Structured dialogue or cooperation in the area of decision-making is a format/model/means of sustainable mutual communication between young people and decision-makers in order to implement the priorities of youth policy (and not only) cooperation and to make young people's voice heard in the policy-shaping process.

It aims to promote the active participation of young people in democratic life and foster debate around the major issues affecting youth.

Specifically, these activities aim to bring young people and decision makers into discussion to help develop policies in the respective sector.

Co-operation between authorities, youth and their organisations is a necessary step in building strong and democratic communities. As experience shows, such co-operation might be quite a challenge, but there are many examples of constructive ways in which different actors from the local, national and regional scene can work together to achieve common goals.

In our module, we will speak about the models that EU and Council of Europe has developed and implement throughout the decades. We will go deep of those models and will explore the peculiarities, theoretical and practical parts of those models.

Theoretical material

Various parties seek co-operation when they have similar interests and when they see benefits from working together, and it is therefore essential to discover what areas of mutual interest exist between authorities and young people or their organizations. Ideally, all partners will communicate their needs and goals in an open and honest manner, so that the basis for further co-operation can be agreed upon. Council of Europe’s youth department propose three main model of co-operation that is reflected in the manual Have Your Say and considers the direct dialogue with youth, those are: Consultation model, Committee model, Co-management. Let’s explore each of them separately. 

Consultation model: Consultation is one of the mechanisms that can be used efficiently in order to involve young people in decision making at a local level. Various definitions of what consultation means exist, depending on the form it takes, the goals it seeks to achieve, the distribution of authority between different parties, etc. Consultation with young people can be explained as a way of collecting their views and opinions, or obtaining feedback relating to actions or proposals affecting them. Meaningful consultation is a two-way process and takes place when it is still possible to influence the outcome or what is going to happen.

Consultation is perceived as a process in which the power and the final say rests with adults. This means that although young people get an opportunity to contribute and to express their views, at the end the adults have the power to decide if and to what extent these contributions will be used.

Consultation can be organised in a variety of ways. Direct consultation involves direct contact with young people living in a specific community or region and can take the form of: holding consultation meetings or events, inviting views by sending e-mails, letters, essays, etc inviting views by creating a piece of art: a drawing, sculpture, poem, etc individual or group interviews; questionnaires, self-completed surveys; referenda, polling; etc.

Committee model: The revised charter states that “effective participation of young people in local and regional affairs … requires a permanent representative structure such as a youth council, a youth parliament or a youth forum”. The role of such a structure can vary from one community or region to the other, but it should always be a forum in which young people can freely express their opinions, concerns and proposals related to the policies and actions of local authorities in the area of youth work. A youth council or parliament should be a space where a meaningful dialogue and partnership between youth and local authorities can be created, so that all the actors involved can observe tangible benefits of such co-operation.

Structures representing youth at a local or regional level can take different forms and different names, depending on the context; they may be called “youth councils”, “youth forums”, “youth parliaments” or “youth boards”, for example. For the purpose of this manual, such structures will be referred to as “committees”, and will be defined as follows: “permanent structures of youth participation at a local level, representing the opinions and views of young people living in these communities or regions. In particular, the committees will represent young people’s views on the policies and initiatives of different decision-making bodies, in cases where the policies have an effect on the lives of young people living in the community”

Co-management: Co-management (or co-operative management) means the sharing of power, responsibility and accountability in the area of management, between two or more parties. This system can be used successfully when involving young people in decision-making processes at various levels. The Council of Europe introduced the comanagement system over thirty years ago when it created a unique partnership between the representatives of youth organisations and governments within the Directorate of Youth and Sport. This system gives young people an opportunity to have their say in the formulation and implementation of the Council of Europe’s youth policy.

The Directorate of Youth and Sport (DYS) of the Council of Europe provides guidelines and legal instruments that support the creation of youth policies at local, national and European levels. The most important decisions related to the programme and budgetary priorities are taken jointly by governmental and non-governmental partners in the framework of the co-management system. There are four bodies involved in the DYS co-management system:

1. The European Steering Committee for Youth (CDEJ). Its members represent the ministries responsible for youth affairs from the member states of the Council of Europe,
2. The Advisory Council. It has 30 members representing international non-governmental youth organisations and networks, national youth committees properly constituted in Council of Europe member states (so-called National Youth Councils) and structures involved in various areas of youth work relevant to the Council of Europe’s youth policy.
3. The Joint Council on Youth. It consists of all members of the European Steering Committee for Youth and the Advisory Council and it is the main decision- and policy-making body for governmental and non-governmental partners within the Directorate of Youth and Sport.
4. The Programming Committee. This is another joint decision-making body consisting of eight members of the European Steering Committee for Youth and eight members of the Advisory Council.

In case of EU the structured dialogue (which got the name EU Youth Dialogue) involves consultations with young people and youth organisations at all levels in the EU Member States, and at EU level during the EU Youth Conference organised by each EU presidency country. The structured dialogue is implemented in work cycles of 18 months that have a common overall thematic priority and are divided into three rounds of consultations (one for each presidency).

The EU Youth Dialogue is the dialogue with young people and youth organisations involving policy and decision makers, as well as experts, researchers and other relevant civil society actors, as appropriate. It serves as a forum for continuous joint reflection and consultation on the priorities, implementation and follow-up of European cooperation in the field of youth.

It builds on the achievements of past dialogue processes, with the aim of including more decision-makers and young people, especially those with fewer opportunities in decision-making processes and in the implementation of the EU Youth Strategy.

The success of EU Youth Dialogue depends on the direct involvement of young people and youth organisations. During each 18-month work cycle, every EU country conducts a national consultation of young people and youth organisations. The participatory process in each country is organised by national working groups through representatives of youth ministries, national youth councils, youth organisations, youth workers, researchers and young people from all backgrounds.

If contradictory goals have been identified, they need to be addressed as soon as possible, otherwise co-operation may be hindered or even blocked at a later stage. Different methods can be used to find out the interests of each side. In some communities, meetings are arranged in which these issues are discussed between potential partners, in others an expert is given the responsibility to identify these interests on the basis of research. This can be analysis of the priorities and policies of communities and organisations, taking account of various reports and other political documents, and can be the analysis of actions and projects

The co-operation can take place in different areas and also at different levels. In some communities, partnerships are created to address specific local problems (limited access to culture, for example) or to implement specific policies (such as the local policy to combat alcohol and drug addiction). In other communities, co-operation is established at the level of decision making, so that young people and their 

Co-operation at a local level organisations are invited to take part in governing meetings that influence policies or at which decisions affecting them are taken. The final level at which co-operation is established is the result of negotiation, so that the needs and interests of each party can be fulfilled. Consequently, although co-operation between local actors may take different forms, the main aim remains the same – strong partnerships contribute to building better lives in local communities.

Useful resources and links, additional literature

Structured Dialogue from A to Z - https://www.youthforum.org/sites/default/files/page-pdfs/SD-from-A-to-Z-YEU.pdf

EU Youth Dialogue - https://ec.europa.eu/youth/policy/youth-strategy/euyouthdialogue_en

Youth Forum - https://www.youthforum.org/StructuredDialogue

Video links

The EU's Structured Dialogue with young people - what it is and how it works!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IspKFDRGfd8

Erasmus+: Structured dialogue - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXw3ilSLHe8

What is the Structure Dialogue? Step by step - https://vimeo.com/40453382

Open ended questions

What does structured dialogue means in general and what is the aim?

What is the difference between consultation and committee models? 

According to revised charter, what kind of structures should be involved in consultation model?

How many months are in one work cycle in case of EU Youth Dialogue?

Who is organizing EU-Youth Conference?