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Back Drafting Group - Recommendation on Roma Youth Participation

The Drafting Group in charge of preparing the Recommendation on Roma Youth Participation was created at the as a result of 45th meeting of the Joint Council in October 2021. The creation of the Drafting Group was connected to the report and conclusions of the Task Force on Roma Youth Participation, which were adopted in March 2021 by Joint Council on Youth.

The Task Force proposed that the Terms of Reference of Joint Council on Youth for 2022-2023 should include the drafting of a recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member states on promoting Roma youth participation. This was done and the Committee of Ministers adopted, in the terms of reference and in the Youth for Democracy programme, December 2022 as date of availability of the draft Recommendation.

The Joint Council decided on the composition of the Drafting Group as for including up to two CDEJ members and up to two CCJ members, with the participation of a representative of the European Youth Forum, a scientific expert and representatives of the Roma youth organisations.

Drafting Group has met for the first time in February 2022 and followed the timeline of work as for:

February 2022 – first online meeting of the Drafting Group and informal consultations with the partners;
May 2022 – first presential meeting of the Drafting Group in the European Youth Centre Strasbourg;
June 2022 – second meeting of the Drafting Group, online;
June – September 2022 – consultations on the draft of the Recommendation;
September 2022 - third meeting of Drafting Group in the European Youth Centre Budapest;
October 2022 – draft of the Recommendation to be presented at the meeting of the Joint Council on Youth.

During its work on the drafting of the Recommendation, the Drafting Group took into consideration the needs of Roma youth expressed inter alia at the Roma Youth Together seminar, consulted members of the former Task Force, received comments and proposals from several of the Council of Europe bodies and services, as well as nongovernmental Roma youth organisations.