National Working Group (NAG) in Brussels

At the invitation of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (DG EAC) and the Secretariat for the EU Youth Dialogue, newly established within the European Youth Forum (YFJ), one representative each from the relevant ministries and the National Youth Councils came together.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, such networking meetings were an integral part of the exchange between the National Working Groups. They provide a forum for coordination, mutual learning and discussion of the sometimes very different conditions under which the EU Youth Dialogue is implemented in the individual countries. After a hiatus of several years, this format has now taken place again for the first time.

The focus included discussions on guidelines for monitoring, as well as on standards and strategies to publicise the results developed within the framework of the EU Youth Dialogue more transparently.

In the discussions that repeatedly touched upon the current revision of the EU Youth Strategy and the Youth Goals, the calls for the 3rd EU Youth Strategy were also raised. In addition to the substantive debates, networking and the exchange of good practices proved particularly valuable. The German delegation returned to Germany with numerous new contacts, practical suggestions and fresh ideas for the further implementation of the EU Youth Dialogue.