The Campaign Committee for the declaration of the Youth Employment Decade held its first meeting this summer in Madrid. Under the joint chairmanship of the Secretary of State for Employment and the Secretary of State for Social Services and Equality, a large number of members representing public administrations and civil society organisations were present.

Throughout this first session of the Committee for the declaration of the Youth Employment Decade, under the joint chairmanship of the Secretary of State for Employment and the Secretary of State for Social Services and Equality, three main points were discussed: Presentation of the Campaign’s Goals, a Draft of the Strategic Plan and a final section in which the various agents involved exchanged opinions.

The Secretary of State for Employment set out the framework for Committee proceedings. He mentioned that the goal of those present was to tackle the challenge of youth unemployment. He then stressed that the Spanish Government had already implemented a number of initiatives to ease the serious situation young people were facing. The Secretary of State for Employment also stressed that the European Union was making a great effort to prioritise youth employment issues. Finally, he thanked the Novia Salcedo Foundation, the promoter of the International Campaign for the Youth Employment Decade, for the effort made to date in launching this civil society initiative.

Later, the Secretary of State for Social Services and Equality mentioned the goals that the Youth Employment Decade was pursuing. He also mentioned the participation of INJUVE from the beginning of the International Campaign to ensure that Spain would lead youth employment issues at governmental level and on the international stage.

The Director of the Novia Salcedo Foundation spoke of the origins of the Youth Employment Decade and thanked all its partners for supporting the initiative from the beginning. On the other hand, the Director of INJUVE focussed on the social dimension of youth employment.

Regarding the second item on the agenda, this initiative, launched by civil society, requires a Strategic Plan that contemplates regional and national plans and a way to fund the Youth Employment Decade. It became apparent that the document containing the main ideas was generic in nature and open to suggestions and proposals from those present. INJUVE’s technical office would collect all suggestions and prepare an Action Plan to submit to the General Assembly of the United Nations in March 2016.