First of all, let me thank the Office of the Citizens' Commissioner for giving me the opportunity to attend today's workshop, organised on the occasion of the designation of 2022 as the European Year of Youth, which aims to align national policies with the European Union's strategy.
By putting young people at the heart of its policies, the European Union seeks to strengthen their role and improve their quality of life by encouraging their active participation in actions that will build their future. The need to invest in the younger generation has become urgent in the midst of the pandemic. Young people are a particularly vulnerable group of the population who have sacrificed their social development and lost their inspiration in the last two years.
The European Year of Youth 2022 aims precisely to restore the vision among young people, to provide them with all the tools that can help them progress and develop their skills in the light of the great challenges of modern times. The inclusion of issues of concern to young people on the agenda of national governments, but also of decision-making centres at European level, seeks to empower young people, give them a voice and increase their participation in policy-making processes.
The State Ministry of Social Welfare has a role to play in achieving the goals of youth empowerment in our country. Since the State Ministry has as its mission the holistic support of the individual, offering services with a human-centred character, we fully share the goal of improving the living standards of citizens and developing their potential to the maximum extent possible.
The most important for achieving these goals is the promotion of strategies from childhood onwards. In this direction, the Ministry of Social Welfare, in response to the obligations stemming from the EU Council Recommendation on the Establishment of a European Guarantee for Children (2021/1004), has proceeded, in cooperation with all relevant Ministries/agencies, to create the National Action Plan, which will be submitted to the European Commission in March 2022.
The aim of this Council Recommendation is, inter alia, to prevent and combat social exclusion of children, access to quality basic services (early childhood education and care, education, health care, food and housing). Achieving this objective requires a series of policy decisions and actions to enable these children to have access to basic services.
Taking into account that the European Year of Youth focuses, inter alia, on young people with fewer opportunities, the implementation of this policy aims to prevent and combat social exclusion by ensuring that children in need have access to a set of basic services, thus contributing to the protection of children's rights by combating child poverty and promoting equal opportunities. Moreover, within the framework of the strategy of the Ministry of State under the motto "No One Alone", we seek to provide each of our fellow human beings with the tools that will foster a sense of belonging, eliminating social marginalisation.
The empowerment of young people in care is also achieved through the institution of semi-independent living. But the provision of assistance is not limited to a sterile subsidy policy. Our aim is, in cooperation with voluntary organisations and other bodies such as local authorities, to create and implement skills development programmes, thus broadening the prospects for professional and social integration.
In addition, the European Union's Youth Strategy 2019-2027 has as its central focus the professional development of young people in a green, digital and diverse world.
The Ministry of State, through the Recovery and Resilience Plan, is investing in expanding the availability of affordable childcare centres for infants and children up to the age of 3 years and 8 months.
The Ministry of State, through the Recovery and Resilience Plan, is investing in expanding the availability of affordable childcare centres for infants and children up to the age of 3 years and 8 months. The above reform is part of our broader plans to facilitate young parents by providing social care services so that, on the one hand, children are placed in a learning and educational environment conducive to their development and, on the other hand, parents can join the labour market, harmoniously combining their professional, social and personal lives. And the only way to do that is to really listen to what young people have to say about their concerns and their vision. By attending today's workshop, I convey our readiness and willingness to work together with young people and formulate policies that are youth-friendly and beneficial to their well-being and progress.
Thank you and I wish you every success in the work of your workshop.
(EC/EHRP)
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