Youth Participation and Government Action in Spain
– Measures for the Promotion of Youth Participation in the Social Fabric of Europe and Non-formal Education for Youth
The European Parliament and Council adopted the Youth program, which includes activities that existed under previous programs such as Youth for Europe and European Voluntary Service. This program is designed to encourage the development of a European identity among young people and support their commitment and contribution to building Europe through their participation in various fields.
Major activities include:
- Youth for Europe: Supports short-term exchanges of groups of young people aged between 15 and 25. These exchanges focus on non-formal learning and educational value, allowing groups to explore common themes and learn about their respective cultures.
- European Voluntary Service: Enables young people aged 18 to 25 to spend 12 months abroad as European volunteers, assisting in local projects in a wide range of activities: social, ecological and environmental, arts and culture, new technologies, leisure, and sport.
- Support for Youth-Led Initiatives: Encourages young people to undertake local projects.
- Collaboration with Other Community Programs: Provides opportunities to develop projects related to other community programs, including Socrates, Leonardo, and Culture 2000.
- Support for New Youth Projects: Offers a package of support to develop new youth projects and improve their quality.
The main lines of this policy are defined in three documents: the Program of Action to the Youth, the European Council Resolution on Youth Participation, and the Commission Communication Towards a Europe of Knowledge.
The Central Government Action to Young People: Administration and Action Plans
The Spanish Constitution’s commitment to youth is reflected primarily in Article 48, which states that public authorities shall promote conditions for the free and effective participation of youth in political, social, economic, and cultural spheres. This commitment requires the establishment of action plans and structures that provide the means and opportunities for young people to participate in real conditions.
The administrative structure in the youth field consists of:
– The Institute for Youth (INJUVE)
INJUVE aims to encourage youth participation in different spheres of reality, establishing and implementing specific purposes of the Department’s policy in collaboration with ministerial departments and Public Administration with responsibility for youth. Its key functions include:
- Promoting cultural communication between the youth of Spain.
- Promoting youth associations and movements participating in international associations.
- Developing and coordinating an information system and documentation of youth.
- Fostering relations and international cooperation among youth.
To achieve these ends, INJUVE establishes cooperative relations with self-government bodies in youth policy, both in performances like those above, and on promoting youth tourism, youth exchanges at national and international levels, or the development and dissemination of surveys, studies, and reports on the youth population.
INJUVE’s organizational structure includes the General Secretariat of the Youth Institute, the General Department of Cooperation, and the General Department of Information and Documentation.
– The Interministerial Commission for Youth and Children
Actions on youth span different policy areas, involving various ministries and public bodies. The need to coordinate these actions led to the creation of the Interministerial Commission on Youth and Children in 1980. It addresses the need for a comprehensive policy of integrating young people into society, with performances in the educational, labor, cultural, economic, or other sectors.
This is a collegial body under the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, chaired by its Minister, and comprises:
- The Assistant Secretary of the Department
- The Director General of the Institute of Youth
- The Director General for Children and the Family
- One representative from each Ministry with the rank of Director General
Its tasks include the development of proposals for policy programs for youth, the study of youth problems and the proposed programs and measures to address them, the coordination of actions by various ministries on youth, and attention to proposals and initiatives put forward by the Youth Council of Spain.