The European Commission launches new youth initiative

The European Commission has launched “Youth on the Move”, one of the seven flagship initiatives introduced through the Europe 2020 Strategy.

The initiative - which aims to further align education and training programs with young people's needs and encourage more of them to take advantage of EU study abroad grants, will be instrumental in achieving the headline targets of reducing the share of early school leavers and increasing the number of young people with tertiary education by 2020.

The “Youth on the Move” initiative will attempt to tackle some of the key barriers that prevent students from continuing their education. These actions are primarily focused at those from disadvantaged socio-economic and vulnerable groups. It will also seek to reconcile the demand and supply sides of the job market to ensure that students have a better chance of getting quality jobs when they graduate.

This is particularly important since, according to the European Commission, “the number of young people looking for a job has increased from 4 to 5 million since the onset of the financial turmoil, with EU youth unemployment now at nearly 21%.”

Public policies that promote educational development throughout the life course have long been advocated as a valuable tool in contributing to narrowing social, economic and health inequalities.

Recommendations from both the WHO Commission on the Social Determinants of Health and the Strategic Review on Health Inequalities in England have called for a strategic focus on youth, particularly in the early stages of child development. Both reports assert that investment in early child development is one of the most effective strategies in contributing to tackling health inequalities.

What do you think? Will this initiative contribute to health and social equity and if so how? Contact us via j.considine@eurohealthnet.eu.

More information on the “Youth on the Move” communication is available here. In addition, on Friday 17 September, Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou will take part in a web-chat on Youth on the Move from 15:00-16:00.Questions can be sent in advance or during the web-chat, in any EU language, to this address: EAC-YOM@ec.europa.eu.