Chaired by Thomas Andersson, the Congress Current Affairs Committee met on 18 November 2021 in a hybrid format, at the Palais de l'Europe in Strasbourg and online.
The Committee members adopted a report on "The future of youth in rural areas: responsibilities of local and regional authorities", presented by co-rapporteurs James Moloney (Ireland, ILDG) and Aida Jalilzade (Azerbaijan, REC). Furthermore, as part of the Congress' contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN Agenda 2030, a draft educational booklet for children and guidelines for local and regional authorities were presented for adoption by Rapporteur Brigitte van der Berg (Netherlands, ILDG). These texts will be presented at the 42nd Congress in March 2022.
The Committee also held an exchange on "Environment and human rights: raising awareness at local level" with the participation of Nino Kavtaradze (Georgia, EPP/CCE), Congress rapporteur on human rights and the environment, Angel Manuel Moreno Molina, Chair of the Congress Group of Independent Experts on the European Charter of Local Self-Government, and Rosmarie Wydler-Walti, Co-President of the Swiss association of Senior Women for Climate (Vereins KlimaSeniorinnen). This exchange was part of a joint draft report on this topic being prepared by the Public Issues Committee and the Congress Monitoring Committee.
Finally, the Committee members discussed the Civil Participation Forum project in the light of a progress report presented by Thomas Andersson (Sweden, ILDG). The eventual aim is to launch, in cooperation with the Conference of INGOs and the Directorate General of Democracy of the Council of Europe, the online database BePART with examples of good practice in civil participation.
The Committee also elected Joanne Louise Laban (United Kingdom, ECR) as its 1st Vice-President.
See also: Webpage of the meeting
