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No overarching national youth policy or strategy on youth exists in Monaco. Youth are primarily supported through family, quality sports facilities, cultural activities, and education-oriented policies.
Information on an official definition of youth in Monaco could not be found. The United Nations defines youth as persons aged between 15 and 24 years. Monaco has been a UN member since 1993.
Source: Youth Mobility Scheme 2020
Source: Wikipedia Article on Majority Age (2024)
Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)
Source: Age Matters Research Project
Source: UNSD, UNDESA, ILGA
Source: COE Report Gender Recognition 2022
No overarching national youth policy or strategy on youth exists in Monaco. The government website states that youth are primarily supported through family, quality sports facilities, cultural activities, and education-oriented policies.
The Department of Education, Youth, and Sport, established in 1975, is a department within the Ministry of Interior. The youth sector of the Department is responsible for "implementing youth projects, planning new measures, and the communication to young people, associations, and youth movements in the principality." According to the government website, the government aims to support youth in Monaco by improving the educational system:
"Following their professional training or work experience, they are supported when they begin their working life, both in private companies and the public sector. However, the Prince's Government does not underestimate the difficulties that young people in the Principality can face, even though proximity is conducive to personalised support. Therefore, great attention is paid to young people in difficulty and campaigns are organised to prevent behaviour that might place them at risk."
There is no overarching national youth organisation that bundles independent youth organisations of Monaco. However, there are independent youth organisations often led by institutions like the Catholic church or the royal family. For example, the Ajm Jeunes de Monaco is a Monaco Youth Association under the high patronage of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco that aims "to integrate and entertain young people in Monaco." The Youth Association was established in 1986 and welcomes any young person between the ages of 16 and 30 to participate in various projects and events.
No information could be found on youth work in Monaco.
According to a report by Trading Economics, Monaco spent 1.1527% of its total GDP on education in 2019. A World Bank report confirms this figure and asserts that 1.2% of Monaco's total GDP was spent on education in 2019. No further information on the budget for youth policy or the Department of Education, Youth, and Sport was found.
Source: Varieties of Democracy Indices
Source: European Youth Forum
Source: World Bank, UNDP, Our World in Data
According to a 2021 government press release, the Commissioner General for Education, Youth, and Sport Isabelle Bonnal has invested in many areas related to youth. She has worked on:
"developing teachers' skills, expanding the use of digital technology in education, supporting pupils to make good, informed choices about their futures, looking after pupils with specific needs, developing educational, cultural and sporting activities for pupils, organising annual events to mark World Children's Day, and ensuring support for families experiencing difficulties and for humanitarian associations."
In addition to the Ajm Jeunes de Monaco, another Monaco youth association is the Princess Stephanie Youth Centre (CJPS). According to a 2023 Hello Monaco article, the CJPS "has been encouraging young people from 8 to 21 years old from Monaco to socialize and grow up happy, confident and independent." The youth centre is funded through various means:
"The Principality helps subsidize the Centre and memberships and some fees for participation in individual activities and events through Registration of 50 euros per quarter - all of this helps to fund the Centre. There are also donations needed which come from organizations such as the Monaco Red Cross and the press also lists the Direction de l'Action et de l'Aide Sociales as a contributor for summer stays."
According to the Monegasque government website, youth are a top priority:
"The size of the country, the importance placed on the principle of the hereditary Monarchy and the Latin-inspired culture are without doubt some of the reasons why the word "family" has such a special meaning in Monaco. As a result, great attention is paid to the future of the 500 or so children who are born in Monaco each year (a figure that is increasing). From their first moments of life to the time they enter the world of work, young people are top priority."
Ajm Jeunes de Monaco. (n.d.). Welcome. Retrieved on 06 March 2023, from https://www.ajmonaco.net/.
Government of Monaco - Gouvernement Princier Principaut� de Monaco. (n.d.). Policy and Practice: Youth. Retrieved on 03 March 2023, from https://en.gouv.mc/Policy-Practice/Youth.
Hello Monaco. (2023, 24 February). Kids Growing up Happy & Independent: Princess Stephanie's Youth Centre Thrives. Retrieved on 09 March 2023, from https://www.hellomonaco.com/leisure-entertainment/monaco-with-children/kids-growing-up-happy-independent-princess-stephanies-youth-centre-thrives/.
The World Bank. (n.d.). Government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP) - Monaco. Retrieved on 08 March 2023, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS?locations=MC.
Trading Economics. (n.d.). Monaco - Public Spending on Education, Total (% of GDP). Retrieved on 08 March 2023, from https://tradingeconomics.com/monaco/government-expenditure-on-education-total-percent-of-gdp-wb-data.html#:~:text=Government%20expenditure%20on%20education%2C%20total,compiled%20from%20officially%20recognized%20sources.
United Nations. (n.d.). Youth. Retrieved on 02 March 2023, from https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/youth.