The 11 European Youth Goals, formulated from a survey of almost 50,000 young Europeans in 2018, highlight the issues affecting young people across Europe, and identify their priorities for a sustainable and successful future. They range from “Quality Education” and “Quality Employment for All”, to achieving a “Sustainable Green Europe”, whereby all young people are environmentally active and making a difference in their everyday lives. These goals are included in the EU Youth Strategy, which is the framework for EU youth policy cooperation for 2019-2027, and centres around three key words: Engage, Connect, and Empower.
Meath Partnership fully supports of all of the European Youth Goals and we will endeavour to address as many as possible in our youth project work. In relation to the ideology and aims of the StayOn project, the European Youth Goal that we must give precedence to is Goal #6 “Moving Rural Youth Forward”. Much like the StayOn project, this goal is dedicated to the challenges that young people in rural areas face, where there are fewer opportunities, making it harder for rural youth to realise their ambitions and goals.
European Youth Goal #6 has been subdivided into seven targets, to ensure:
- appropriate infrastructure in rural areas – equitable delivery of public services, data connectivity and housing opportunities for young people
- sustainable, high-quality jobs, accessible to young people are created in rural areas
- the decentralisation of different activities by, for, and with young people to support their inclusion and to benefit local communities
- young people in rural areas are actively participating in decision-making processes
- equal access to high-quality education for rural youth
- a positive image of rural areas
- the protection of rural traditions.
These targets combined present an opportunity to empower young people and improve their socio-economic integration, and support a policy of social cohesion that will create social and economic growth in rural communities across Europe, in alignment with the opportunities created for rural youths by the StayOn project.
Rural areas are often affected by a higher share of NEETs, and a higher proportion of the population faces the risk of social exclusion. StayOn’s ultimate objective is to create conditions that enable young people to “stay on” rural land by ensuring their access to opportunities, benefits, services and jobs. The project aims at fostering youth empowerment by providing adequate skills for the rural labour market, and the core implementation activities build on community-based development – a participatory approach that fosters collective action by communities by putting them in control of innovation.
European Youth Goal #6 is strongly supported by the StayOn project as both aim to improve the conditions of young people in rural areas and fight demographic and socio-economic decline by unlocking rural youth potential.
Meath Partnership Team
