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Civic space challenges for youth organisations

FRA met online with member organisations of the European Youth Forum to consult on their civic space challenges.

In addition to the challenges that civil society organisations face generally – from threats and attacks and difficult access to resources to challenges with the legal environment and access to decision-making, youth organisations face several specific challenges related to the nature of their organisations. Youth organisations are very often volunteer-driven in their day-to-day work especially at grassroots level. They also have a high turnover due to activists growing older, and seldom have access to funding tailored to their realities and operational needs. They face even higher challenges in accessing decision makers than civil society generally, which is exacerbated for youth organisations representing ethnic, sexual or other minorities. Due to the young age and consequent lack of established careers and networks of young activists, building up skills and capacity for civil society work is all the more relevant and requires an even greater focus.

FRA met them on 11 and 22 May.