Europe: Knowledge | Youthpolicy.org

Council of Europe Network of Youth Research Correspondents

www.youth-partnership.net/youth-partnership/wp-content/blogs.dir/13/researchersnetwork.html

Initiated by the DYS of the Council of Europe in 1993, since 2003 the network has been developed within the work of the Partnership between the Council of Europe and the European Commission in the field of Youth (CoE/EU Partnership; see above). It consists of youth experts representing the signatories of the European Cultural Convention, nominated by national ministries responsible for youth issues. They meet yearly to exchange information on recent developments in youth research in their respective countries and on international projects in which they are involved. Between the annual meetings, the network plays the role of a consultancy body for the CoE/EU Partnership on issues related to youth research.^[11]

Eurobarometer Survey on Youth—Young Europeans

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/publ/pdf/youth/results-eurobarometer2007_en.pdf

The Young Europeans Reports is a series of representative surveys of European youth (ages 15 to 24) conducted on behalf of the European Commission, and is part of the Eurobarometer. The most recent survey was conducted in 2007. The survey and the reports cover youth opinion on key issues in the European Union (and as appropriate, in candidate countries).

European Educational Research Association (EERA)

www.eera-ecer.edu

The European Educational Research Association consists of national and regional educational research associations. It publishes the European Educational Research Journal quarterly, which regularly presents articles about youth-related themes, such as nonformal educational approaches to youth work or as used in formal education settings. In addition, many researchers who also focus on youth have a strong background in comparative education research, which is the specialization of this journal.

European Knowledge Centre for Youth Policy (EKCYP)

www.youth-partnership.net/youth-partnership/ekcyp/index

The European Knowledge Centre for Youth Policy aims to provide the youth field with a single entry point to access knowledge and information on the realities of youth across Europe. It aims to promote evidence-based policy making and practice, and to enhance the exchange of information and dialogue across the youth field. It is a tool for implementing the European Commission’s common objectives for knowledge on young people and the Council of Europe’s monitoring and evaluation of youth policy. Experts on youth policy nominated by the participating countries provide information to the EKCYP on a series of predefined subjects.

Eurostat Reports on Youth

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/

On the occasion of the adoption of the new EU Youth Strategy (2010-2018) by the EU Council of Youth Ministers in November 2009, Eurostat released “Youth in Europe – A statistical portrait”. This publication includes a wide range of statistics and data on youth.

EU Youth Report

http://ec.europa.eu/youth/youth-policies/doc1705_en.htm

The first EU Youth Report was released in April 2009, together with the Commission Communication on the new EU Youth Strategy. It was the first comprehensive EU report in a decade to present updated statistics, data and analyses on the situation of young people. Subsequent EU Youth Reports will be produced every three years (next in 2012). In addition to presenting updated statistics and data, these reports will identify trends and share examples of good practices across EU Member States.

Forum 21—European Journal on Youth Policy

www.coe.int/t/dg4/youth/Resources/Forum_21/forum_en.asp

Forum 21 is a European information and communication project carried out by the International Youth Service of the Federal Republic of Germany (IJAB) in Germany, Institut National de la Jeunesse et de l’Education Populaire

(INJEP—National Institute for Youth and Popular Education) in France, and the National Youth Agency in the United Kingdom. Its purpose is to bring national youth policies closer together and to contribute to European dialogue about the key problems of national youth policies.

Glossary of Youth Research

www.youth-partnership.net/youth-partnership/glossary.html

The Glossary is a research tool providing concise explanations of key youth research terms and concepts. It is regularly updated and supplemented according to new developments. It is produced by the Partnership between the Council of Europe and the European Commission in the field of Youth (EU/CoE Partnership; see above).

Project to Establish a Master’s Degree in European Youth Studies (MA EYS)

www.youthstudies.eu

The master’s degree EYS initiative brings together first-rate teaching and research expertise from throughout Europe to create a unique Bologna 120 ECTS Master’s degree^[12] in European Youth Studies. The degree will set the quality reference point and benchmark for improving and sustaining the supply of qualified personnel to the youth sector. In 2009 the European Commission granted the consortium working towards the establishment of the MA curriculum development funding under the Life Long Learning Program (Erasmus). A pilot residential seminar is planned for early 2011 and the inaugural MA is planned to begin in the fall semester 2011.

UNICEF “What Young People Think” Survey: Europe and Central Asia

www.unicef.org/polls/cee/index.html

The Young Voices poll surveyed children and adolescents from 26 states in transition in Central and Eastern Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Baltic States, and 9 countries in Western Europe. The poll was based on face-to-face interviews with 15,200 children and adolescents, between 9 and 17, conducted between December 2000 and February 2001 and covered the following questions: How happy are children? How do children feel at home? How do children feel at school? How do children feel in today’s society? How safe do children feel? How do children regard harmful or illegal substances? How informed are children? What are children’s views on government and politics? How do children see the future? The findings provide a fascinating portrait of their views, concerns, hopes, and dreams. It also provides some disturbing insights into a world children and young people see as marked by violence, injustice, and discrimination.

UP2YOUTH—Research Project on Youth as Actors of Social Change

www.up2youth.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=37

Up2Youth is a complex research project that tries to understand the nature of youth as an actor of social change. It is conducted by the Institute for Regional Innovation and Social Research (IRIS), a private nonprofit research institute specializing in local, regional, and international research in social work and social policies, in cooperation with the Department of Education at the University of Tübingen and the Tübingen Institute for Gender and Women’s Studies.

Footnotes

[11] – Since the time of writing, the Network of Youth Research Correspondents has been replaced with the Pool of European Youth Researchers. More information available at www.youth-partnership-eu.coe.int. [↩]

[12] – In order to facilitate the movement of students between European countries, a standardized schedule of higher education diplomas has been adopted by all European Union member states and many other European countries (voluntarily) within a process of educational reform called the Bologna Process. The new standardized cycle is composed of an undergraduate degree of at least three years called a bachelor’s degree (BA), followed by a one- or two-year diploma called a master’s degree (MA), then a doctorate, meant to be obtained in (at least) three years (PhD). This schedule replaces traditional national degree formats and the degrees are commonly referred to as Bologna degrees. For more information, see: http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/educ/bologna/bologna_en.html. [↩]