Empowering youth voices: UNESCO launch for new EU project NET-MED Youth

A network providing knowledge and tools to empower young women and men in the Western and Eastern Basins of the Mediterranean will be launched at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 5 June. The Networks of Mediterranean Youth Project (NET-MED Youth) is implemented by UNESCO and funded by the European Union with a contribution of €8.8 million for the next three years. NET-MED Youth will help young women and men to develop their competencies, claim and exercise their rights and meaningfully engage as active citizens, particularly in decision-making relating to youth policies. The focus will be on the development and revision of public policies by young women and men, through reinforcing the capacities and participation of identified youth organisations and stakeholders working on youth-related issues (locally elected officials, decision-makers and civil servants). The project will also promote young people’s freedom of expression, representation in mainstream media and empowerment through media and information literacy, thus underpinning their participation in public dialogue. By facilitating their involvement in media production and reinforcing the capacities of young journalists, the project hopes to foster quality coverage of issues relating to youth rights and perspectives. In addition, NET-MED Youth will provide national youth organisations with opportunities for supporting the review of policies and programmes focused on youth employment and transitions, for participating in the production and dissemination of findings about national and regional skills challenges, as well as for reinforcing their capacity to influence national dialogue with stakeholders. These activities will be conducted initially on a national level with transnational networking opportunities to be provided as a second step, in order to share experiences between two or more countries, and to support regional integration. The project builds on former EU Programmes and will be carried out in collaboration with EU Delegations and UN entities on a national level. As part of the Paris launch, a briefing and training workshop will be held at UNESCO Headquarters from 4 to 6 June, bringing together the project coordinators in the participating countries. (EU Neighbourhood Info Centre) Read more Press release UNESCO – launch of NET-MED Youth NET-MED Youth – fiche EU Neighbourhood Info Centre - Youth