First day of the Swedish Conference, great hosts, great expectations!

The first day of the Conference on Future EU Cooperation in the Youth Field kicked off with great expectations. The hosts have done a great job organizing the events. The workshops from tomorrow look very promising, too. It is hard to see much action and implementation, but dialogue is still the best method to tackle the problems of public concern and to reach consensus that is feasible to so many countries.

One of the most important messages came from Mr. Jan Truszczynski, Vice Director-general of the European Commission: “If the Lisbon Treaty gets ratified, the EU will have more competence on youth participation. The concept will benefit from having a specific field.” Although the main priority now seems to be employment of young people (there are approximately 5 million unemployed youth in the EU), participation will play a major role in the policy making process.

Tip: you will sound smarter, more credible and even cuter if you use the following sentences: cross-sectional studies, evidence-based policy making, experience-based knowledge, strategy based on data, and social change.

And here are the organizers’ webcasts:

More resources are available at the Conference’s official website.