Gemeinsame Sitzung der Arbeitsgruppen Europäische Jugendpolitik und Internationale Jugendpolitik

The exchange highlighted just how much dedication, experience and responsibility are involved in European and international youth work. At the same time, it became clear that many organisations continue to face challenges following the disruptions caused by the pandemic. For several years, international exchanges could only take place to a limited extent, or not at all, meaning that practical knowledge, established routines and personal connections have been lost in some cases. During this time, many young people had little opportunity to experience international exchanges for themselves and to draw motivation from them for their own involvement. The working groups will therefore continue to explore how new and existing organisations can be encouraged and supported to (re)establish exchanges, further develop partnerships and gain organisational certainty. The focus was on how existing knowledge can be shared, new volunteers supported, and European and international youth work further strengthened through joint efforts.

Dwindling funding for international exchanges was identified as a further shared challenge. At the same time, living, travel and programme costs are rising noticeably. For organisations involved in European and international youth work, this means that planning exchange and encounter programmes is becoming more costly, as it is increasingly necessary to secure additional third-party funding. At the same time, organisations’ own contributions are becoming harder to bear, as cost increases cannot be offset by raising participants’ fees. The working groups made it clear that international youth work requires reliable and adequate funding to ensure that exchanges remain possible in the long term.

Another key focus of the meeting was visa issues. Reports were given of long waiting times for embassy appointments, complicated online procedures, last-minute rejections despite complete documentation, additional fees, and a lack of knowledge among the consulates’ external service partners regarding the requirements of youth organisations. From the organisations’ perspective, the suspension or abolition of existing appeal procedures further exacerbates the situation. It is now virtually impossible to rectify errors; rejections jeopardise entire exchanges, and organisations must provide considerably more advice and support. The working groups noted that challenges relating to visa applications for youth exchanges remain a perennial issue. They tie up staff resources at organising bodies and funding organisations and incur additional costs. In many procedures, a credible demonstration of the likelihood of return is crucial. From the working groups’ perspective, the involvement of young applicants in organisational structures also plays an important role in this regard. However, this is often not sufficiently taken into account during the application process.

Another key focus of the meeting was the discussion on peace work within European and international youth work. In this context, a link was established with the new EU youth objectives. The DBJR was able to share initial findings from the survey conducted among its member organisations: from the perspective of youth organisations, peace and security are deliberately understood in broad terms. In addition to issues of war, violence and security policy, the discussion also covered social peace, democratic cohesion, resilience, social security, the capacity for dialogue and the ability to resolve conflicts peacefully. Participants reported, from different organisational perspectives, that peace work is embedded in youth association work in very different ways. Whilst some organisations address peace work as a central European or international issue, for others it tends to take centre stage within individual national structures, projects or specific partnerships. At the same time, it became clear that current wars and crises are intensifying internal debates within organisations and making it more challenging to take a stance on peace policy. International encounters, exchanges with partner organisations in conflict and crisis regions, peace education materials, political discussions, solidarity campaigns and educational programmes on peace and security were identified as key areas of practice. It was emphasised that peace work must not be directed solely outwards. Spaces for dialogue and conflict resolution are also needed within youth organisations, societies and European democracies.

The working groups noted that European and international youth work requires reliable framework conditions to enable democratic participation and international solidarity in the long term. This includes adequate funding, transparent visa procedures, strong supporting structures and low-threshold support for organisations seeking to establish new international exchanges or revive them following pandemic-related interruptions.