De Hoge Rielen Youth Centre in Kasterlee, Belgium has been awarded the Council of Europe’s Quality Label for Youth Centres for the period 2020-2022 and thus became the 14th youth centre to be honoured. The European Steering Committee for Youth (CDEJ) decided to award the Quality Label to de Hoge Rielen Youth Centre for the outstanding approach to connect young people to nature and sustainability by offering a wide range of pedagogical youth programmes. The universal human rights and democratic values are deeply rooted in the centre’s philosophy. The model work of the centre to develop a strategic vision for a youth centre, its professional management of all resources including human resources, and the commitment of staff is an example of good practice for other youth centres.
Although the official award ceremony had to be postponed as a consequence of the ongoing pandemic, Bert Mellebeek, Director of de Hoge Rielen Youth Centre together with his colleagues organised a small coronavirus-safe celebration to mount the Quality Label for Youth Centres Plaque. The official award ceremony is to be organised in the presence of Council of Europe representatives, government officials of Flanders Belgium, young people and other guests once it is safe to organise international activities again.
