The youth event Confidence in Tomorrow is organised in the framework of the celebrations of the 75^th anniversary of the Council of Europe under the Presidency of Liechtenstein.

The event seeks to further renew and strengthen the close relationship between the mission of the Council of Europe and the current and future generations of young people. It is organised for young people to share their aspirations and commitment to a democratic Europe and to contribute, as irreplaceable partners for the present and the future of Council of Europe to shaping the future of democracy and human rights on the European continent.

The youth event will develop ideas and proposals for strengthening democracy based on the values and principles of the Council of Europe, part of the common heritage of all people in Europe.

The participants will also have the opportunity to share their aspiration and proposals in the official celebration of the 75^th anniversary, which will be held in the Strasbourg Opera House on 16 May, in the presence of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the member states.

 Objectives

• To associate young people and youth civil society to the 75^th anniversary of the Council of Europe and its relevance for young people today
• To engage youth organisations, notably national youth councils, as partners in the follow-up to the conclusions of the Reykjavík Summit, in particular the implementation of the Reykjavík Principles for Democracy
• To identify emerging (youth) issues and explore the approaches for integrating a youth perspective across the work of the Council of Europe and its member states
• To strengthen youth participation, by pursuing dialogue between young people, youth civil society and political decision-makers.

 Programme and expected outcomes

The youth event will bring together some 100 representatives of national youth councils, international youth organisations, as well as representatives of the national authorities in charge of youth, for a three-day programme that will be a strong experience of the participatory approaches characteristic to non-formal education and youth work.

The programme will feature plenary sessions, working groups organised according to the key themes of the event, integrating also themes brought up by the participants; a specific attention will be placed on the application of the Reykjavík Principles of Democracy in the shaping of the mutual roles of the participants and the Council of Europe.

The programme will feature also a dialogue session on 16 May with Ministers of Foreign Affairs attending the solemn Committee of Ministers meeting. Key messages of the youth event will be conveyed by the young participants as part of the official programme of the celebrations in the Strasbourg Opera House on 16 May.

Read more about the programme of the event.