The 19^th edition of the University on Youth and Development (UYD) kicked-off in Mollina, Spain, in the presence of representatives of the partners of the Network of Universities and over 200 participants from Council of Europe member states, the Southern Mediterranean region and beyond. This year, the 11 activities focus on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 16 “the role of young people in promoting peaceful and inclusive societies”.

At the opening ceremony, José Caroço, Executive Director of the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe, underlined the importance “of a common agenda and common actions, which foster democratic participation and global citizenship, in line with the values and standards of the Council of Europe and of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. As a multilateral cooperation framework, the UYD encourages networking, peer education and sharing of knowledge and opportunities in the field of youth empowerment and participation.” Ruth Carrasco, Director General of the Spanish institute for Youth, reinforced this idea in her intervention, adding that “there is a need for more equality in this world and the University on Youth and Development is the perfect place to foster this.”

Matjaž Gruden, Director for Democratic Participation of the Council of Europe stressed the “need for stronger institutions to protect and foster the universality of values that the Council of Europe promotes.” Thus adding that this can only be achieved with people who understand what these values are and mean. Events like the UYD are the perfect place to work in that direction."

Adding to the participant’s motivation, the president of the European Youth Forum, Luis Alvarado, referred to his previous experiences as a participant of the UYD, stating: “this week could change your life! There is no better space to understand the power you have to create change.”

The UYD is running from the 10-14 September in the Ceulaj (Centro Euro-Latino Americano de la Juventud) and is a major capacity building and networking event organised by the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe in partnership with the Spanish Institute for Youth (INJUVE) and the European Youth Forum.

This edition counts with the participation of many leading international youth organisations and youth serving organisations such as:

YEU - Youth for Exchange and Understanding,

OBESSU Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions,

CNJ National Youth Council of Portugal,

JEF Young European Federalists,

IUSY International Union of Socialist Youth,

AEGEE - Association des États Généraux des Étudiants de l’Europe

ERYCA, the European Youth Information and Counselling Agency.

Additionally, Together We Build It, the National Olympic Committee of Portugal, Un ponte per… and International Alert, organisations working towards peace and inclusion, enrich the week programme.