The European Youth Week (EYW) takes place every two years all over Europe to celebrate and promote youth activities. The EYW consists of a broad range of events and activities organised in all 33 countries participating in the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme. It usually takes place in May. The next one is planned in 2019.   The last edition of the EYW17 highlighted solidarity and social commitment of young people in Europe. The theme was in line with hot topics in European youth affairs including the newly established European Solidarity Corps (ESC) and the celebrations of 30 years of Erasmus.   A map of activities taking place all over Europe was built to encourage a broad participation. The European Commission also identified inspiring stories of young change makers who have made an impact in their communities, inspired other citizens and developed innovative ideas through the Erasmus+ programme.   The Eurodesk network, in partnership with National Agencies for Youth, organised several activities during the EYW17 (e.g. Eurodesk UK video). At European level, Eurodesk and the European Youth Forum organised a seminar on the role of youth information in the upcoming EU Youth Strategy for 2019.   The Week is a key aspect of the EU Youth strategy, which outlines initiatives to help young people in areas such as education, employment, health and participation. Using both online and offline tools, the Commission aims to better inform young people about the opportunities offered by EU policies and programmes.

The European Youth Event (EYE) is the biannual European Parliament event giving young people from all over Europe and beyond the opportunity to get involved in the European project and to play an active role in shaping its future.  It is organised every two years.   During the last EYE2016, over 7,000 young Europeans gathered in Strasbourg to meet and debate with European decision-makers under the motto "Together we can make a change". In order to influence EU policies, fifty of their most innovative ideas were reported and presented to MEPs. In addition, former participants debated those ideas within several parliamentary committees in the months following the EYE.   The third edition of the European Youth Event (EYE2018) will take place from 1st to 2nd June 2018. On this occasion, the European Parliament seat in Strasbourg (France) will welcome more than 8,000 people aged between 16 and 30 from any EU member State or another European country and beyond.   Participants will have the unique opportunity to come up with ideas for the future of Europe, discuss with European decision makers, and join more than 8,000 young people from all over Europe.   The activities centre around five main themes:

• Young and old: Keeping up with the digital revolution
• Rich and poor: Calling for a fair share
• Apart and together: Working out for a stronger Europe
• Safe and dangerous: Staying alive in turbulent times
• Local and global: Protecting our planet

  Eurodesk will be actively involved in the EYE with an information stand and several thematic workshops.   Registration are open until 31 December 2017, or until the maximum number of registrations have been received. We therefore recommend registering early. But first, you will need to set up a group of 10.

The EU Youth Dialogue is a dialogue mechanism between young people and decision makers taking place in the framework of the EU Youth Strategy. It aims to ensure that the opinion, views and needs of young people and youth organisations are taken into account when defining the EU's youth policies.

It supports the implementation of the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027 which focuses on three main core areas “connect, engage and empower” and encourages cooperation between the EU countries in respect to all issues concerning young people.

The Youth Dialogue happens in 18-month work cycles. The current cycle (from 2019 to mid-2020) focuses on “Creating opportunities for Youth” with three sub-themes, focusing on:

• Future of work and quality employment;
• Access to youth work and education and training of youth workers;
• Opportunities for rural youth.

The Trio Presidency takes the lead role, in close cooperation with the European Commission and the National Agencies, as well as with the European Youth Forum and other youth civil society representative.

You can take part in the Youth Dialogue via the national working groups. Young people can also apply to organise activities through the Erasmus+ Programme Key Action 3. For more information check the European Youth Portal or the European Youth Forum.