The Council of Europe’s youth sector has been active in Euro-Arab youth cooperation for many years. This work started by supporting dialogue between youth organisations and institutions concerned with youth policy.
 

Later it has expended to include capacity-building for human rights education, intercultural dialogue and development of non-formal education practices. In specific periods, the possibilities for cooperation were reinforced by the programme of the partnership between the European Commission and the Council of Europe in the field of Youth. 

Euro-Arab youth cooperation is carried out within the Youth for Democracy programme – aiming to foster intercultural dialogue with neighbouring regions of Europe. The Council of Europe’s youth sector strategy 2030 has “global solidarity, peace, intercultural diversity, intergenerational dialogue and environmental sustainability” embedded prominently in policy, practice and research.

The Euro-Arab youth cooperation activities are also implemented according to a position paper defined by the Joint Council on Youth in 2014.

Euro-Arab cooperation activities are carried out by the youth sectors of the Council of Europe of the League of Arab States in close cooperation with the European Youth Forum and, since 2017, the Great Silk Way International Youth Union.
 

A bit of history

The co-operation with the League of Arab States is particularly articulated around the promotion of intercultural dialogue and youth policy co-operation. In April 2009, both institutions co-organised a training course for youth leaders at the European Youth Centre Budapest, which led to further co-operation in the framework of the Euro-Arab Youth Conference in Tunisia and Italy in 2010. Since then, the activities have focused on the Euro-Arab Youth Forums and Training Courses on human rights education and youth participation.


 

Euro-Arab Youth co-operation is developed within a framework of purpose and values which includes:

• A commitment to a culture of universal human rights, to equality in dignity, equality of opportunities, and to the principles of non-discrimination;
• The recognition of the role of youth policies in promoting the autonomy, participation and social inclusion of all young people;
• Intercultural dialogue as the basis for respecting and integrating diversity as well as intercultural learning as a basic educational approach of international youth activities;
• The participation of young people and youth organisations as fundamental partners and stakeholders in youth policies and programmes;
• A shared responsibility to develop Arab-European youth co-operation as a way to overcome prejudice and mutual suspicion, to increase youth projects and co-operation as well as to address common challenges.