On October 31 st 2022, a public lecture with a discussion on Current Challenges for European
Youth Policy was held in the Compass Conference Hall of Plovdiv University.
The event was planned in relation to the development of youth policies after the adoption of the
White Paper on Youth in 2001. The European Union (EU) moved towards the formation of an
official political line to coordinate the national youth policies of the member states, despite
adhering to the clause, that the EU’s youth policy must be implemented without “any
harmonization of the laws and regulations of the Member States” (Treaty on the Functioning of
the EU, 2009). Thus, European policy in this area oscillates between “shy integration” (above)
through the creation of common strategies, programs and supranational institutions for youth
policy, on the one hand, and “hidden integration” (below), which takes place through mobility
within the EU on the young people themselves for study, work and tourism, on the other hand.
National policies of individual countries vacillate between the goals of empowering young
people (youth participation) and protecting youth (as a group in a vulnerable situation). As a
result, many challenges arise, which this event aims to discuss.
Experts in the field of youth policy, youth workers, representatives of youth organizations, social
workers, professionals in the field of education, youth employment, vocational training and
lifelong learning, students and researchers were invited to the discussion.
Representatives of the Employment Agency from the Plovdiv Labor Bureau presented the
current measures and opportunities that apply to young people. You can familiarize yourself with
the current measures in the attached information!
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Siyka Kovacheva presented her analysis on the topic “Current challenges for the
European youth policy”.
After that, some of the specific dimensions of the problem were presented.
Darena Hristozova – The uneven path of young people to adulthood. European policies to
support youth transitions from education to employment and their “translation” in Bulgaria
Petya Bankova – Political, civic and social participation of young people in Europe
Bilyana Mileva – The activity of young people for self-improvement: Physical activity, sports
and their correlation with cognitive development and social effectiveness
The event was held as part of the round of public lectures “European Policy and Practice in
Science, Technology and Innovation” of the Jean Monnet Center of Excellence at Plovdiv
University. The center’s content processing team will additionally add event video and thematic
tags to the content.
