European Environmental Law and Youth Participation

European Environmental Law and Youth Participation Report of the study session held by Youth and Environment Europe in co-operation with the European Youth Centre Strasbourg of the Council of Europe. The study session ‘European Environmental Law and Youth Participation‘ gathered 29 participants from 17 countries in the European Youth Centre Strasbourg in March 2012 in order to discover and discuss possibilities of using environmental law and other forms of advocacy for environment by young people. All participants were young members of youth environmental organisations who wanted to share, exchange and discuss environmental topics. The aim of the project was to provide youth active in environmental protection with useful knowledge and tools to actively advocate for their rights and interests guaranteed by international and national legal acts. Participants discovered together and raised awareness on the necessary knowledge and tools to actively advocate for environment and to be involved in the process of creating, implementing and intervening in the field of environmental law. As for Youth and Environment Europe, this study session provided excellent possibility for raising the capacity and strengthening co-operation within the network, finding new partners and planning future international activities. By raising skills and knowledge of youth workers involved in our network, we improved the performance of the organisation. We can also get more involved and participate more actively in the communities where YEE has members using environmental law for nature protection.