Dynamics of Youth joins Eurochild
The strategic theme Dynamics of Youth (DoY) has been accepted into Eurochild, a European network of 171 organisations working to promote the rights and well-being of children.
Liaison officer Diederik van Iwaarden supervised DoY's application for membership. ‘Joining Eurochild will help us draw attention to DoY in Brussels. Our membership gives us access to a strong network of social partners with whom we wish to collaborate. We can work together when applying for European grants. I also expect that being part of Eurochild will allow us to better disseminate our knowledge, as we can easily connect with policymakers through other members. We will be participating in lobbying activities to spread our message together: invest in children and young people. That is so important, if only to prevent problems later on. So much is invested in everything that has to do with ageing, but funding for youth research is lagging behind.’
Eurochild bases its work on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Themes
Eurochild bases its work on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The specific themes for collaboration are determined by the needs and expertise of Eurochild's members. ‘It depends on what is happening in society. This often revolves around themes like poverty, migration and youth participation. From the perspective of DoY, we can call attention to the mental health of children and young people, for example.’
Exchange
The importance of membership in this type of European network requires some explanation. There is in fact no such thing as European youth policy; countries largely handle this themselves. Still, it's good to collaborate in a unified manner, as Diederik explains: ‘We can exchange good practices and share standards with each other: how do we want youth facilities to be organised, at least on a national level? We can also work hard to promote youth mobility through initiatives that facilitate student exchange within Europe, such as the Erasmus programme. Furthermore, an organisation like Eurochild contributes to a stronger Europe as well.’
Active role
Naturally, becoming a member of Eurochild is also good for DoY's reputation. But this won't just be a commitment ‘on paper’, Diederik says: ‘We want to not only be a member, but play an active role as well. We also have a lot to offer through DoY and our hubs. Before the summer we'll be heading to Brussels with a small delegation, and then we'll have a more concrete idea of how we can make an impact within Eurochild.’
Research theme Dynamics of Youth
If you want to tackle social problems, it would be best to start with children. The Utrecht-based research theme Dynamics of Youth invests in a resilient youth. Academics from all fields collaborate in order to learn to better understand child development. How can we help children and youngsters to grow and flourish in our rapidly changing society?​