Targeted Meeting 2
Budapest - Hungary
22-26 October 2004

Welcome speech by Mr Attila Mesterházy, State Secretary, Ministry of Children, Youth and Sports

Dear Mr. Buttigieg, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Participants,

It is a great honour to welcome you on the meeting of the Euro-Mediterranean Youth Platform at the European Youth Centre in Budapest.

Please allow me to say a few words about the international youth co-operation. The positive effects of vitality in this field are obvious in the partner countries and can contribute to the development of collaboration in the future as well.

Young people are facing new and changing challenges in Europe: it is crucial to have foreign language skills when entering the labour market, young people shall co-operate with partners, guests, refugees from other countries during their life. This usually means co-operation with people who speak another language, who were brought up in a different society, who have other customs and habits, who practice another religion and so on. In addition, life career of youth has changed a lot in the past decades in Europe: the learning process, the time to establish a family have been postponed and young people have also difficulties with the transition period from school to be part of the labour market.

Hungary has taken part for years in the well functioning Community Action Programme YOUTH 2000-2006 which opens the borders for young people: international collaborations, partner finding for youth NGO-s, exchange of experience and best practises as well as the activity of the European Voluntary Service all contribute to the breadth of view of participants. There is an essential need to similar partnerships not only on the European level, but also in co-operation with the Mediterranean countries. Such kind of a collaboration would give the opportunity to open towards new cultures, new experiences and challenges which enhances the development of the national youth policies.

We all know that getting to know each other and leading dialogues between partners are the best medicine against prejudices and social exclusion. This is especially important for young people because their openness and interest help them to form their attitude. Their experience gained during the first ten-twenty years has a great influence throughout their life and on their later decisions. Their knowledge can contribute to an extended horizon and to increase young people's competitiveness in all areas of their life.

How can Europe become a unit and a region of diversity in the world at the same time? How can the European citizens of the present and the future learn from each other?

Intercultural dialogue, co-operation, tolerance, international experience, non-formal learning: these are the main elements, which serve as answer to the questions above and which help to understand the culture and everyday life of young people in different countries.

Youth policy is a new and dynamic developing field of policy making in Hungary: we have established its institutional background at regional level with the network of information and counselling offices, we have improved the field of youth tourism and do a lot in order to support non formal education of young people. The support to youth policies at local and municipal levels, the system of municipal self governments for children and youth affairs as well as the representation of young people's interests at ministerial level all contribute to encourage the becoming Hungarian youth to active citizens.

The collaboration within the Euro-Med Programme can enhance the approach of European and Mediterranean areas on the one hand, to the improvement of national youth policies by exchanges of experience on the other hand as well as to the education of a generation free from prejudice.

Partnership development among young people is an ongoing procedure. All the institutions of the European Union give high priority to the neighbourhood policy of the Community and - within the framework of this project - to the improvement of partnership with third countries as well.

Referring to youth issues, it is forseen that there is also an opportunity to develop the Euro-Mediterranean co-operation in the draft of new generation of the YOUTH programme (Youth in Action). This will allow co-operations between European and Mediterranean young people in the future as well.

Co-operation with other international organisations is also a key element. Here we can mention that there is a strong relationship between the Council of Europe and the European Union in the field of youth policy: the Partnership on Euro-Mediterranean Youth Co-operation in the field of Training (2003-2005) is one objective of this co-operation. Some of you might have taken part in such project here at the European Youth Centre in Budapest.

Finally, according to the message of Euro-Mediterranean Youth Platform, let you allow me to wish you to be
- young and experienced
- innovate and revolutionary
- able to getting grow
- good and getting better
- enthusiastic and utopist

Thank you for your attention and I wish you a pleasant stay in Budapest.

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