A Wind of Change for the European Youth Field?!

The weather forecast for the European youth field until 2018 is here: On the 27th of November 2009 the Council of Ministers responsible for Youth in the member states of the European Union adopted a resolution endorsing the ‘EU Strategy for Youth - Investing and Empowering’. Based on extensive consultations and research findings, this strategy is intended to be the focus for the European youth field for the years 2010-2018. It creates a range of opportunities and challenges for many stakeholders on different levels. How can we, various actors and stakeholders in the youth field, put into practice the European youth policy objectives set out in this Strategy? Which possibilities, potentials and challenges does the Strategy create, especially with a view to the opportunities provided by the European Youth in Action Programme? This publication showcases some examples of good practice and offers some challenging ideas and suggestions, especially in the areas of education, training, employability and entrepreneurship. The reflections put forward in this publication are based on the ‘SALTO-YOUTH Firework 2010: The Power of Non-formal Learning in Education, Training, Employment and Entrepreneurship’, which was held on 25-28th May 2010 in Paris.