| History of the National Youth Council |
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The National Youth Council is the direct descendant of the Federation of Youth Organisations, being set up in the 80's, which had collapsed due to lack of agreement between most organizations of the time. Following this collapse, the then Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, Culture, Sport and Consumer Protection, Dr. Michael Frendo MP, had set up a forum within which youths could express and deliver their beliefs on how should the National Youth Council function and also on its setup. Follwing this forum, a National Conference was held on the proposals brought forward. The discussions varied from political and ideological discussions to structural and formal discussions on the Council. Following the results achieved from the National Conference, the National Youth Council was established. On the 28th January 1992, the National Youth Council was declared as the National Organ for Youth Organisations. The premises of the Council were at St. Francis Ravelin Complex in Floriana. An interim council was appointed in order to administer the initial stages of the setting up and on the 29th March 1992 the National Youth Council held its first General Assembly. During this session, The National Youth Council adopted its Statute, thus obtaining autonomy from Government. The National Youth Council had also established a number of Committees which discussed and worked on a number of issues including International Relations, Social Activities, Education and Work amongst others. In 2001, the National Youth Council was transferred to its current premises in Old Mill Street in Valletta. Throughout its existence, the National Youth Council worked on a number of projects, including: 1. Charter of Youths' Rights After a series of discussions the Council had drawn up a charter of youths' rights. A copy was forwarded to all member organisations for their remarks and suggestions. The charter was passed over to the authorities for their consideration. 2. National Youth Policy The NYC plays a vital role in every revision of the National Youth Policy. This was then forwarded to the Parliamentary Secretariat for Youths for his approval. This policy has been updated on a frequent basis, thus keeping the policy updated with the different changes which youths face. 3. Local Youth Council This project is intended to promote active citizenship in youths whilst giving them the opportunity to get involved in democratic structures. In this project, youths, aged between 14 yrs - 17 yrs from participating localities, are elected to a local youth council board and discuss particular issues related to their locality. The results of the discussions are then written down into proposals and passed to the local Government and taken into consideration. 4. Youth Parliament On the 19th April 2001, at the House of Representatives Palace in Valletta, NYC organised the Youth Parliament for the first time. Built on the concept of the Commonwealth Youth Parliament this activity served to encourage the engagement of Maltese youths in debating, as takes place in the Parliament. 5. Paceville Monitoring Group Through the Paceville Monitoring Group, NYC had made some pressure to forbid youths under sixteen years of age to enter bars and discotheques. This resulted in the introduction of different identity cards for youths under sixteen years of age making them easily identifiable. 6. Euro-Arab Seminar - International Conference NYC organised the Euro-Arab seminar which was held between the 17th to the 25th April 1994. There were over eighty participants from various European and Arab countries. NYC managed to obtain a post in the Leadership Team of the Euro-Arab Dialogue. 7. Public Dialogue on the European Union On the 5th of March, in the common room of the University of Malta, NYC organized a discussion titled "Europe… What Europe?" Mr. Klaus Haensch, President of the European Parliament was the main guest for this discussion. 8. Youth Encounter On the 13th of April 1997 the NYC together with students from Paolino Vassallo Sixth Form organised a youth encounter. A good turnout from various schools all over Malta was registered. Youths prepared papers and documents which highlighted some of the problems that young people are facing. These papers together with recommendations were then handed over to the relevant authorities for consideration. 9. Youth Day Activities The NYC joined forces with the Parliamentary Secretary for Youth to prepare various activities for Youth Day. The annual tradition is that various activities are organised in Freedom Square Valletta, to commemorate Youth Day on the 21st of March. A number of youth organisations participate in this annual event. 10.EU Report On the 6th March 2001, the NYC executive approved a motion for the Council to appoint a number of experts to prepare a professional report on the implications of Malta's accession to the EU on youth. 11. Mediterranean Youth Forum The Mediterranean Youth Forum was revived by NYC and organised in Malta in 2000. NYC is very satisfied with the success of the Med Youth Forum because it strongly believes that this is the best forum for discussion for the youths of Euro-Mediterranean countries. It offers great opportunities for dialogue, cooperation, and an exchange of ideas between the youths coming from different regions. |
