YES Forum EWIV YOUTH AND EUROPEAN SOCIAL WORK- EUROPAISCHE WIRTSCHAFTLICHE INTERESSENVEREINIGUNG ZUR FORDERUNG DER HUMANRESSOURCEN

EU Legislative Interests

With the initiative Generation LINK: Learn, Inspire, Network, Knowledge – Transfer, YES Forum and its member organisations align with the new EU strategy, THE UNION OF SKILLS, which focuses on building skills for quality jobs and better lives, upskilling and reskilling an agile workforce, attracting, developing, and retaining talent. YES Forum strongly advocates for this ambitious and comprehensive approach to EU skills policy, emphasising that young people and the social service sector are essential to its success. Social sector organisations play a crucial role in this process - not only benefiting from these developments but actively shaping, implementing, and driving them forward. YES Forum contributes to the EUROPEAN PILLAR OF SOCIAL RIGHTS ACTION PLAN by transforming its principles into concrete actions that benefit disadvantaged young people and the professionals who support them. We play our unique role alongside our member organisations across EU Member States to help implement the Pillar of Social Rights. Through our work, we actively support these collective efforts to build a fairer and more inclusive Europe. By providing formal and non-formal learning, the YES Forum promotes social inclusion and active participation of young people with vulnerable background in society, thus contributing to the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan through innovative and holistic education and training, including upskilling and reskilling. All this with the aim to enhance youth employment, youth participation and social inclusion. Especially the YES Forum focuses on four principles under the Chapter I: “Equal opportunities and access to the labour market”: education, training and life-long learning; gender equality; equal opportunities and active support to employment. Furthermore our work resonates with THE EUROPEAN UNION (EU) YOUTH STRATEGY complementing the dual approach by mainstreaming youth issues across policy areas alongside specific youth initiatives. Impact reports: https://www.yes-forum.eu/our-work/publications/

Communication Activities

YES Forum’s main focus is on shaping effective policies for innovative and holistic education and training, including upskilling and reskilling. All of this is aimed at enhancing youth employment, youth participation, and social inclusion. As stated above, YES Forum believes that investing in disadvantaged young people reduces long-term societal costs and empowers them to become active citizens. We are firmly committed to achieving these objectives through a strong youth and social service sector across Europe. THEMATIC AREAS In 2024, we amplified youth and social work issues, advocating for systemic solutions for disadvantaged young people, co-organising a policy event with the EESC, and contributing to the EU Youth Test. We also ensured that regional realities remained central to European discussions. Our annual event in Piteå addressed Northern Sweden’s green transition, highlighting the importance of including all regions in the EU’s sustainable future. Additionally, we contributed to the European Social Work Conference organised by the Belgian Presidency of the EU. Each year, we organise policy events dedicated to key topics on the European agenda. In collaboration with the EESC, we hosted a policy event in November 2024 under the title “Social Cohesion in the Digital Transition.” The discussion focused on the role of social and youth work professionals in the digital age, as well as the risks and opportunities digitalisation presents for disadvantaged young people. Ahead of the European Parliament elections in May 2024, YES Forum launched a campaign encouraging young people to vote through the “I Vote for EU” initiative and the CitiGenZ project’s campaign. This initiative shared real-life testimonies to inspire young people to participate in the democratic process. SUPPORTING PROFESSIONALS WORKING WITH DISADVANTAGED YOUNG PEOPLE We strengthen the capacity of youth and social workers through: • Learning Mobility Opportunities: We facilitate study visits and traineeships, allowing professionals to gain insights into innovative approaches in their field. Reflections on these exchanges have been compiled in our impact report. • Capacity Building for EU Funding Access: We support organisations in navigating EU funding opportunities, including ESF+, Interreg, Erasmus+, and CERV, to enhance their impact on youth and social inclusion. UPSKILLING AND EMPLOYMENT FOR DISADVANTAGED YOUNG PEOPLE Through our member organisations’ daily work and targeted initiatives, we advance education and employment opportunities for marginalised young people. Recent flagship initiatives include: • Inclusive Higher Education: In collaboration with universities in Germany, the Netherlands, and France, we developed the POWERst – emPOWERing First-Generation Students project (2021-2023) to create a more inclusive European higher education system. More details: shorturl.at/brxCK. • Access to the Job Market: Our initiative The Employable Youth: It Works! (2019-2022) focused on vocational training and on-the-job learning for socially excluded young people, particularly NEETs, using a holistic employment and training approach. More details: shorturl.at/jFKSV.

Interests Represented

Does not represent commercial interests

Member Of

http://www.socialplatform.org/ https://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/sections-other-bodies/other/liaison-group-european-civil-society-organisations-and-networks

Organisation Members

https://www.yes-forum.eu/members/