EUROPEAN YOUTH PRESS update

EMBARGO THURSDAY JANUARY 19th 09.00  A.M. BRUSSELS TIME YouthMetre: Launching an innovative tool for youth participation in European policy making Brussels, Belgium On 14th February 2017, at the premises of the European Committee of the Regions in Brussels the consortium of six European organisations will introduce and  launch  an interactive open data tool to support youth participation in European policy making. The launch  seminar “YouthMetre: an innovative tool for e-participation of youth in policy- making across Europe” will showcase e-tools the YouthMetre project consortium have developed to promote youth participation at local, national and  European level. It is also an occasion for discussion about forward looking  youth participation and  EU youth policies between public authorities, civil society and  youth. Access to open EU data empowers young people to engage in youth-related decision-making by using it to effectively advocate for their ideas. The launch  event will bring  together representatives of European institutions, local and regional authorities, civil society associations, experts and  young European citizens to exchange knowledge, experience and  good practices on how  to involve youth in the decision- making process, at local, national and  European levels. In response to challenges posed by the European Commission’s Structured Dialogue initiative and  recent statistics that show young Europeans often feel “marginalised” or “excluded” from economic and  social life, the launch  event will explore how  YouthMetre can be used to foster dialogue between youngsters and  policy makers. It is therefore intended to reach young people disregarding their social status or place of residence. YouthMetre gives youngsters the opportunity to get informed, be inspired by other initiatives and  to discuss their own  ideas for community development. This approach enables the voices of youth to be heard and  their ability to shape EU youth strategy and  its implementation strengthened. After the launch  event, YouthMetre partners will organise two-days of training of youth leaders. This provides them with information about the EU Youth Strategy, EU Youth Indicators and  the opportunities the YouthMetre provides. It addresses their likely needs in information processing, public communication and  advocacy campaigning. This way the YouthMetre empowers European youth to effectively use the innovative e-tool and contributes to engaging youth (#Yengage) in shaping policies concerning addressing their needs, the future they want and  therefore increase their active involvement in political decision-making. Ultimately YouthMetre helps youth answer the question ‘Yengage’ and make a difference. The project consortium would like to take  this press release as an opportunity to invite you to the launch  conference. If you accept our invitation, please confirm your attendance by filling in this online form:  http://tinyurl.com/ym-launch. If you also wish to meet and  interview the young people taking part in the launch  conference and  training or discuss YouthMetre with members of the project consortium please send your  request to e-mail of Mr. Martin Maska. Further information on the methodologies and  approaches used can be obtained from  the Communication officer of the project. You can also subscribe to the project newsletter to receive regular updates at www.youthmetre.eu. For more information and inquiries,  please contact: Ms. Julie Mahlerová Communication officer European Youth Press, e.V. j.mahlerova@youthpress.org Phone: 00420 734  485  924