Young conference participants prepared a Conference Statement at the end of the event, emphasizing the need for youth-oriented policies. They indicated the need to support “youth employment-oriented investments”, and “youth empowerment and involvement in decisions that affect them and their societies”. According to young people, efficient investments should include promotion and recognition of non-formal education and training, reform of formal education, active labor market policies, second chance programs for disadvantaged and marginalized youth, consultations with youth organizations, and opportunities for exchange of information and dialogue. Such initiatives need to be supported by all stakeholders, including governments, multi-lateral and bi-lateral organizations, and the private sector.
As illustrated by comparative data on young people presented in the conference background paper for different clusters of countries, there are currently big gaps between the EU-15, the EU new member states and the other countries in the region, particularly apparent in young people’s more problematic indicators for South Eastern Europe and the Caucasus and Central Asia countries. This process, which is unfolding amidst the enlargement of the EU eastward, should be of great concern for policy makers from the Europe and Central Asia region and the EU alike. The highest rates of youth unemployment are found in South East Europe, but unemployment is also a significant issue for the new EU member states. Youth unemployment rates in Macedonia, Serbia, and Montenegro have oscillated in recent times between 60 and 70 percent. In Poland, the youth unemployment rate is nearly 40 percent.
It seems that young people have lost trust they can influence change in their societies. They experience growing disillusionment with the citizenship opportunities offered in their countries. In Kosovo, 80 percent of young people do not believe they can influence local institutions. In the new EU member states and in Russia, the rate of youth disillusionment about their influence on decision making amounts to 34 and 37 percent, respectively, compared to 18 percent in the older EU states.
Addressing conference participants, Joy Phumaphi, Vice President of the World Bank Human Development Network, explained: “Young people do not have to feel that they are misrepresented, because young people should be representing themselves. They should be included as citizens, as they are more likely to understand the extreme nature of their circumstances better than everyone else. This is what I heard you say earlier this afternoon. You are seeking meaningful participation, not just consultation. I listened carefully to you, and I appreciate that when you talk about a multidimensional approach, you see yourself as being at the center of this approach, of driving the environment around you and informing the process. And these are the solutions that you must seek for yourselves and drive us to deliver to you.”
“The cost of missed opportunities – such as crime and violence, impact of labor migration on abandoned families, and the intergenerational transmission of poverty by out-of school – out of work youth to the next generation - far exceeds the cost of investing in youth-oriented programs,” said Gloria La Cava, Europe and Central Asia Youth Coordinator at the World Bank, responsible for the Conference. “Investing in youth is an urgent priority. It is also necessary to promote strategies to support youth employment. Specific investments are recommended to enhance youth inclusion into the labor markets and to expand youth engagement in active citizenship as a means of building social cohesion. There are some positive experiences from Macedonia and Moldova. We can build and expand on them.”
Youth programming can be expanded by establishing systematic relationships between young people, governments, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector. “Youth organizations must play a formal role in defining employment, education, and citizenship agendas,” said Bettina Schwarzmayr, President of the European Youth Forum. Referring to the Lisbon Strategy of the European Union as a model, Bettina continued: “What is needed for a true knowledge-based society is involvement of stakeholders, such as youth organizations, in all processes, increased accessibility to education and committed qualitative governmental funding and support for educational institutions and students, as well as diversification of the student body and the recognition of non-formal education.”
In order to raise awareness on the key role youth organizations play in the development of youth-oriented programs, the Conference hosted the 2007 Innovation Grants Competition “Connecting Youth to Work and Citizenship Opportunities”, which funds innovative youth initiatives in the region. The Competition was organized by the Children & Youth Unit at the World Bank and sponsored by NOKIA and the World Bank Small Grants Program.“It is my pleasure and joy to see how young people all over the world are innovative and creative. This exhibition shows the youth is the future of our countries”,Nazgul Kubakaeva, 24-year old from the Kyrgyz Republic, explained her personal experience with the Competition.
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