As part of the initiative of the Association of Cities in the Republic of Croatia, a public call has been opened for the submission of proposals for the award of the “City for Youth” certificate. It is a recognition of cities that are dedicated to creating conditions for the quality of life and personal and professional growth of their young people.
The Certification working group consists of nine members, representatives of relevant organizations and institutions with experience in working with young people. In this particular case, they are representatives of the Central State Office for Demography and Youth, the Institute for Social Research in Zagreb, the Agency for Mobility and EU Programmes, the Croatian Youth Network, the Society “Our Children” and the Association of Croatian Cities. Based on the analysis of nine existing youth-friendly city models, the working group created the Croatian certification model and defined a total of eight thematic areas in which cities can improve their work with young people, namely:
The Agency for Mobility and EU Programmes recognized the natural synergy and connection of the certificate with Europe Goes Local project, which gave the “City for Youth” certificate a European dimension.
Adoption of the European Charter on Local Youth Work as part of Europe Goes Local project is one of the preconditions for obtaining the certification. So far, 70 Croatian cities signed the Charter. The mayors were acquainted with the EGL and Charter’s principles. By signing it, they acknowledge the Charter’s principles as a ground basis for quality-oriented local youth work. The call for the certificate ‘City for Youth’ is open until 8th of March 2021, and all the cities that receive it will be announced in April.
European Charter on Local Youth Work is a tool for quality development of youth work. It was created by the input and insights from the youth sector in the EU and Europe Goes Local network project published it in 2019. You can download a copy of the Charter in your language at https://www.europegoeslocal.eu/charter/.