What Is the 11th European Youth Goal? What Does It Mean for Young People with Visual Impairments?
When you think of being young in Europe, does traveling come to mind? Actually, there’s so much more to it than that! The European Union has developed a comprehensive roadmap to amplify young people’s voices, address the challenges they face, and offer them a more equitable future. Here’s what this roadmap is called: the European Youth Goals.
These 11 goals, developed through the EU Youth Dialogue process by gathering input from thousands of young people, are not merely general principles; they also serve as a comprehensive guide to advocating for rights for young people with visual impairments like us who want to bring about change at the local level.
So, what are these goals, and how do they impact our lives? Instead of examining them all one by one, let’s focus on the most critical goals that directly concern the civic participation and “strides forward” of young people with visual impairments!
1. Goal 3: Inclusive Societies
This goal aims to ensure that all young people can participate equally in social life. In other words, it means that no matter what their disability may be, they will not be excluded from social and civic life.
“We must ensure that the program includes all young people in society, that young people have easy access to information, and that they can shape their own futures by engaging in constructive dialogue with decision-makers.”
— European Youth Goals, Goal 3
What Does It Mean to Us?
The absence of yellow guide lines when entering a public building, or a municipality’s website not being compatible with your screen reader (NVDA/JAWS), is completely at odds with this goal. The goal of an inclusive society establishes making the physical and digital environments “accessible” to us as a legal right.
2. Goal 4: Information and Constructive Dialogue
It aims to enable young people to access accurate, unbiased, and understandable information, while also allowing them to make their voices heard directly by decision-makers (municipalities, ministries, and government agencies).
“To enable young people to defend their rights and actively participate in democratic processes, their access to information must be facilitated, and constructive bridges must be built between them and decision-makers.”
— European Youth Goals, Goal 4
What Does It Mean to Us?
As a young person with a visual impairment, knowing the proper procedures for official correspondence and being able to write accurate and effective petitions to government agencies is exactly what it takes to achieve this goal. Accessing information and turning that information into a tool for advocacy—and using it to sit down at the negotiating table with public institutions—is our greatest strength!
3. Goal 9: Space and Participation for All
It advocates for young people to have spaces where they can express themselves and develop their own projects in civil society, culture, and politics.
What Does It Mean to Us?
Coming together under the umbrella of civil society organizations such as the “Community of Young People with Visual Impairments” and developing ESC30 Solidarity Projects is the very embodiment of this goal. The EU is opening these avenues to us fully so that we can find solutions to our own problems through projects we develop ourselves.
These Goals Are Our Legal Basis!
The European Youth Goals are not just flowery phrases on paper. They are the driving force behind the accessibility audits we conduct at the local level, the official petitions we submit to public institutions, and our rights-based advocacy efforts.
Remember: Obstacles may be found on the streets or on websites, but no obstacle can stand in the way of young people who know their rights and stand up for them! Learning about these goals is the most powerful step we can take to become the architects of our future.
REFERENCES:
- European Youth Portal (2018). Official Guide to the European Youth Goals. Annex to the EU Youth Strategy (2019–2027) . Available at: youth.europa.eu
- European Commission (2018). European Union Youth Strategy: Engaging, Connecting, and Empowering Young People. Brussels . Available at: eur-lex.europa.eu
- Turkish National Agency. European Solidarity Corps (ESC) and Youth Participation Indicators. Ankara. Available at: ua.gov.tr