Following the successful set up of the National Policy and Practice Networks (NPPNs) by the PROMISE partners in their respective countries, the first European Policy Network (EPN) has now also been established.  The EPN meeting,  organised by PROMISE partner YES Forum, took place in Brussels on the 4th July 2017. Three members of the PROMISE team Dr. Eckart Mueller-Bachman (CJD Germany), Dr. Zyab Ibañez  (Universitat Autònoma Barcelona), and Annett Wiedermann (YES Forum, Germany) -pictured here-, presented the project work and early progress to key European stakeholders, including representatives from the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the European Youth Forum.

The Speakers discussed the aims of the PROMISE project, specifically how PROMISE will investigate how young people find themselves ‘in conflict’ with different parts of society, and how positive social change can come out of this conflict. The team also discussed the methods being used by the project and the difficulties that can be encountered when encouraging young people to participate and engage with research.

The meeting was highly successful and generated some thoughtful questions to PROMISE:

  • Young people’s involvement: PROMISE is not only aimed at involving young people, but also wants to give them ownership of the project by engaging them in the research and the dissemination activities. How are project partners going to do so concretely? How are young people going to choose what to do with the project results? What activities will project partners organise to engage them specifically?
  • Society’s stance towards social change proposed by conflicted youth: PROMISE focuses on how young people in conflict can present opportunities for positive social change. But what about European societies: how open are they to such change?
  • Statistical data on youth: PROMISE could update some of its statistical analyses thanks to more recent data provided at the European level (e.g. Eurostat’s EuroBarometer, the EC’s Youth Report).
  • Target group’s age range: The age range chosen to define youth within the PROMISE project (14-29 years old) may be too wide to take into account the specifics of children’s rights.
  • Transfer to policy: The language used within PROMISE at this point is very academic, a more accessible and focused language could help transferring the results to policy and practice.

EPN Members:

The PROMISE team are grateful for all of the valuable feedback and contributions from the EPN members who were in attendance:

Una Clarke (European Youth Forum)

Yasmin Gebhard (European Parliament, EYE Unit)

Margaret Tuite (European Commission, DG JUSTICE)

Florencia Van-Houdt (European Commission, DG EAC)

Tania Marocchi (European Policy Center)

Sara Lembrechts and Marion Jabot (KeKi – Children’s Rights Knowledge Centre), Chloé Berthélémy (JEF Europe Amana Ferro European Anti-Poverty Network)

Next Steps:

In response to the question of encouraging young people’s involvement, the YES Forum has already committed itself to compiling a short ‘How to engage with young people’ guide for to help increase involvement and ensure that future PROMISE events develop their inclusivity.

For more information about the EPPN event, please see the summary report, visit the YES Forum Facebook page, and see our Instagram page for photos from the event. All PROMISE news can be found on our newsfeed and on our  Twitter feed.