Youth Cooperation

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Back Cancellation of the MedUni and UYD 2020.

Considering the development of the COVID-19 pandemic, following the recommendations of the WHO and in agreement with its partners (especially those directly responsible for hosting the universities), we regret to inform that the UYD and the MedUni have been cancelled for the year 2020.

Nevertheless, the North-South Centre is exploring different scenarios to keep working on youth cooperation and participation despite challenging times, notwithstanding that holding the Universities online would not appear appropriate: what makes their richness are the face-to-face intercultural encounters, the effectiveness of the non-formal education methodology, the mutual understanding flourishing from experiential learning, the networking opportunities taking place during informal moments, and cannot be replaced by any digital initiative or online tool.

We are currently working with the Network on youth and global citizenship (a platform where many youth-related institutions and youth-led umbrella organisations converge) to develop different initiatives to take place in 2020 and updates will follow shortly.

One initiative already in place is the #solidaction campaign.

We are aware that many organisations were already counting to bring their activities to the MedUni or to the UYD this year. We intend to connect soon with all of them individually to discuss possible alternative plans, while remaining available to explore with all our current and past partners meaningful ways to sustain each other’s work.

Even without Universities, the North-South Centre remains a space for cooperation and networking, fostering an inter-regional and human-rights based approach to youth work. Together, in partnership, we keep the youth sector strong, reacting to this new crisis with dynamism and solidarity.

Lisbon 09/05/2020

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The Youth Cooperation Programme aims at increasing youth participation and international cooperation in the youth sector to build more peaceful societies and more inclusive decision-making processes.

The activities promoted fall under three complementary dimensions: youth empowerment, networking and confidence building.

The youth empowerment schemes target youth workers and youth-multipliers improving their capacity to identify and address challenges related to human rights, global citizenship, democratic participation, peace, development and intercultural dialogue.

The networking activities provide spaces and opportunities for youth-led organisations and youth-related institutions to meet, debate, share good practices and cooperate, fostering partnership and joint actions to advance the global youth agenda.

The confidence building initiatives facilitate a structured dialogue between youth leaders and institutional representatives, creating a common ground on youth policies based on an increased awareness about each other's roles, challenges and priorities.

The Council of Europe human-rights approach is at the center of all initiatives promoted, while the non-formal education methodology is greatly used, following a peer-to-peer and participants-centred approach.

The projects and the activities are developed in close cooperation with various youth stakeholders (international organisations, youth networks, youth-serving institutions, national youth institutes, national youth councils… ) with the objective of enhancing multilevel governance structures based on more coordinated and inclusive processes.
In this sense, the North South Centre acts as facilitator providing a common framework of cooperation and interaction, privileging the interregional dimension.