Culture in the European Year of Youth 2022
2022 is the European Year of Youth. But what is its link with culture in the months ahead?
As said by the European Commission President during her State of the Union address last year, “the pandemic has robbed young people of many opportunities – to meet and make new friends, to experience and explore new cultures. While we cannot give them that time back, we are proposing today to designate 2022 the European Year of Youth”.
With the European Year of Youth, the Commission announced that it intends, in cooperation with the European Parliament, Member States, regional and local authorities, stakeholders and young people themselves “to honour and support the generation that has sacrificed the most during the pandemic […] by highlighting how the green and digital transitions offer renewed perspectives and opportunities; to encourage all young people, especially those with fewer opportunities; to promote opportunities provided by EU policies for young people […] by promoting the successful implementation of NextGenerationEU in providing quality jobs, education and training opportunities; and to draw inspiration from the actions, vision and insights of young people to further strengthen and invigorate the common EU project, building upon the Conference on the Future of Europe”.
Climate change, mental health, inclusive societies, educational and training opportunities and unemployment are the most pressing issues for young people, according to a recent survey by the European Commission. These topics are also reflected with a clear sense of urgency in the collective recommendation for the Conference on the Future of Europe drafted across 12 EU countries in the framework of the “Amplify: Make the Future of Europe Yours” project, coordinated by Culture Action Europe. Project aims at bringing the voices of underrepresented communities, including youth, to the EU public debate.
At present, culture seems to be linked with youth participation through very specific initiatives: namely, the DiscoverEU free travel experiences on rail for 18-year-old EU citizens, as well cultural activities during educational exchanges and volunteering as part of the Erasmus+ program and the European Solidarity Corps 2021-2027.
What’s more, the European Year of Youth should help shed light on job opportunities and working conditions of young people. Young artists – as highlighted in Culture Action Europe’s background analysis for the European Parliament, are more likely to be unemployed or accept low-paid or unpaid work to enter the labour market. From a policy perspective, this needs shifting the attention from good-to-have one-off initiatives to a much-needed and structural recognition of art education, training, mobility and employment of young artists and cultural workers.