Your voice, our 2030 – policy report

Messages from young people on their most pressing concerns

The EYCA Youth Panel asked young people to share their stories and more than 2030 of them responded to the call. The full policy report is attached at the end of this article.

To better understand how European policies can address young people’s needs, young people were asked to share their personal views on what the most pressing challenges are today. Why now? The European Union is currently shaping policies that will define the next decade: the future EU budget, the next EU Youth Strategy, initiatives on housing and broader socioeconomic priorities. At a moment when vitally important, long-term decisions are being made, it is imperative that they consider the lived realities of young people today.

The stories sent in by young people painting a vivid, personal picture of the realities they are facing. While every message is inherently different, some underlying trends are clearly apparent. This report outlines the main findings along 6 themes:

• Jobs, Education, Affordability and Independence
• Economic Instability and Housing
• Loneliness and Community Integration
• Introduction to Adulthood: Pressure, Uncertainty and Mental Health
• Collective Struggles: Civic Rights & Sustainability
• Barriers to Emancipation

The Youth Panel also summarised their own top 10 recommendations for anyone shaping young people’s lives: 

1. Young people should be empowered with high-quality education on critical and ethical thinking.
2. All young people should have access to current, realistic information about job market and labour rights through mentorship programmes to help transition into employment.
3. All qualifications and degrees, including vocational training, should be recognised, valued and accessible across borders.
4. Prioritise stable, fairly compensated work for young people and ban exploitative, unpaid and unfair work programmes and contracts.
5. Conciliation measures at workplaces should be introduced for young people.
6. Simplify bureaucracy for young people, by improving institutional transparency and communicating complex information in youth-friendly ways.
7. Spaces built by and for young people should be supported through funding youth centres and youth-led initiatives.
8. Meaningful participation of young people in policy processes must be ensured to eliminate tokenism.
9. Price caps and speculation control on housing should be introduced specifically for young people.
10. Simplify access to affordable physical and mental health support, while banning discrimination in professional environments of those accessing mental health support.

These messages and reflections have already sparked thought-provoking conversations with decision-makers on the European and local levels. Yet, the ambition is to go further still and encourage real engagement with young people to help shape our future.

Read the full policy read here.