The PES Group will take part tomorrow in the European Youth Plan Action Day, organised by the Party of European Socialists and including more than 100 actions in cities all over Europe. It aims at raising awareness about the PES European Youth Plan, launched on 16 June with a view to improve young people‘s prospects in Europe.
The PES Group Youth Ambassador Benedetta Brighenti, Vice-mayor of Castelnuovo Rangone (Italy), stressed: "I am honoured to be the ambassador of this comprehensive plan. Young Europeans have been victims for far too long of austerity policies. They deserve a better future." Underlining that the implementation of the PES European Youth Plan requires the mobilisation and close cooperation of progressive forces at all government levels, she stressed that "empowering local and regional authorities to invest in youth will be a key to the success of this initiative."
The PES European Youth Plan is based on four main pillars: employment, education, culture and children.
Concerning employment, the PES will fight for a permanent and extended European Youth Guarantee. To ensure appropriate funding beyond the 2016 revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework, the PES urges for 20 billion EUR until 2020 for the Youth Employment Initiative, which backs the Youth Guarantee.
Concerning education, the PES calls for a broadened Erasmus+ for secondary and vocational education and training school students. This ties in with the PES vision for education systems, which must respond not just to employability needs but also to the objective of truly empowering and emancipating students while keeping abreast with new technologies.
Concerning culture, the PES proposes a European Youth Cheque to facilitate the access to culture. To empower young people as culture consumers and creators, the PES suggests a voucher of a certain money value co-financed by the European funds, to be spent on any cultural activity of the young cardholders’ choice.
Finally, concerning childhood support, the PES proposes a Child Guarantee that will ensure that all children in poverty have access to free healthcare, free education, free childcare, decent housing and adequate nutrition.
