Estonia’s priorities during its presidency include smart youth work, future of youth and youth sector, and youth volunteering.
At today’s meeting of Directors General for Youth held in Malta, Reelika Ojakivi, the Head of Youth Department of the Ministry of Education and Research outlined Estonia’s priorities for the youth sector during its presidency. The main priorities include smart youth work, supporting youth volunteering, and agreeing on the principles for shaping the future of the youth sector.
“This presidency is an unprecedented opportunity for us and the Estonian youth to have a say about the future possibilities to be created for the youth across Europe and the overall development of the EU,” said Reelika Ojakivi.
The Estonian government believes that youth work needs to smarten up. The aim of smart youth work is to provide IT solutions for youth work that meet the youth’s needs.
“We need to develop digital solutions for youth and people working with them to help reach young people who are currently out of reach. Further, we need to take advantage of digital solutions to support youth's active participation in decision-making and community initiatives, and enhance their readiness to enter the labour market,” said Ojakivi.
Furthermore, Estonia intends to participate actively in the new European Solidarity Corps initiative to create volunteering possibilities for youth and participate in projects aimed at communities across Europe.
Reelika Ojakivi pointed out that as the EU Youth Strategy is in force until the end of 2018, the Estonian presidency will certainly continue with preparations and talks for drafting the new strategy initiated by the Maltese presidency.
“We support the developmental approach to youth policy that focuses on youth, highlights the key role of youth work, and defines the long-term priorities based on values - with special emphasis on local youth work,” said Ojakivi.