European Youth Conference during the Irish Presidency (11-13 March 2013)

The Conference began with a theatrical performance on discrimination against youth and their social exclusion. The day was devoted to discussions, which, were based on the thematic priority, which was the social inclusion. The Irish Minister for Children and Youth, Frances Fitzgerald, welcomed the participants and emphasized the importance of young people's transition from education to employment.

During the second day the youth representatives, the Ministries and General Managers from all EU Member States discussed the results of the prior consultation at the national level. The discussions took place through seven parallel workshops in order to record three key conclusions for each topic.

The topics of the workshops were:

1. Employment

2. Education

3. Participation

4. Prosperity

5. Supporting Services

6. Youth Organizations

7. Quality work with the youth

On the third and final day of the Conference, which brought together about 150 young people and 100 policy makers from all EU Member States, the Minister O'Dowd (Minister of State at the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government) presented the results/ joint recommendations and the session ended with a celebration event.