“Social cohesion cannot be achieved without providing younger generations with opportunities to thrive, and without including them in decision-making processes” stated Congress Rapporteur on rural youth, Aida Jalilzade (Azerbaijan, NR) during the Assembly of European Regions (AER) online workshop “Regions4Youth: Strengthening Cohesion Through Youth Empowerment” on 11 October 2022.

Congress Rapporteur Jalilzade underlined the importance of making the younger generation “part of governance” in line with the Council of Europe standards and of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

"There is no single recipe for building quality youth policies, but there are commonly agreed best practices and guidelines that help to build inclusive and resilient communities” underlined Aida Jalilzade who presented Congress activities in this field including the report on the future of youth in rural areas, the report on youth work and the guidelines recently adopted by the Congress.

Congress Rapporteur also mentioned among other Congress initiatives  the “Rejuvenating Politics” initiative, a programme that allows youth delegates from the 46 member States to participate in Congress sessions and meetings. “Towns and villages, cities and regions are best placed to engage young people and youth organisation directly in decision-making process and democratic process so that our communities become stronger, more inclusive and more resilient to future challenges,” she concluded.

See also: Youth participation