 45 member states, and many were even allocated speaking time within their national delegations. The youth representative in the German delegation was Özge Erdoğan, Deputy Chair of the German Federal Youth Council (DBJR) and spokesperson of the German National Committee for International Youth Work (DNK).

Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset opened the conference by calling for young people to be present in all decision-making processes. He stressed the importance of not relying solely on one’s own experiences, but of actively listening to young people. Many young people, he warned, are disillusioned with democracy, and this needs to be urgently addressed.

Nina Grmuša, Chair of the Advisory Council on Youth, emphasized that youth participation must not be symbolic but political. In her words, democracy is “a verb” – governments must understand youth participation not as an abstract value, but as a daily political practice.

The ministers adopted a Final Declaration in which they agreed to:

• support youth structures at all levels and strengthen young people’s participation in democratic life,
• continue working on the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment,
• explore the idea of establishing a new European Youth Centre in the Black Sea region, alongside the existing centres in Strasbourg and Budapest, and
• commission a study on the experiences of countries that have lowered the voting age.

In addition, the ministers adopted a Reference Framework on a Youth Perspective, serving as a guideline for integrating young people’s perspectives into the work of the Council of Europe and its member states. The European Youth Forum (YFJ) and the Advisory Council on Youth played a leading role in developing the document. They placed particular emphasis on introducing a methodology to assess how political decisions impact young people.

The framework proposes three key steps to embed the youth perspective in policymaking:

1. Build the commitment of decision-makers and adapt legislation so that youth interests are systematically integrated across policy areas.
2. Introduce sustainable participation mechanisms and youth impact assessments.
3. Evaluate policies and measures regarding their effectiveness and impact on young people.

Strong democracy needs youth participation

With the adoption of the Final Declaration and the Reference Framework on a Youth Perspective, the ministers in Malta have charted a clear course to firmly embed youth issues in the work of the Council of Europe and its member states.

Yevheniia Fedotova, member of the Advisory Council on Youth, emphasized that democracy is currently not only under pressure but actively under attack. The new framework, together with adequate funding, is an important tool to counter these developments.

Özge Erdoğan, youth representative in the German delegation, stated:

The Council of Europe is and remains a role model in youth participation. Youth is a cross-cutting issue – this is made clear in the Reference Framework on a Youth Perspective. However, this must not remain a declaration of intent. Following the strong signal and excellent cooperation in Malta, the German Federal Government must now take concrete action. We are ready for dialogue.