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Education First Aims to Tackle Global Teachers Shortage
 “Ensure that by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.” This ambitious objective is the second of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) agreed upon in 2000 and set to be achieved by 2015. With three years and three months ahead of us, a lot remains to be done. A concrete push has been made however, on the 26th of September, when the United Nations Secretary-General announced Education First.
// Top Story
The Role of Youth at the World Forum for Democracy
 Democracy as an agent of peace, a guarantor of progress and prosperity, as a tool for young people to express their opinions -democracy in all its faces was celebrated during the first ever World Forum for Democracy. Taking place in Strasbourg from 5th-11th October, the Council of Europe celebrated one of its core values. Throughout recent years, the pan-European institution has stepped up its efforts in the field of democracy, culminating now in the World Forum.
// Top Story
Putting the Issue of Social Exclusion on The Table
On the 11th October, young representatives of different youth organisations gathered with policy makers, researchers, and spokepersons of social organisations for the roundtable on social inclusion. Worried about the social marginalisation of an increasing amount of young people, the European Youth Forum brought various stakeholders together at the European Parliament. The roundtable comes at a time when young people find it increasingly difficult to make a smooth transition from education to employment, leaving many of them stuck in-between.
// Employment & Social Affairs
European Social Fund out of money
Past cuts in the 2012 budget of four billon euros have led to shortages today. At the beginning of October, Alain Lamassoure, Chair of the budget committee, announced that the European Social Fund is bankrupt. The French conservative politician accused Member States that drove the austerity measures of shooting themselves in the foot by putting various programmes at stake. With an estimated deficit of 10 billion euros, additional financial help is very much needed. Budget Commissioner Janusz Lewandowski will therefore ask Member States for additional funds.
// Employment & Social Affairs
The World Bank Links Jobs with Development
Yearly, the World Bank publishes the World Development Report, which looks into a specific aspect of economic development. The focus of the recently published 2013 edition is jobs. Since around the world, most people who get out of poverty do so through jobs, the latest analysis of the international financial institution suggests that jobs are a cornerstone for inclusive growth and a driver for development. A significant demographic challenge lies ahead however. With many young people ready to join the labour market, many new jobs have to be created.
// Employment & Social Affairs
Education as A Way out of The Crisis?
On 4th-5th October, the EU informal meeting of Education ministers took place in Nicosia, Cyprus. The gathering was preceded by a presentation given by Christopher Pissarides, Cypriot Nobel laureate Professor of Economics. Pissarides stressed in his speech the relationship between education and economic development. According to him, a good education policy is crucial in helping young people in times of recession but also to improve labour market prospects in the long-run. With this, he set the stage for the informal meeting, which further discussed education as a way out of the crisis.
// Education
Worrying Evolutions in the Field of LGBTQ Rights
Worrying evolutions in the field of LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer) rights could be observed throughout the last weeks. They began with the 9th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Youth in St. Petersburg, where the Member States of the Council of Europe stumbled over the phrasing “gender equality and sexual orientation”. Not able to come to a consensus, the Ministers failed to agree upon a final declaration.
// Human Rights
The Problematic Gap between Refugee Labour Rights and Reality
In theory in some countries foreigners are granted the right to work but in practice numerous obstacles exist for refugees to find employment. To discuss this issue a conference was organised on the 27th of September by the United Nations Refugee Agency and the Council of Europe. Assessing legal practices and standards across Europe, the high-level meeting recognised that rights for refugees do not seem to be improving.
// Human Rights
Young Protesters March against Austerity
At the beginning of October, Eurostat published its latest unemployment figures. These illustrate once more that we are not quite at the end of the crisis yet and that a disproportionate amount of young people have fallen victim to unemployment. As such, in August unemployment figures across the European Union reached a new high with 22,6 % of those under 25 unemployed. But there are also countries like Greece and Spain that largely exceed the average and where more than half of the young people are without jobs.
// Participation & Youth Policy Mainstreaming
The Main European Political Parties Declare Themselves Ready to Engage in a Dialogue with Youth
9th October, half past three, representatives of the main European political parties, gather in the European Parliament to show their commitment to the League of Young Voters. The League is an electoral platform that aims to engage young people in a dialogue with policy makers. In this way, youth will be provided with background information on the European Parliament elections of 2014. Likewise, young people will be adequately informed about the youth agendas of the different political parties. But they will also be able to voice their own concerns, such as participating in political debates.
// Participation & Youth Policy Mainstreaming
Discussing the Recognition of Non-Formal Learning and Youth Work in Albania
Between the 1st and the 3th of October, participants from over 20 European countries gathered for a symposium in Tirana, Albania. Ambitious in scope, discussions focused on two inter-related topics. Firstly, participants were invited to reflect on the youth policy in South-Eastern Europe. After assessing the current situation, the discussions shifted to methods on how to push youth work on the political agenda of the countries of the region.
// Youth Work Development
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