During the European Youth Week (27th April – 10th May), the YES Forum took part in the official launch event of the new Inclusion and Diversity Strategy for Youth, of the ERASMUS+ programme. The one-day event in Brussels gathered together youth workers, representatives from Youth National Agencies across the EU, and experts to exchange ideas and effective strategies to tackle the complex issues facing young people in Europe today, such as the lack of involvement in political life, joblessness, and lack of housing, under the broader framework of inclusion.
In the middle of September 2014, YES Forum was invited by the SALTO Inclusion and SALTO Cultural Diversity Resource Centres to take part in a roundtable consultation in London for the development the strategy. In collaboration with the European Commission, the two SALTO research centres aim to “ensure the accessibility of the programme for young people with fewer opportunities […] and to use the programme as a tool to combat social exclusion and discrimination…”. A dedicated Steering Committee has already started work on implementing the points of the Strategy to ensure more inclusive youth projects will be organized in the future.
You can read the Strategy here.