The Directorate General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) is calling for expressions of interest to join the Youth Dialogue Platform in EU External Action. The platform, announced in the Youth Action Plan of 2022, is a space for regular dialogue with youth organisations that will be set up through the Policy Forum on Development (PFD).
In October 2022, the EU adopted the first-ever Youth Action Plan in EU External Action (YAP) - a policy framework that aims to establish a meaningful and strategic partnership with young people.
The YAP outlines the EU’s wish to enhance institutional youth engagement to
- promote young people’s involvement in the design, implementation and monitoring of EU external policies and actions
- ensure further accountability on youth issues through strategic, inclusive and participatory communication to reach out to young people
Objectives and tasks
The aim of the Youth Dialogue Platform is to provide a space for dialogue with youth-led and youth-focused organisations on EU external action, and to strengthen cooperation with young people across the world as part of implementation of the Youth Action Plan.
The platform will be a dedicated space to
- build a community of organisations with a strong interest in advancing, and the potential to promote the youth agenda in EU external action
- consult youth organisations on EU initiatives and processes
- exchange information on youth-related initiatives, events and projects
- involve youth organisations in the monitoring and implementation of the YAP
Members of the Youth Dialogue Platform are expected to
- participate and contribute to the annual global meeting (first online meeting in 2024, with the possibility to participate in English, French and Spanish)
- represent their organisation and the interests of their members, bringing the views of their constituencies to EU level
- actively contribute to the discussions and exchanges online during and in-between meetings
Composition and membership criteria
The group will be composed of a maximum of 500 members.
Members of the platform must
- be organisations with an overt youth participation and empowerment purpose
- be youth-led and/or youth-focused organisations (operating at national, regional, global level)
- demonstrate alignment to EU values: human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law and human rights
- demonstrate representativeness (i.e. number of members) and capacity to reach a wide number of diverse young people
- have been active for at least three years (demonstrated by online and social media activity)
- be active and demonstrate expertise in one or more thematic fields of EU external action
- be active in at least one geographical zone of EU external action: Central, East, South and South-East Asia; Eastern Partnership region; Latin America and the Caribbean; Middle East and North Africa; West, Central, East or Southern Africa; Pacific; and Western Balkans (if an organisation is from an EU country, they should explain how their work contributes to EU external action e.g. initiatives implemented which involve and affect young people in EU partner countries)
- agree to the code of conduct and ethics of the virtual platform (to be provided at the time of selection announcement)
Members will be appointed until 2027, unless a new call for interest is issued before then. They shall remain in office until replaced or until the end of their mandate. Their term in office may be renewed, or ended in case of inactivity or breach of the code of conduct and ethics.
If branches or members of international, global or regional organisations apply, their application will be considered together with the umbrella organisation or main branch.
Selection
Selection of members will be carried out via an open call for expression of interest. Please read the Call for expression of interest document below and fill out the form on EUSurvey.
The deadline to submit applications is Tuesday, 31 October 2023 at midday (CET).
The results will be communicated by January 2024.
The selection procedure will consist of an assessment of the expressions of interest performed against the membership criteria. A list of the selected applicants will be established, after which the members of the platform will be appointed.
The European Commission will strive to achieve balanced representation to ensure diversity and inclusion. It will also aim to ensure, as far as possible, a high level of competence and a balance of thematic and geographical coverage, while taking into account the specific tasks of the platform, the type of knowledge required and the relevance of the applications received.
