On 14 February 2020, in Brussels, the European reflection and discussion workshop entitled “Taking young refugees and asylum seekers seriously - Knowledge, policies and youth work practices” is organised as a follow up to the project Youth.Together, implemented by the Youth Department of the Council of Europe with financial support of the Flemish Department of Foreign Affairs at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

The workshop will be opened by Ambassador Drahoslav Štefánek, Special Representative of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on Migration and Refugees and it will address Youth policy and youth work standards of the Council of Europe on young refugees in transition to adulthood and present experiences of young newcomers in Belgium. It will also include testimonies from Youth at work. A study on the inclusion of young newcomers in urban Belgium, carried out and presented by Minne Huysmans (Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the VUB), will be the basis for the discussion.

The programme is open for youth workers, community leaders, volunteer, activists, educators, policy makers, representatives of public authorities, researchers and everybody concerned for and associated with the work done for social inclusion of young refugees. Registration is possible/required until 12 February 2020 at https://www.jint.be/kalender/taking-young-refugees-and-asylum-seekers-seriously.

Youth.Together supports the social inclusion of young refugees and their access to education, self‐development and autonomy through youth work and non‐formal education activities, notably through a long-term training course for youth workers and refugees. Youth.Together is part of the Council of Europe Action Plan on Protecting Refugee and Migrant Children and relates to the Committee of Ministers Recommendation on Supporting Young Refugees in Transition to Adulthood.