Youth on the Move
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The event will be held on 8-9 October in the Millenaris Park in Budapest.
During these two days, young people from Budapest will have the possibility to discover the many opportunities available to them thanks to EU programmes.
Through a series of both formal and informal activities, they will have the chance to get valuable information on mobility possibilities, as well as to talk to others who have already worked or studied abroad. Discussions will focus also on youth unemployment, problems and solutions. A chain of musical and theatre performances will accompany the debates.
Youth on the Move (YOM), a new EU campaign geared towards combating youth unemployment in Europe, will be launched at an interactive two-day event to be held on the grounds of the Millenáris in Budapest on October 8th – 9th. As part of the new Europe 2020 strategy, the initiative proposes 28 key actions aimed at making education and training more relevant to young people's needs and encouraging more of them to take advantage of EU grants to study or train in another country. Youth on the Move aims to extend opportunities for learning mobility to all young people in Europe by 2020, while informing about the already existing EU mobility programmes such as Comenius, Youth in Action, Erasmus, Leonardo da Vinci, Grundtvig, Erasmus Mundus and Marie Curie.
Hungary is one of only two countries to host a launch event actively involving young people in all aspects of mobility. France will host the second Youth on the Move event one week later in Bordeaux. High level EU representatives will open the event together with the official ambassador of the Youth on the Move initiative in Hungary, the European-wide acclaimed actress and singer, Dorka Gryllus. Almost one hundred organisations and institutions will be showcasing their mobility programmes at the Youth on the Move event in Budapest. Musical and art performances will spice up the atmosphere with Dorka Gryllus performing on Friday, October 8th.
The Youth on the Move campaign, which was officially kicked-off by the EC this week, targets young people to inspire them to learn and work abroad in order to improve their chances of finding employment, while also raising awareness among young adults for existing EU mobility programmes. The number of young people looking for a job has increased in Hungary from 98.100 to 143.300 since the onset of the financial crisis, with Hungarian youth unemployment now at nearly 27,6% (is still being researched).
As the economic and financial crisis has made it harder for young Hungarians to enter the labour market, it is important that initiatives like Youth on the Move aim at raising the quality of education and training in Europe so that our young people are properly equipped for today's job market, says Androulla Vassiliou, the European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth.
Education and employment across Europe
The European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, László Andor, adds: Youth on the Move will create new momentum at EU and national level for improving support for young people so that they can find a job, make a living and pursue their own plans.
Two key actions are directly related to youth mobility: the development of a Youth on the Move card, which would provide benefits and discounts for young people, and the launch of the Youth on the Move website (http://europa.eu/youthonthemove). The latter provides a single point of access to information about opportunities to study or gain work experience abroad, including advice about EU grants and individual rights.
More: http://europa.eu/youthonthemove/contests_en.htm