International Youth Day is a moment to reaffirm our shared responsibility to create healthier environments for young people, the need to strengthen prevention efforts and support responses that better address their needs, in light of modern drug and addiction challenges, while ensuring their meaningful participation in decision-making processes.

Youth participation is a key cross-cutting priority of the Council of Europe’s International Co-operation Group on Drugs and Addictions (Pompidou Group). It is reflected across its statutory and co-operation activities and country-specific support, including through direct consultation, engagement and co-operation with young people and youth organisations across all four pillars of its work – prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery, and supply reduction. This includes addressing the risks and harms associated with a broad range of substance use and behavioural addictions, including alcohol, tobacco, vaping, nitrous oxide, and online and digital addictions, among others.

This work has started since early years of the Group’s establishment in the 1970s. Already in the 1980s, the Pompidou Group Expert Committee on Drug Epidemiology developed a standardised school-survey methodology and questionnaire, enabling countries to generate comparable data on alcohol and drug use among students. This work provided a foundation for the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs (ESPAD). Today, the Group continues this work through its MedSPAD initiative – focusing on the countries of the Mediterranean region.

Since 2004, the Pompidou Group has recognised and rewarded youth-focused and youth-led drug and addiction projects through its Prevention Prize. Last year, the three winners—Sistema Cyprus, CRISSCROSS, and Gabinete de Apoio Psicossocial—stood out for their innovative approaches to inclusion, empowerment, and harm reduction. The financial support from the Prize has enabled these initiatives to expand their impact, sustain their work, and continue making a difference in the lives of young people.

In recent years, the Pompidou Group has been responding to emerging challenges arising from the impact of digital technologies on mental health, with particular attention to children and young people. It has been supporting the work of the Drafting Committee on Risks and Harms of Online and Digital Addictions (BIO-ALN) and co-operation activities, including through the joint project with the European Union that promotes mental health of children and youth by addressing the risks of online gambling and gaming.

These initiatives exemplify the Pompidou Group’s long-standing commitment to supporting young people and recognising their role in shaping effective responses to drug and addiction challenges. As the associated risks and harms evolve, the Group emphasises that empowering young people to contribute as partners and agents of change is essential to developing effective, inclusive and forward-looking policies and responses.