introduction

The European Platform of Youth Centres is organised annually in order to encourage professional knowledge sharing among youth centres recognised with the Quality Label and those aspiring to its acquisition.

The first platform meeting was held in 2010 in the European Youth Centre in Budapest, although since then many other youth centres rewarded with the Quality Label have provided a home to this event.

Through the years of its existence the platform developed to be an important event for youth centres, and as of 2018 some new approaches are being implemented regarding its organisation. Platform meetings are mainly about strategic issues of common interest related to the running of a youth centre, held primarily in either of the two Council of Europe Youth Centres of Budapest or Strasbourg, and shorter to better accommodate the needs of people in management positions. Complementary to the Platform meetings, training courses are also organised within the frameworks of the Quality Label Programme. These occasions ensure sharing of good practices amongst educational staff of youth centres. The training courses are usually hosted by a Quality Label youth centre who most closely matches the theme of the course – in order to utilise that centres expertise and knowledge.

The following objectives are set in relation to the future of the platform meetings:

  • to inform about recent developments in youth policy on European level and to discuss how they can be used by the centres in terms of recognition of their work and impact;
  • to exchange experience and practices among centres in how they address the challenges they are facing at national/local  level;
  • to develop joint approaches in order to promote the youth centres;
  • to ensure networking and cooperation possibilities among labelled centres.
European Platform of Youth Centre Meetings

2024 - 15th European Platform of Youth Centres

  • Dates: 7-8 May 2024
  • Location: European Youth Centre Budapest
  • Summary:

    The 15th edition of the annual meeting of European Platform of Youth Centres took place at the European Youth Centre in Budapest. On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Council of Europe, the Quality Label for Youth Centres programme also celebrated its 15th anniversary in the presence of CDEJ members. It was also a unique opportunity for participants from labelled youth centres and candidate centres from Germany, Italy, Moldova, Ukraine, Greece and Georgia to reconnect.

    The meeting focused on strategic communication and creation of impactful and positive narratives of the Quality Label network. To assist in participants’ reflections, the company ‘Lola Communication S.A’ from Luxembourg organised a series of practical workshops and offered thought-provoking discussions on strategic communication of youth centres and the importance of building a collective narrative about the network.

  •   Programme
  •   Number of Participants: 35

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2023 - 14th European Platform of Youth Centres

  • Dates: 9-10 May 2023
  • Location: European Youth Centre Strasbourg
  • Summary:

    The 14th edition of the annual meeting of European Platform of Youth Centres took place at the European Youth Centre in Strasbourg.

    The aim of the meeting was to address the pressing developments and challenges in the youth sector, including in the Council of Europe and in other youth centres in member states. After several critical years for youth centres with limited possibilities to fully operate, the meeting was an ideal way to reconnect and further strengthen the work of the labelled youth centres with the core mission of the Council of Europe. The participants also had an opportunity to develop their join cooperation and the promotion of quality youth work in Europe.

  •   Programme
  •   Number of Participants: 33

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2022 - 13th European Platform of Youth Centres

  • Dates: 20-21 September 2022
  • Location: Marttinen Youth Centre, Virrat, Finland
  • Summary:

    The 13th edition of the annual meeting of a European Platform of Youth Centres was organised in the beautiful setting of Marttinen Youth Centre in Finland which was awarded the Quality Label in 2019. It was a special occasion for participants present from labelled youth centres and candidate centres from Germany, Italy, Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Finland to reconnect after two years of online/hybrid events, to exchange experiences and to identify potential areas for future collaboration, and to also learn more about the mission and operations of Marttinen Youth Centre.

    The meeting addressed the strategic role of non-formal education as well how to sustain innovative practices developed in recent years as a response to the challenges caused by pandemic. It also held an exchange with Olena Chernykh, project coordinator of the Council of Europe “Youth for Democracy” project in Ukraine to explore support and cooperation possibilities between the Quality Label network and the youth centres in Ukraine.

  •   Programme
  •   Number of Participants: 38

2021 - 12th European Platform of Youth Centres

  • Dates: 23-24 November 2021
  • Location: European Youth Centre Budapest and online
  • Summary: The 12th edition of the annual meeting of a European Platform of Youth Centres was organised as a hybrid meeting due to the sanitary situation, with the participation of 17 youth centres from 12 member states attending (on/offline). The meeting addressed the strategies and approaches of youth centres to restart their work after the closedown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, exchange on emerging and new challenges that youth centres and youth work will be faced with in the aftermath of the pandemic. The Platform meeting also explored sustainable management strategies applied in youth centres with the aim to discover common/different measures and approaches and exchanging good practices that can serve as inspiration.
  •   Programme
  •   Number of Participants: 26 representatives from 17 youth centres


 

2020 - 11th European Platform of Youth Centres

  • Dates: 19-20 November 2020
  • Location: Bluejeans platform
  • Summary: The 11th edition of the annual meeting of a European Platform of Youth Centres was exceptionally held online on 19-20 November as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Due the rapid spread of the coronavirus across Europe, this meeting was dedicated to the impacts of the pandemic crisis on quality labelled youth centres. The meeting provided space for managers and other key staff of youth centres to exchange on initiatives and innovative approaches to respond to the challenges caused by the pandemic, to share good practices how to shape new youth workspaces and develop digital youth work, and to identify support and partnership in this endeavour.
  •   Programme
  •   Number of Participants: 49 representatives from 20 youth centres

2019 - 10th European Platform of Youth Centres

  • Dates: 18-19 June 2019
  • Location: European Youth Centre Budapest
  • Summary: In June representatives of youth centres awarded with the Council of Europe Quality Label for youth centres, as well as youth centres aspiring to its acquisition, gathered in the European Youth Centre Budapest for their annual European Platform meeting, which is also celebrating its 10th anniversary. The meeting brought together 21 youth centres from 15 member states of the Council of Europe.
    The Platform meeting is designed to create a space for directors and key staff of youth centres to focus on strategic issues in the management of youth centres. This year’s programme focused on quality management and reporting in youth centres which will result in a publication providing a European framework for quality management of youth centres.
    Participants were also informed about the relevant youth policy developments at European level, had the opportunity to exchange good practices among centres and to develop joint approaches to promote quality youth work in youth centres.
  •   Programme
  •   Number of Participants: 35 representatives from 21 youth centres
  •   Presentations:

 

2018 - 9th European Platform of Youth Centres

  • Dates: 5-6 June 2018
  • Location: European Youth Centre Budapest
  • Summary: The focus of this Platform meeting was ‘Involving Youth Centres in the Youth Policy and Youth Work of the Council of Europe’. In this context it was important to highlight the priorities of the Council of Europe for young people at this time:
     
    • Youth for Democracy Programme;
    • Access to rights for young people;
    • Youth participation and youth work;
    • Inclusive and peaceful society;
    • Supporting member states in the development of youth policy.
  • Report of the meeting
  •   Programme
  •   Number of Participants: 40
  •   Presentations:

 

2017 - 8th European Platform of Youth Centres

  •  Dates: 27-29 June 2017
  • Location: Vormingscentrum Destelheide, Dworp, Belgium
  • Summary: The 8th Platform took place from 27 to 29 June 2017 at Vormingscentrum Destelheide in Dworp, Belgium. As in previous years, the platform was an opportunity to discuss:
     
    • recent developments in the Quality Label Project;
    • the role of centres in promoting values and priorities of the Council of Europe in the youth field;
    • the role of youth centres in promoting quality and recognition of youth work in Europe.

The Platform concluded on a number of key points for the further development of the Quality Label project relating to cooperation between the centres and to network enlargement.

Some very practical ways in which the Council of Europe could follow up the Platform meeting were suggested as follows:

  • developing a module for the technical dimension of running centres;
  • organising a thematic action days in which all labelled centres can participate;
  • organising study visits and job shadowing to the European Youth Centres and between the labelled centres.

 

2016 - 7th European Platform of Youth Centres