Deadline: 10 January 2017
Open to: youth resident in one of the Council of Europe Member States
Scholarship: travel and subsistence expenses will be covered

Description

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe is inviting one young person per member State to come to Strasbourg to take an active part in its 32nd and 33rd sessions and develop their own grassroots project back home as part of the Congress initiative “Rejuvenating politics”.

Given the apparent disengagement of young people from conventional political participation in recent years, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe has been taking a closer look at the issue of youth participation.  Its work over the past five years has concluded that, contrary to popular belief, young people are still committed to participating in society. However, they are engaging differently in a society in which they feel marginalised from the political process. As part of their participation in 2016 youth delegates were invited for the first time to develop their own projects at local and regional level.

Eligibility

• Be open, committed and motivated to develop and strengthen dialogue between young people and elected representatives at local/regional level;
• Be between 16 and 30 years old;
• Have been resident in one of the Council of Europe Member States for a minimum of five years and live in the country which they will represent for the duration of their participation;
• Be a member of a local/regional youth council or parliament, or local/regional council or assembly or executive, or a representative of a youth NGO, or a youth-led structure, or involved in youth work, or a local or regional elected official;
• Be available and motivated to engage in the whole of the activity including the preparation of grass-roots projects;
• Have an interest in actively participating in policy-making at local and regional levels;
• Be able to multiply the information obtained during the session on their return home;
• Speak English fluently but interpretation will be provided for English, French, German, Italian, Russian and Turkish.

Scholarship

• The youth delegates travel and subsistence expenses will be covered by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities according to the Council of Europe’s rules;
• Accommodation will be provided and paid for by the organisers, in single-occupancy or shared rooms according to availability;
• The organisers cannot cover the cost of accommodation elsewhere.

How to Apply?

Those wishing to apply to take part in the 32nd and 33rd Congress sessions must do so by means of the online application form. Participation in only one session is not possible.
Applicants must also upload a short video, for example via YouTube, of no more than 30 seconds, to support their application.