Taking advantage of the visit to Lisbon, on the 16-17 October, to participate in the Lisbon Forum of the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, Bjørn Berge, the Head of the Youth Department of the Council of Europe, Tobias Flessenkemper, and the Permanent Representative of Portugal to the Council of Europe, Ambassador Gilberto Jerónimo, visited the Lisbon Youth Centre-CJL, a quality labelled youth centre of the Council of Europe.
The visit was accompanied by the member of the IPDJ (Portuguese Institute of Youth and Sport) Board of Directors, Sílvia Vermelho, the president of the European Youth Steering Committee (CDEJ), Jorge Orlando Queirós, the regional director of Lisbon and Vale do Tejo of the IPDJ and the Lisbon Youth Centre (CJL), Eduarda Marques, the coordinator of the CJL, Fernanda Brito, and members of the team of this Centre. The delegation visited the facilities, including accommodation, restaurant, training rooms and auditorium info point.
The CJL, which belongs to the network of 14 European youth centres holding the Council of Europe's Quality Label for Youth Centres, was awarded the label in 2015 and renewed the label recently for a further five years, until 2027. CJL's mission is to be an educational laboratory for non-formal education activities and for the development of quality standards for youth work. The centre is also a focal point for youth policy development and innovation, promoting the values of the Council of Europe - Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law.
A short presentation of the Lisbon Youth Centre was made by Eduarda Marques, IPDJ Lisbon and Tagus Valley Regional Director. Contacts were established with NGOs having offices at the Youth Centre, namely Aid Global and DYPALL. The programme initiative promoting youth health and healthy lifestyle ‘’Cuida-te+’’ was also presented.
After the visit, an opportunity was created for an exchange of views on the importance of the Quality Label for the Lisbon Youth Centre and IPDJ, on the challenges and the solutions that were found for its development as well as the relationship with partners, and the inclusion of youth organisations and young people. Special mention was made of the relevance of the Quality Labelled Youth Centres Network/Platform for the Council of Europe itself.
