One of the four points of Strategic plan 2014-2017 is the Youth Employment, and with the Working Group reform passed during Spring Agora Asturias 2015, there is a specific body dealing with it: the Youth Employment Working Group. The group right now consists of five active members and several supporters, the first generation of working groups. We talked with Kristóf Papp, YEWG coordinator, and he spoke about the work they have done so far and their future project.
The AEGEEan: What are the main aims and tasks of YEWG? Who are the members?
Kristóf: The YEWG is working hard on fulfilling the Action Agenda 2015/2016 and providing members and locals with the essential toolkits and knowledge for organising events related to the Youth Employment with a special focus on job-seeking and entrepreneurial skills. We also aim to organise an advocacy event to help the dialogue between the young people, decision-makers and actors involved such as universities and employers. Sebastiaan Rood is the Policy Officer on Youth Employment who is responsible for the realisation of the event. I, Kristóf Papp, am the Working Group Coordinator. Our job is supported by excellent members such as Kateryna Radochyn, Theodora Giakoumelou and Jorge Sánchez Hernández.
How do you feel, considering your Working Group was born a little time ago and it was your turn to break the ice?
It is a great honor, but also a huge responsibility with a heavy burden. The system is not perfect yet, there are barriers that we have to overcome and some problems we or the future generations will have to tackle. However, I must admit the idea behind the Working Groups is great. These think-tanks can operate perfectly in the future with the proper amount of resources and a working supporting structure. Something candidates for Comité Directeur should also keep in mind![he winks, ed.]
What kind of work do the Policy Officer and the Coordinator do?
The Coordinator supports the work of the Working Group, coordinates its every day work, the distribution of the tasks and ensure the communication within the Working Group, and also between the Working Group and the external bodies, such as the CD. The Policy Officer is an essential part of the Working Group. His tasks are to monitor the external and internal news related to youth employment; to inform the Network about the external happenings related to youth employment and start discussions about it within the Network; gather the opinion of the Network, and based on that, to develop policy and position papers.
Do you help Antennas with organising any Summer University?
None of the locals has approached us asking for help organising SUs, yet.
What is your idea of Youth Employment?
Youth Employment is a complex question and personally I don’t think there is enough space here to answer your question, specially since I wrote a thesis on the topic [he smiles, ed.] To narrow it down, the Youth Employment can be tackled only by a strong cooperation between the education providers, the employers, the decision makers and the young people.
How can you get involved in YEWG? How can an AEGEE member contribute?
We welcome all the feedbacks and initiatives. We encourage everyone to express their opinions on the Action Agenda 2016/17 on the Forum. Also, if any of the members wish to contact us, feel free to write to me from kristof.papp@aegee.org.
Which are the activities you have carried on until today?
Most of activities so far have covered representation on the statutory events, and other local events. It has also been a huge task for us to establish the Working Group with a full membership and tackle the problems coming from operation.
What are your future plans?
As I’ve mentioned, we are going to organise a conference on youth employment with the contribution of different related actors. We are also encouraging the locals to organise similar advocacy events, and if they need any support or material, please approach us. One of our other tasks is to recruit new members for the Working Group, so if you feel the eager to get involved, step up!
Do you have a Facebook or Twitter page in order to follow your work?
Not yet, but we really hope it will be launched soon.
Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona