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Report on EU-Canada Cooperation - Youth

July 2010

Rationale Paper to Highlight and Encourage Further Progress on the implementation of the
Agreement between the Government of Canada and the European Community in
establishing a framework for Cooperation in Higher Education, Training, and Youth, in
the youth area

Executive Summary

Purpose: To outline priorities, progress, and further opportunities for Canada-EU

cooperation in the area of youth policy. This paper will highlight current Canadian youth
priorities with which the government is currently engaged, and outline where these
priorities match the new EU Youth Strategy and the eight priority policy areas.

Background: The Canada-EU Agreement on Higher Education, Training, and Youth

was signed in 2006, with the EU allocating some €15.6 million of operational credits to
the co-operation program, to be distributed over 2006-2013. There was an initial target
of 210 projects implemented and nearly 4,500 European and Canadian youth
exchanges facilitated. The European Commission had planned to gradually increase
the funding to this project starting with €0.83 million in 2006 and increasing to €2.42
million by 2013. To date, the EU funds cannot be directly allocated to program activities
without matching funds from Canadian governments. The initial commitment from the
Canadian government was $150,000 CAD of annual support in order to match the EU’s
initial pledge.

In Canada, policy regarding youth issues does not rest with the federal government.
The Canadian government vests provincial governments and the territories with
jurisdiction over most youth issues. Each has their own goals and priorities when it
comes to youth organizational funding and engagement. This creates significant
challenges when attempting to work directly with the EU Commission on establishing a
firm plan of action to enhance the Canada EU Agreement on Higher Education,
Training, and Youth. It should be noted that this Agreement was designed in a flexible
format to allow for adjustments and opportunities over time.

Written by Michael Ceci, Participant, EU Study Tour & Internship Program, Intern, Mission of
Canada to the European Union
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There are many Canadian youth organizations making substantial contributions for
Canadian youth, yet they are often very independent from government. The Canadian
government signed the Canada-EU Agreement on Higher Education, Training, and
Youth without compiling a thorough analysis of the implications relating to other federal,
provincial, and territorial bodies, or for youth organizations within Canada. This has
resulted in some of the challenges today in agreement implementation.

It is important to understand that a primary tenet in the Canada-EU

agreement is to bring youth together to have the opportunity to learn from
each other and address issues of mutual concern. The opportunity to go
on exchange, learn how youth organizations function internationally, and
return to disseminate this knowledge and share best practices is
invaluable for any youth organization and contributes to general societal
youth development.

Current EU Youth Context:

The background of the European Union’s Youth Policy is to “…encourage the
development of youth exchanges and of exchanges of socio-educational instructors…”
It is through these initial investments that the EU’s youth policies and structures were
established. A White Paper on Youth was ratified by the EU College in 2001 and
contained a mandate to increase cooperation in four youth priority areas: participation,
information, voluntary activities, and a greater understanding and knowledge of youth.
The EU sought to take youth issues more fully into account before creating any policies
that would bind member states.

In 2009 the European Commission embarked upon a new EU Strategy for Youth.
Canada considers this strategy to be an excellent policy document to move forward with
youth in the EU and continues to monitor the progress being made. The eight-year plan
spanning 2010 to 2018 will encourage and invite all Member States and the
Commission to cooperate in youth fields through both short and long-term actions,
which involve key policies that affect European youth. The plan encourages all Member
States to organize a cohesive system of dialoguing with young people in addition to
aiming for more research and evidence-based youth policy.

Written by Michael Ceci, Participant, EU Study Tour & Internship Program, Intern, Mission of
Canada to the European Union
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The EU’s Youth Strategy was broken down into eight different “fields of action” which
were mutually identified and agreed upon. When one looks at youth activities presently
undertaken within Canada, many match up against these eight EU Youth Strategy
criterions. Matching these priorities will help us identify opportunities of mutual interest
and potential collaboration.
8 EU Youth Strategy Fields of Action and Canada’s Progress

Education and training

 Enhancing equal access for youth to a first rate education and vocational training
at all levels and to move forward into opportunities for lifelong learning both
formal and non in order to improve transitions between education/training and the
work world.
 Non-formal learning and experiential learning is key.
 Need to strengthen system of cross-border qualifications assessment and
recognition
 “Education and training are important for the self-development of young
Europeans and remain key to fulfilling the goal of the Lisbon Strategy to make
Europe a leading knowledge-based society. That is why Education is one of eight
action fields of the new EU Youth Strategy.”
Canada’s Progress:
 The EU intends to organize in Berlin on 13-15 October 2010 a project directors'
meeting including university representatives from around 150 cooperation
projects selected over the past years. They expect more than 400 high-level
university representatives to participate from the 27 EU Member States, Canada,
the United States, Australia, South Korea, Japan and New Zealand. The Free
University of Berlin in Berlin-Dahlem will host the conference.
 The annual project directors' conference forms an important part of the program
activities. The conference is held over two to three days on a rotating basis
between the EU, Canada, and the US. The conferences provide an important
opportunity for the consortia, government officials, and funding agencies to meet
and discuss the progress of projects and improve program arrangements. During
the conferences, experiences and best practices can be shared among all the
participating consortia. The last conferences were hosted in Fredericton
(Canada), Brussels (Belgium) and Boston (US).

Written by Michael Ceci, Participant, EU Study Tour & Internship Program, Intern, Mission of
Canada to the European Union
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 Canada continues to monitor the Bologna Process and its

implications/opportunities for Canada.
 The Canada-EU Education projects funded by DG EAC and HRSDC continue to
result in some solid collaboration and successful projects. An evaluation process
is presently being implemented with a meeting proposed for 17 November 2010
in Ottawa.
 Canada and the EU hosted in September 2009 a roundtable on foreign credential
recognition and links to Education and Training (report available). Canada is
prepared to host a second meeting linked to the establishment of MRA’s under
the CETA negotiation process.
 Participation in the OCEANS Network kickoff meeting on 22 and 23 July 2010.

Employment and Entrepreneurship

 “Having a professional occupation, in the form of a job, as self-employed or
running one's own business is of great importance to many young people to
achieve independence. Yet, since the start of the economic crisis mid-2008,
more than 20% of young people are unemployed.”
 The EU will endeavour to take action to facilitate and respond to concerns of
youth in EU employment strategies.
Priorities include:
 To invest in additional education and career guidance.
 To promote possibilities for young people to work and to follow training abroad.
 To promote quality traineeships, improve childcare.
 To support youth entrepreneurship.
Canada’s Progress:
 A joint EU-Canada seminar on youth employment took place in Ottawa in
December 2009.
 One example of a valuable youth exchange has occurred in Canada in June
2010. At the end of June just in advance of the G20 summit in Toronto, 200
young entrepreneurs, 10 from each G20 country, joined a meeting in order to
network and engage in an exchange of ideas. This type of exchange has
potential to extend beyond this pilot experience. The EU and Canada would
benefit from the continuation of international youth conferences organized around
central themes and promoting stronger relations between the two regions.
o Next event will be in France in 2011 attached to the G20 meeting.

Written by Michael Ceci, Participant, EU Study Tour & Internship Program, Intern, Mission of
Canada to the European Union
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 A Green Jobs Roundtable between Canada/EU/United States will be held in

January/February 2011 in Washington, DC.
 The European Commission already proposed a pilot program on the exchange of
professionals working with youth, also known as 'Job Shadowing'. Canada has
expressed interest in this program and wishes to discuss this further with DGEAC
colleagues.
Social Inclusion
 “Promoting social inclusion means advocating for a society for all people, based
on mutual respect and solidarity, promoting equal opportunities and decent living
standards regardless of economic status or ability, gender, sexual orientation,
social or ethnic background etc. Combating poverty is a central component of
social inclusion, since poverty can trigger a number of processes of exclusion –
for example in the areas of education, employment as well as in different areas of
social life and citizen participation.”
 Recognition that youth are a vulnerable group of society in relation to poverty,
unemployment, early school leaving, and lack of literacy.
 Adoption of an approach to promote community cohesion to reduce the exclusion
of youth from processes.
 To support inclusion on the basis of race and culture in order to combat
prejudice.
 Provide support for rights education, services, and young families.
Canada’s Progress:
 The Mission of Canada to the EU has liaised with colleagues at Citizenship and
Immigration (CIC) on the concept of a second Canada-EU youth roundtable on
the theme of “youth participation in democratic life”. As noted in the letter from
Mr. Mairesse, CIC had previously indicated that such a conference could not be
organized in the late spring of 2010 as originally envisaged in collaboration with
the Spanish Presidency.
 The subject has been broached again with our CIC interlocutors with the new
2011 date (January/February 2011), and presently this is being discussed with
CIC. Due to the summer holiday period, a CIC contact person has not been
identified at this time to start a planning process. This will be communicated
when available.

Health and well-being

Written by Michael Ceci, Participant, EU Study Tour & Internship Program, Intern, Mission of
Canada to the European Union
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 “Good health is of great importance if young people are to fulfill their potentials
and play an active part in society. Poor health can also reduce young people’s
social integration, harm their education and reduce their employment prospects.”
 In addition to providing for increased access to health care and resources for
youth, this aspect of the youth strategy also covers “physical capacity,
psychological functioning, social relationships, and environmental potentials”.
 Physical health, mental health, sexual health, and health with regards to curbing
the use of tobacco and drugs is of great concern to the Commission.
 Work place safety for youth is also covered.

Canada’s Progress:
 An international conference on physical activity was held and hosted by Canada
in Toronto in May 2010. An EU-Canada Roundtable was originally planned but
not held due to timing and resource challenges.
 Belgian Presidency has planned a physical activity/nutrition youth conference to
be held in 8 and 9 December 2010 that will conclude with a Canada-EU
Roundtable on 9 December in Brussels. It will open up more discussion on what
Canada and the EU can be doing together on this matter concerning active
transportation, physical activity, social marketing, childhood obesity reduction,
and food and beverage marketing.
 It should be noted that work on youth health promotion is one of three agreed
upon priorities under the 2009 Canada-EU Summit Declaration.
 Memorandum of understanding between Canada and the EU on tobacco control,
also another of the Health priorities under the 2009 Canada-EU Summit
Declaration.

Participation
 “Participation? Just do it! Young people face multiple challenges today: High
unemployment, risk of poverty, demographic change, low educational attainment
rates and low turnout of young people in elections. Involving young people in
forming political opinions and decisions, especially on matters that concern them
directly, can be a way to ensure the quality and sustainability of policy making
and implementation. A culture of participation at all levels is needed.”

Written by Michael Ceci, Participant, EU Study Tour & Internship Program, Intern, Mission of
Canada to the European Union
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 While the numbers of youth participating in the democratic process is quite small
in Europe (29%), this is not the same as a lack of engagement as over half of
surveyed European youth believed they did not receive sufficient information in
order to make informed choices.
 An increase in participation not simply at the level of elections or democracy, but
also at the grass roots and social networking dialogue level is necessary.
 The Commission seeks to develop ways to dialogue with youth and gain their
input on policies. The creation of a specific office within DG Education is a large
step as well as establishing financially youth organizations like the European
Youth Forum as well as local and national groups in order to promote
participation.
 Improve the diversity of participation and create alternative ways of participation.
 Participation can also be attained through youth NGOs.

Canada’s Progress:
 A small Canadian delegation participated in youth participatory discussions with
the EU at the 1st European Youth Work Convention in July 2010 in Ghent,
Belgium.
 The proposed Hungarian Canada-EU Roundtable on the theme of “youth
participation in democratic life” is of interest to Canada.

Voluntary activities
 “By volunteering one can learn a new language, meet new friends, see another
country and gain valuable skills. More young people should be given
opportunities to volunteer in another Member State of the EU. This is the aim of
“Mobility of Young Volunteers across the European Union”, the first ever Council
Recommendation in the youth field, which was adopted by EU Member States on
20 November 2008.”
 The recommendations on these issues seek to boost cooperation between
organizers of voluntary activities in the EU.
 These activities, “whether developed by civil society or public authorities, should
be opened up to young people from other EU countries”.
 Youth enhance their knowledge of other countries and cultures.
 High on the list is cross border and cross-cultural volunteering.

Written by Michael Ceci, Participant, EU Study Tour & Internship Program, Intern, Mission of
Canada to the European Union
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Canada’s Progress:
 Job Shadowing is a proposal which Canada is interested in exploring. A
teleconference is proposed to discuss next steps and some initial ideas for
Canadian participants.

Creativity and culture

 Promoting creativity and culture among young people is of key importance for
supporting their self- development as well as their active inclusion. Creativity
contributes to social and individual wellbeing as well as to economic prosperity.
Supporting young people's creative energy and capacity for innovation can help
them develop their potential and find a job. Involvement in cultural activities also
contributes to the personal development of young people and to their feeling of
belonging to a community. Accessing culture can reinforce their awareness of
sharing a common cultural heritage and promote active citizenship open to the
world.”
 Includes a need to develop talent and creative skills. To promote and empower
young people’s creativity, promoting specialized training in culture, new media,
and intercultural competences for youth workers.
 Enhancing training and entrepreneurship at all levels of education and training.
Canada’s Progress:
 This area requires further assessment and discussion with EU colleagues.

Youth and the world

 “Most young people are open to the world. They are eager to learn about other
countries and cultures and wish to share their views and experiences with young
people from other regions and continents. Some want to engage for global
causes, such as sustainable development.”
 Increase the role of youth in participation in and contribution to global process of
policy-making, implementation, and follow-up on many issues.
 Creating the opportunity for dialogue and supporting actions such as training,
exchanges, and meetings.
 Promote employment, entrepreneurship, education, and volunteering
opportunities with regions outside of Europe.
 Promote youth exchanges to participate in development cooperation activities
either in their own country of origin or abroad.

Written by Michael Ceci, Participant, EU Study Tour & Internship Program, Intern, Mission of
Canada to the European Union
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Canada’s Progress:
 There are youth mobility bilateral agreements (between Canada and a number of
EU Member states in place) which function to achieve youth exchange aims on a
smaller scale. In general, there is interest for individual youth from EU Member
States to travel to Canada on some form of youth exchange. There does not
seem to be a similar interest for Canadian youth to participate in exchanges
despite studies that show exchanges benefit an individual’s competitiveness in
the workforce, possibly because of the limitations of the system – visas for
Canadians valid for only one EU Member State.
 Canada agrees to the need to promote these youth mobility agreements and
discuss opportunities to expand these to all EU member states.
 Mr. Alain Hausser for the Mission will participate in the 2 to 5 October 2010
meetings of the Directors-General for youth, organized by the Belgian Presidency
in Leuven, Belgium to present the program and discuss opportunities with EU
colleagues.

Next steps
It is essential for open dialogue between Canada and the EU to continue. There have
been regular calls between the Canadian Government and European Commission but
there is a need to establish a work program as was proposed in the March letter by Mr.
Mairesse to Mr. Chris Greenshields.

Below is a summary of the next steps and action items from a discussion between
Canada and the EU on a strategic planning meeting to discuss youth issues:

 Consultative committee – youth organizations (CAN-EU) Set up a consultative

committee of youth organisations from Canada and Europe to consult on the web
portal and ensure its relevance for the youth sector. In order to minimize
bureaucracy and delays, it was agreed that relevant youth stakeholders from
both sides should be consulted separately, without creating additional structures.
 Web portal – reference to main “youth web sites” - DFAIT introduced their
initiative to create a web page referencing main youth-related contacts in Canada
in order to provide both Canadian and European youth organisations with a
single access point to information relating to the youth sector in Canada.
Provinces and Territories will be consulted.

Written by Michael Ceci, Participant, EU Study Tour & Internship Program, Intern, Mission of
Canada to the European Union
 10

 Mutual event participation- in youth-related events - DGEAC explained that the

idea would be to identify a few relevant events of mutual interest in which youth
representatives from both sides could be invited, to the aim of sharing
information and developing synergies with existing/planned initiatives. Possible
events from the EU side may include the Belgian presidency youth event in 2010
and the European Youth Week in 2011.
 Pilot Exchange Project - support the exchange (job-shadowing) of
professionals working with youth ("youth workers") - DGEAC explained the scope
and objectives of this proposal. Officials noted the importance of not limiting the
joint cooperation to policy dialogue, but to also aim to foster exchange of best
practices among practitioners. Thus, support to participate in a job-shadowing
activity will aim to promote exchange of best practices through grassroots
initiatives that will demonstrate their potential for a multiplying effect and
enhancing linkages between the Canadian and the European youth sectors. It
would be beneficial to expand this program to include volunteers as well.
 Thematic Conference - In view of the success of the December 2009
Roundtable jointly organized by HRSDC and DGEAC on the theme of
“Strengthening Skills and Improving Access to the Labour Market”, participants
agreed to continue to promote policy dialogue and to jointly organize in 2011 a
second thematic conference, to be held in Europe on the theme of “Youth
Participation in Democratic Life”. The format of the conference shall follow the
example of the 2009 roundtable, involving participants and speakers with
different profiles and promoting a crosscutting approach to the issue.
 Youth Mobility Bilateral Agreements - DGEAC proposed that some
representatives from DFAIT be invited to the next meeting of the Youth Directors-
General in October 2010 to present the Youth Mobility Bilateral Agreements
between Canada and the EU Member States and to discuss how to promote and
strengthen them; how to better inform young people with the view to encouraging
mobility in both directions and to support youth employability (a common
challenge for both parties). Mr. Alain Hauser, Deputy Head of Mission in
Brussels, has confirmed his intent to attend the Leuven, Belgium event in
October 2010. Further information for the purposes of confirming attendance will
come from DGEAC.

Initial Suggestions

Written by Michael Ceci, Participant, EU Study Tour & Internship Program, Intern, Mission of
Canada to the European Union
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 Study the “European Youth Forum Model” in Canada.

 Take advantage of support within provincial ministries.
 Identify key actors to get these exchanges moving forward on an institutional
level.
 Facilitating youth ideals through EU Study Tour Alumni Network.
 An exchange of professionals working with youth and between youth
organizations such as a youth forum.
 Arrange for possible study tours or visits to identify appropriate bodies in
Canada.
 There are many youth organizations in Canada, seek those which could be
launching points to a collective group similar to the European Youth Forum, an
independent, democratic, youth-led platform, representing 98 National Youth
Councils and International Youth Organizations from across Europe.
 Seek alternate partners and funding sources to reduce leadership and financial
burden on federal government.
Goals:
 Formulate processes to facilitate youth exchanges.
 Work to ensure the Government of Canada maintains its commitment to
establishing a framework, as agreed in 2006, effective for an eight-year period.
 Clarify differing problems and roadblocks at both the Canadian and European
end.
 Promote youth exchange with visa facilitation on the wider EU scale (i.e.
expansion of the mobility program throughout the 27 EU member states).
 Locate EU data to demonstrate the value added by youth organizations to
encourage federal, provincial, territorial, and youth organization financial support.

Brussels, 30 July 2010

Michael Ceci, Intern, (Canada) 2010 EU Study Tour and Internship Program, Mission of
Canada to the European Union
The views expressed in this document are only those of the author and not those of the
Mission of Canada to the European Union.

Written by Michael Ceci, Participant, EU Study Tour & Internship Program, Intern, Mission of
Canada to the European Union