EU4Youth releases its 2021 programme results along with the policy recommendations for the Eastern Partnership

The EU4Youth Achievements Report 2021 analyses the progress made by the regional programme over the past years in the Eastern partner countries, whilst urging caution on its future implementation amid an unstable and shaken regional context.  

EU support for young people in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) region has continued to deliver on offering new opportunities and skills to youth in the countries. Told through data points and success stories, the latest edition of the annual EU4Youth Achievements Report provides an overview of the key results and progress made in the programme by the implementing organisations.

In 2021, despite the challenges of the uncertain public health and political context in the region, the programme excelled at equipping young people with the skills and tools they need to find a job or start a business.

Since the start of EU4Youth in 2018, over 28 000 young participants have gained new skills through 1 330 face-to-face EU4Youth competence-development activities, such as trainings, workshops or study visits. Besides this, young people were able to engage in mentorships, internships and apprenticeships facilitated by the projects.

EU4Youth projects have supported 368 young entrepreneurs to start their own business since 2018, and 116 start-ups have been opened with the direct financial support of the projects over the past 4 years.

In order to strengthen local civil society networks, the programme continued to support youth groups and youth structures. In addition, the EU4Youth Alumni Network provides a space for further local activism to empower disadvantaged youth.

Whilst the progress shown in the 2021 report was made in a strained regional context, the Russian aggression against Ukraine in early 2022 has further destabilised the region, with the effects felt by young people across the Eastern partner countries.

Based on the 2021 results, the Achievements Report includes 10 recommendations to further strengthen the programme and ecosystem for young people in the region. These recommendations however depend on the implementation context – the projects must be able to work with the young people, local stakeholders and authorities to build the best environment to meet the needs of youth regarding employability, entrepreneurship and engagement in their societies.

In the current regional context, urgent new emerging needs from the Russia’s war on Ukraine will take precedence, and the effects of the invasion on the progress made to date are still to be seen. For the coming years, the EU4Youth programme will continue to support young people in developing their employability, entrepreneurship and engagement, whilst also realigning the projects to match the emerging needs of youth.

The EU4Youth Achievements Report 2021 can be downloaded here.