The Braga European Youth Conference 2025, Young people in local and regional life: Democracy in Action!, was launched today by the Council of Europe youth department together with the Portuguese Permanent Representation.
Ambassador Gilberto Jerónimo recalled Portugal’s longstanding commitment to youth participation: ”Portugal advocated for the youth perspective in the Reykjavik Declaration, United around our values, from the start. Now are working for putting it in action across the whole Organisation together with the Congress, the PACE and, of course the European Youth Centre.”
Léonard Ly Tri, member of the Advisory Council on Youth, said that “in these difficult times for democracies everywhere, ensuring that all young people can participate in decision-making through democratic, inclusive, meaningful and with clear outcome is more urgent than ever.” He welcomed the initiative taken by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities to revise the Charter on the participation of young people in local and regional life, in partnership with the Joint Council on Youth and highlighted the importance of the Braga Youth Conference in this process.
Gertrud Maltz-Schwarzfischer, Lord Mayor of Regensburg, Germany, member of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, reiterated the Congress’ support to active youth participation in civic life; Regensburg’s active local youth council shows this every day. She underlined the unique value of the Charter for planning and carrying out public policies designed with and for young people. The partnership with the Joint Council on Youth in the revision process of the Charter “aims to provide us Mayors and regional representatives, with substantive guidance to ensure, from the very start, that the Charter reflects the life realities and needs of diverse groups of young people,” concluded Maltz-Schwarzfischer.
Ambassador Patrick Engelberg, Permanent Representative of Luxembourg, highlighted the priorities for the Luxembourg Presidency of the Committee of Ministers from November 2024 to May 2025, including support to Ukraine, the integration of a youth perspective, and young people. He informed about the flagship event dedicated to the Council of Europe Quality Label for Youth Centres (Luxembourg, 5-7 May 2025) which underpins the comprehensive approach of the Council of Europe’s youth policy agenda, from local to European level.
Tobias Flessenkemper, Head of the Council of Europe Youth Department, concluded by inviting local and regional authorities and member States in general to work together with young people as equal partners to strengthen democracy. “This needs to start in every municipality, from Lviv to Braga”, with reference to the Lviv European Youth Capital 2025 project and Braga’s trail-blazing role as the 2012 European Youth Capital, which shows how at local level European unity can be built by young people when the conditions are created by and for them.
