A world in which every person has equal rights and opportunities to gain knowledge and feel included.

On the 5th of July, 2024 the Committee on Social Inclusion and Human Dignity (SOC) of the Council of Europe held a consultative meeting for the revision of the European Charter on the Participation of Young People in Local and Regional Life (“Youth Participation Charter”), which shall be adopted under the Committee of Ministers’ Presidency of Malta (May-November 2025). The meeting was chaired by Ms. Aida Karimli, Rapporteur for the Youth Participation Charter Revision, and co-chaired by Mr. James Moloney, Rapporteur of the 2022 Rural Youth Report, and brought together Congress members, Congress Youth Delegates, representatives of the Council of Europe’s Advisory Council on Youth and Steering Committee on Youth, and a number of European youth organizations. Alkistis Giogiou, President of CONNECT International and trainer in the Rejuvenating Politics Initiative of the Congress participating in the meeting as a moderator, with the presence of Ms. Veronique Bertholle, Congress Spokesperson on Youth, as well as representatives of the Youth Department, the Youth Policy Division and the Education and Training Division of the Congress. The aim of the consultation meeting was to initiate a comprehensive consultation process for the revision of the Charter and increase the visibility and impact of this instrument across Europe. The key stakeholders who participated in the meeting were engaged in a process of exchanging views and ideas for updating the Charter in order to reflect the current trends and address new challenges that young people in Europe face today.