“Get young people out of their comfortable computer chairs and gather them in joint activities, promote their more active cooperation and encourage taking the initiative – this could be possible in 2022, which has been declared the European Year of Youth”, according to those working in the field of youth. Opportunities have now been created to make up for lost chances and move forward, reducing the traces left by the pandemic.

Young people are a priority

In September 2021, in her speech on the state of the European Union, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced the European Commission's intention to declare 2022 the European Year of Youth and to dedicate it to young people who have given up so much for the sake of others. The pandemic disrupted young people's education and transition to employment, and many young people experienced isolation, anxiety and depression. Young people were particularly affected by the breakdown of family and social ties and the economic crisis caused by movement restrictions. The European Year of Youth confirms that young people are a European priority and that it is necessary to address the difficulties that young people still face in order to successfully continue their education, enter the labour market, and get to know other countries. The European Year of Youth is a great opportunity to highlight young people in Latvia as well, talking about their needs and opportunities.

The activities of the European Year of Youth in 2022 cover areas such as participation, equality and inclusion, sustainability, employment, well-being, a greener and more digital Europe, mental health of young people. Events, conferences and campaigns are taking place and will take place in the mentioned areas.

Significantly increased funding

This year, there is an increase in funding for youth opportunities both in the state budget and EU programmes, and they, as well as “Erasmus+” youth projects and the “European Solidarity Corps” programme, will play a key role during the Year of Youth. Since the funding is larger, the project submitters will be able to realise more of their ideas, confirms Maija Kolberga, head of the project management and supervision department of the Agency for International Programmes for Youth (JSPA).

^{Maija Kolberga, head of the Project management and supervision department of JSPA.}

 “The additional funding provided for various youth activities, initiatives and mobility is very important. In general, more than 5 million euros in the “Erasmus+” programme and almost 1.5 million euros in the “European Solidarity Corps” programme are available for the field of youth in Latvia this year. Funding is available for youth initiatives at the local level, where young people can develop projects for the benefit of the local community and learn from this process themselves, for youth participation projects, because the active participation of young people is one of the priorities of Europe and also of our country in raising active citizens, and for youth mobility to other countries, which gives the opportunity to gain intercultural experience, expand one's horizons, and break stereotypes. The involvement of young people with limited opportunities is especially supported,” continues M. Kolberga.

M. Kolberga clarifies that young people with limited opportunities are not only young people with physical or mental disabilities, but also young people who, for example, face economic or some other social obstacles, as well as young people from other cultures, for example, Roma young people. “We work hard to involve young people with various health problems, as well as young people from more remote rural regions, who do not have the same opportunities as those who live in the city. The emphasis is also on those young people who do not work, do not study, and are not active in public life. We try to involve them as well,” states M. Kolberga, saying that every young person in Latvia, by participating in youth projects, can go to another country, gain experience or implement their idea.

Life is coming back

Looking back at the results achieved by the European programmes, it should be mentioned that the first of the two EU programme project competitions organised by JSPA for 2022 has recently been concluded. More than 115 applications have been received. Compared to last year, there are 28 percent more, but still not as many as before the pandemic. “We see that life is coming back. We also expect the projects that were frozen during Covid-19 to be implemented and completed this summer,” says M. Kolberga.

“I can praise organisations and young people who were not afraid to look for solutions and take action, even during the pandemic. We have projects implemented during the pandemic, where we found the most appropriate times for activities, while respecting the various epidemiological conditions. Other projects have also been implemented in a virtual format. Nothing was stopped, it just slowed down. At the moment, we feel like everything is starting to return to its usual rhythm.”

Although the first project competitions for 2022 have been concluded, there are still a number of other on-going project competitions, as well as a second project competition is planned for the second half of the year, in which both NGOs (associations and foundations) and municipalities (youth centres, etc.) will be able to submit project competition applications. More information is available on the website www.jaunatne.gov.lv.

For reference

Programmes offered by the EU

Funding for youth projects of the “Erasmus+” programme has been increased this year by 14% or 617,868 euros. The largest increase in funding by 75% has been allocated to mobility projects (youth exchange and youth worker mobility projects) and likewise a 75% increase in funding has been allocated to youth participation projects.

103,169 euros has been allocated to the new activity of the “Erasmus+” programme – “DiscoverEU” inclusion projects.

Funding for the organisation of “European Youth Year” support activities has increased by 7%, reaching 472,164 euros.

This year, the funding for the “European Solidarity Corps” programme has been increased by 12% or 154,513 euros. The largest increase by 22% was allocated to solidarity projects, while an 11% increase was allocated to voluntary work projects. Funding for support activities has increased by 7%, reaching 289,063 euros.

!Opportunities and events available to young people within the framework of the European Year of Youth can be viewed on the website: https://europa.eu/youth/year-of-youth_lv.

The State Programme of Youth Policy of the Ministry of Education and Science for 2022-2024 (hereinafter referred to as – the State Programme) has been developed to ensure the effective and coordinated implementation of youth policy in Latvia and to ensure the implementation of tasks defined in long-term and medium-term development planning documents as well as the achievement of performance indicators in the field of youth. In 2022, within the framework of the state programme, it is planned to implement four project competitions, for the implementation of which 532 thousand euros of funding has been allocated. It is planned to implement the following open project competitions:

• “Support for initiatives for the inclusion of young people with limited opportunities in society”. he project competition is open until 28 March. Until 7 March, by filling out the online questionnaire you can register for an informative webinar about the project competition application. Meanwhile, NGOs will be able to implement project competitions in the period from 20 May 2022 to 30 April 2023.
• “Support for the development of self-governments of educational institutions – project competition “Contact””. The announcement of the project competition will take place in April; submissions will be made in May, and it will start from August.
• “Support for the activities of youth organisations, their initiatives, promotion of youth participation and inclusion in society” The project competition will be announced in June, submitted in July, and will start from September.
• “Support for the implementation of youth policy at the local level”. The announcement of the project competition will take place in August, with submission in September, and it will start from November.

More information about these and many other opportunities, not only for young people, but also for those working in the field of youth, is available here.

Meanwhile, for young people, as an additional good source for considering opportunities, there is the “European Solidarity Corps” database, where by registering (creating a profile), it is possible to see and apply for open project proposals of project implementers (organisations) of various European countries, for which participants are sought. Currently, in the period from 1 May to 31 August, there are 61 offers for voluntary work in Europe, including in countries such as Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Turkey, etc. The topics of the offers are also varied; it is possible to find the most attractive one for everyone – from environmental sustainability and green lifestyle projects, to cultural heritage projects and volunteer work projects in educational institutions. For inspiration, stories of volunteer work and other youth project experiences can be viewed here.

Source and pictures: Agency for International Programmes for Youth.