Youth

• The OSCE Secretariat promotes the inclusion of youth perspectives in the security debate, including through the “Perspectives 20-30” initiative, which provides a platform for young women and men to discuss with decision-makers their vision of a safer future for the OSCE area in 2030 and beyond. The Secretariat also supports a coherent and consistent OSCE approach in working with and for youth, meaningfully engaging them and addressing their specific needs in all three dimensions of security.

• The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) aims to ensure youth political and public engagement across OSCE participating States to make democratic institutions more effective and inclusive. ODIHR activities for young people include the Young Policy Advisers Course, the Young Women’s Leadership training, and the biannual School on Political Parties and Democracy. ODIHR also works to support young people in defending their human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of religion and belief. ODIHR’s Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues works to strengthen Roma and Sinti youth activism and participation of in all areas of life.

• The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) focuses on youth from minority communities through a number of programmes and support to relevant language and education policies. In 2018, the Max van der Stoel Award was bestowed on a group of young people from Jayce, Bosnia and Herzegovina, who fought against ethnicity-based segregation in their school. In Georgia, the HCNM has supported internships for national minority youth in mainstream political parties. In Central Asia, the HCNM initiated an extensive regional multilingual education programme in minority schools. In 2019, the HCNM organized a series of events at the United Nations in New York together with other regional organizations under Chapter VIII of the UN Charter that was dedicated to fostering the involvement and participation of youth in conflict prevention efforts.

• The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM) encourages youth engagement, in particular of young media professionals and students of journalism, in its projects, such as the Cyprus Media Dialogue, as well as in all its events and conferences. Youth is an important stakeholder in the promotion and protection of freedom of expression and freedom of the media. Young people are one of the key target groups in discussing and promoting media literacy issues. The Office of the Representative on Freedom of the Media also promotes engagement with journalism students with a view to building and strengthening capacity among the next generation of media professionals.

OSCE field operations in South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe and Central Asia run youth-related projects and activities with partners on the ground.

• The OSCE Mission to Montenegro strengthens youth engagement and regional reconciliation by supporting the local branch of the Regional Youth Co-operation Office (RYCO) and the development of youth policy in the country.

• The OSCE Mission to Skopje works to respond to the needs and priorities of youth by engaging with young people nationwide to develop their capacities to influence national and local youth policies. To help enhance meaningful youth participation in policy dialogue and decision-making processes, the Mission supports the Agency for Youth and Sport, Municipalities, Local Youth Councils and the local branch of RYCO.

• The Youth Advisory Groups of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the OSCE Presence in Albania give young people an opportunity to incorporate their perspectives into the projects and activities of these field missions. The OSCE Presence in Albania's flagship youth activity is the Youth Trail, an exchange week for 30 young people from the Western Balkans to support regional connectivity among young people and to promote peace and security in the region.

• The OSCE Model for Youth organized by the Mission to Moldova builds confidence and strengthens dialogue between young women and men from both banks of the Dniester/Nistru River by enhancing their negotiations skills and understanding of the OSCE’s comprehensive approach to security and conflict resolution process. The Mission also supports gender hubs in five regions of Moldova, which offer a venue where youth can talk about gender equality as well as the prevention of domestic violence cases.

• The OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek supports Kyrgyzstan in efforts to promote peace and security by enhancing the awareness, capacity and regional contacts among young people, and by strengthening the resilience of youth and community members to conflict and violence, including violent extremism, through awareness raising activities. It also supports efforts to build key conflict prevention and resolution, leadership and negotiation skills and competencies of youth.

• The OSCE Academy in Bishkek enrols bright young students from Central Asia, Afghanistan, Mongolia and across the OSCE region in its Master’s programmes in Politics & Security and in Economic Governance & Development, and helps to build the capacities of a new generation of young professionals working in and for the wider Central Asian region.

• The OSCE Programme Office in Astana supports the Central Asian Youth Network, bringing together students from the region each year to discuss and share perspectives on regional security, stimulating critical thinking and encouraging a co-operative approach in line with OSCE values and principles.