The 10th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Youth, titled “Young People for Democracy: Youth Perspectives in Action” (Valletta, Malta, 8–9 October 2025), is approaching, with preparations reaching their final stage.

The Group of Senior Officials (GSO) – responsible for overseeing the preparation and organisation of the Conference – will meet on 9 September to discuss the final arrangements ahead of the extraordinary meeting of the European Steering Committee for Youth (CDEJ) on 18 September, which will review and finalise all the documents that may be adopted by the Ministers at the Conference.

The Conference of Ministers responsible for Youth is expected to adopt a final declaration, “Young People for Democracy: Youth Perspectives in Action”, and to adopt a Resolution on the Council of Europe Reference Framework on a Youth Perspective as a guiding document for advancing youth policy across the Council of Europe and its member States. Both the draft declaration and the draft Resolution are now in their final stages of development.

At the Conference, the Ministers responsible for youth will also take stock of developments since their last meeting, in light of the Reykjavík Declaration and Principles for Democracy, and agree on future orientations for European youth policy, building on the Council of Europe Youth Sector Strategy 2030.

Young people from all member States will play a central role in the Conference by putting youth perspectives into action. Together with Ministers, they will identify forward-looking initiatives to strengthen democratic participation, harness digitalisation, promote young people’s rights, foster youth work, and build inclusive and peaceful societies. These discussions will help shape future European youth policy and provide essential input for the Council of Europe’s youth sector.