COUNTRY SHEET ON YOUTH POLICY IN FLANDERS (BELGIUM) Last updated: December 2013 By: Lieve Caluwaerts - 0 -
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Context and principles of national youth policy 2 1.1 Context of national youth policy 2 1.2. Principles of national youth policy 2 2. Statistics on young people 4 3. Actors and Structures 5 3.1 Public authorities 5 3.1.1 National public authorities 5 3.1.2 Regional public authorities with competencies in the youth field 7 3.1.3 Local public authorities with competencies in the youth field 7 3.2 Youth welfare services (comprising public and/or non public actors) 8 3.3 Non-public actors/structures & youth services with competencies in the youth field 9 3.3.1 Youth Councils 9 3.3.2 Youth NGOs 11 3.4 National network(s) for knowledge on youth linking all actors in the field (policy makers, researchers, young people and their organisations, NGOs)? 12 4. Legislation 13 5. National Policy Programmes on youth 15 6. Budget / Public expenditure allocated to youth 17 7. European Dimension of youth policy 18 7.1 Council of Europe 18 7.2 European Union 18 7.2.1 Implementation of the Youth in Action programme 18 7.2.2 Follow up of the EU Youth Strategy (2010 2018) on the national level 18 8. Further sources of information on youth policy in Flanders (Belgium) 19-1 -
1. Context and principles of national youth policy 1.1 Context of national youth policy 1.2. Principles of national youth policy Youth policy and related government measures are based on a planned, comprehensive and integrated vision of youth. The various elements in this definition are significant. Youth policy refers to an interrelated body of elements set in a time perspective. It covers elements from every sphere of life deemed important for young people, in a coherent way. Youth policy is embedded in a model of society which expresses the desirable situation for young people (as individuals and in terms of their group development), how they are expected to grow up and develop and the place they have in society. Youth policy is implemented through explicit measures: the specific actions undertaken by the government focusing on a particular category of the population: youth. For the Flemish Community, this means approximately the age group between 0 and 30 years old, although different definitions are used in specific contexts. Youth policy is based on the assumption that it is possible to implement a group policy. This is not self-evident, because the government applies a sectorial approach in most other domains. A group policy is a different way of implementing policy: instead of focussing on one sector, the starting point is young people s lives across the board, their needs and requirements. That is why youth policy permeates almost every other policy sector. A group-oriented implementation of policy creates a number of policy cross roads, where it encounters sectorial policies. Youth policy is based on an interactive, participatory style of government and a comprehensive or inclusive approach to policy. This makes youth policy a special and supplementary policy. It provides many opportunities for a more democratic and democratising policy implementation In the frame of a programme for Better Administrative Policy, the Flemish public administration has been subjected to a reform in 2006. This programme was designed to make the public administration more efficient, to make Flanders a place where people enjoy working and living. The tasks of the Flemish public administration are now organised on the basis of 13 policy areas. Each policy area is supported by a civil service department and a number of - 2 -
autonomous agencies. The departments support and advice the Government on policymaking, whereas the agencies apply the policy through services to citizens, companies and organisations. These agencies operate with a big degree of autonomy depending on their terms of reference. One of these policy areas is Culture, Youth, Sports and Media. A Flemish ministry was created for each of these policy units, one of them being the Flemish Ministry for Culture, Youth, Sports and Media, which has a department and several agencies within its remit. The agencies are assigned a clearly defined mandate and have substantial autonomy in putting it into practice. The Agency for Socio-Cultural Work for Youth and Adults is part of the Culture, Youth, Sports and Media policy unit. The Agency for Socio-Cultural Work for Youth and Adults consists of a Youth Division and a Division for Adult Education and Local Cultural Policy. Together, these two divisions promote a rich and diverse offer of non-commercial sociocultural activities to improve their general development and to improve social and cultural participation of all citizens, regardless their age. 2. Statistics on young people In January 2013, there were 6.381.859 inhabitants in Flanders (Flemish Region), of which 49.39% were male and 50.61% female, populating a surface area of 13.522 km². The Flemish youth population (under 30 years of age) amounted to 2.141.412 persons: 0-4 350.262 5-9 328.887 10-14 340.089 15-19 364.844 20-24 373.127 25-29 384.203 In this group of 0 to 30 year olds, we count 50,87% male youngsters and 49,13% female youngsters. - 3 -
It should be noted that the Flemish Government is also competent on policy matters that concern the Dutch-speaking population of Brussels (Brussels-Capital Region). The Dutchspeaking young people who live in Brussels are however not represented in the above statistics. Source: http://statbel.fgov.be/nl/modules/publications/statistiques/bevolking/bevolking_- _cijfers_bevolking_2010_-_2012.jsp 3. Actors and Structures 3.1 Public authorities 3.1.1 National public authorities: Ministry in charge of youth Since 2004, the Flemish Government has allocated the competences coordination of the children rights policy and youth to the same Minister. It involves a coordinating role. Minister Pascal Smet, Flemish Minister for Education, Youth, Equal Opportunities and Brussels Website: http://www.vlaanderen.be/regering Duration of mandate 5 years: from 2009 until 2014 Youth Department in the Ministry Main tasks of the Youth department: The Division for Youth of the Agency for Socio-Cultural Work for Youth and Adults ensures the administrative follow-up of the Flemish policy on youth and children s rights. Furthermore, the Division implements youth policy as a socio-cultural matter. It stimulates and supports a - 4 -
rich and varied offer of non-commercial socio-cultural activities for young people, mainly through subsidies to organisations and local authorities. In short, the tasks of the Division for Youth are as follows: - Preparation, follow-up, evaluation and implementation of legislation (e.g. the Flemish Youth Policy Plan) - Funding support structures, youth organisations, youth projects, youth hostels and accommodation centres, as well as municipal and provincial youth (work) policy - Providing material support for youth work: e.g. the lending service for camping equipment for youth associations - Providing information on youth (work) policy (e.g. via the website and an e-zine) - Representing Flanders at international forums. On the one hand, the Division for Youth is involved in bilateral cooperation projects that Flanders established with other countries or regions in the context of cultural or partnership agreements. This cooperation mainly consists of exchange programmes. On the other hand, the Division for Youth participates in multilateral forums, which have a youth agenda, such as the Benelux, the European Union, the Council of Europe and the United Nations. Website: www.sociaalcultureel.be - Number of people who work in this ministry in the youth department 34 staff members on 01/12/2013 - Director responsible for Youth in the Ministry Johan Van Gaens, head of division Johan.vangaens@cjsm.vlaanderen.be - Contact persons in the youth department competent for European youth policy Lieve Caluwaerts, unit youth policy Lieve.caluwaerts@cjsm.vlaanderen.be Jan Vanhee, unit youth policy Jan.vanhee@cjsm.vlaanderen.be Other national public bodies who are directly involved in youth policies Other Ministries - 5 -
The senior official in all the departments and in the internal and external independent agencies of the Flemish Authority who were designated for this purpose by the Flemish Government shall appoint an official as the point of contact as regards policy on the rights of youth and children. The role of these points of contact for the said policy is as follows: 1º to contribute to the creation of future Flemish youth policy plans; 2º to provide monitoring and reporting on the implementation of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Flemish youth policy plan; 3º to estimate the impact on children and young people and their rights of the policy prepared or implemented by their department or agency. Offices Parliament commission in charge of youth issues: Commission for Culture, Youth, Sport and Media Chairman: Philippe De Coene, sp.a, (socialist party) In the area of Youth, the Commission is responsible for: o youth policy and film classification; o continuous education and cultural development; o leisure activities, with the exception of tourism; o coordination of children s rights policy. An overview of past activities can be found in the annual reports and the report on the Flemish Parliament's term of office. Website: http://www.vlaamsparlement.be/proteus5/showcommissies.action 3.1.2 Regional public authorities with competencies in the youth field Belgium: a federal state Belgium is a federal state, consisting of 3 Communities (the Flemish Community, the French Community and the German-Speaking Community) and 3 Regions (the Flemish Region, the - 6 -
Walloon Region and the Brussels Capital Region). There is no hierarchy between the federal, the Community and the Regional levels. This division into three Communities and three Regions is a unique characteristic of Belgian federalism. Both types of entities have their own exclusive competences. Their territories overlap geographically, since in fact they correspond to different combinations of Belgium's four linguistic areas (the Dutch language area, the French language area, the German language area and the French-Dutch bilingual area). Each entity has its specific area of responsibility. The federal level has the competence on important policy fields such as justice, social security, employment and tax legislation. The responsibilities of the Region are linked to its territory and include environment, agriculture, urban planning, housing, The competences of the Communities are person-related matters such as Education, Health care, Culture, Youth, Three Ministers for Youth The federal Belgian level of government only has limited competence in youth matters (e.g. some aspects of judicial youth protection), but there is no youth policy at the Belgian level. The Communities are competent for youth and youth policy, so it is on this level that most explicit youth policy instruments can be found. The Communities have a minister responsible for Youth, a parliamentary commission and a number of administrative departments with youth in their title and a large number of specific youth-related budget items. Given the fact that every Community has its own Minister for Youth, this means Belgium has three. The three Communities, and thus also the Flemish Community, are represented in the different international forums with a youth agenda. 3.1.3 Local public authorities with competencies in the youth field 5 provinces and 308 local authorities fall within the administrative supervision of the Flemish Region. - 7 -
Since the coming into force of the Flemish Parliament Act on local and provincial youth (work) policy in 1993, steps were taken towards a decentralised and complementary youth policy. Most local authorities have nowadays youth services or at least one officer who is responsible for youth matters. A new Parliament Act on the support and stimulation of the municipal youth policy and the determination of provincial youth policy of 6 July 2012 came partially into force in October 2012 and repleces the former Parliament Act of 2003 in its entirety by the end of 2013. The most notable future change is the integration of the former youth policy plans in an allencompassing and long-term municipal policy plan for the entire legislation (in accordance with a new Parliament Act on the alleviation of regulations concerning local policy planning and reporting). The Flemish Government has already (in October 2013) determined policy priorities for different policy domains. Concerning youth policy the funding of municipalities for the coming years depend upon their investment in three areas: 1) support of youth work in its broad sense, 2) a youth work policy aimed at young people in socially vulnerable situations and 3) youth culture. Lastly, the provincial governments will no longer grant 'provincial' funds to youth organisations that are already supported by the Flemish Government. In accordance with a general political choice on the management of government, provincial youth policy too, is being confined within limits. 3.2 Youth welfare services (comprising public and/or non public actors) Within the Ministry of Welfare, Public Health and Family, the Youth Welfare Agency is responsible for social services for young people. The Agency's mission is defined as follows: "Together with our partners we organise quality prevention and assistance to children and young people in problematic living conditions in order to maximize their chances of personal development." Youth Welfare ensures the coordination of partnerships and networks focusing on education support and, in this way, enhances the development of a provision that prevents problematic living conditions." - 8 -
- The above-mentioned mission contains the following seven key tasks of the Youth Welfare Agency: o Conducting a prevention policy to avoid that minors end up in problematic living conditions; o Developing and promoting private provision of services; o Implementing a policy on Integrated Youth Assistance; o Organising and coordinating route counselling; o Organising and managing Community institutions; o Managing the Youth Welfare Fund; o Organising the Youth Welfare Agency http://www.wvg.vlaanderen.be/welzijnengezondheid/index.htm http://www.wvg.vlaanderen.be/jongerenwelzijn/index.htm 3.3 Non-public actors/structures & youth services with competencies in the youth field 3.3.1 Youth Councils Flemish Youth Council The Flemish Parliament Act of 20 January 2012 on Flemish Youth Policy sets out a legislative framework for the Vlaamse Jeugdraad. The aim of this Youth Council shall be to give advice on all youth-related issues, at its own discretion or at the request of the Government of Flanders or the Flemish Parliament, and to represent youth. The Government of Flanders shall request advice on draft Flemish Parliament Acts and regulatory draft Flemish Government Decrees implementing the Flemish Youth Policy Plan. The advisory opinions shall as a rule be given within a period of thirty days following the date of receipt of the request for advice. In case of an emergency, which is substantiated with reasons, the Government of Flanders or the Flemish Parliament can reduce this period, but it shall still be at least ten working days. If this period expires without any advice having been issued, the body requesting the advice shall no longer have to wait. The Youth Council shall approve the advisory opinions with a two-third majority of the attendees. The meeting at which the advisory opinions are voted shall be attended by at - 9 -
least half of the members. If this quorum is not reached, the Youth Council shall decide on the postponed items during the next meeting, irrespective of the number of attendees. The advisory opinions shall also reflect the views of the minority, if so requested by several members. The advisory opinions shall not be binding. The Government of Flanders shall explain its decision on the advisory opinions relating to its competences to the Youth Council. The Youth Council shall be composed of at least 16 and at most 24 members, at least one third of whom shall be younger than 25 at the start of the mandate. Maximum two thirds of the members shall be of the same gender The Youth Council shall be elected every three years. To this end a public call for applications is organised. At least 50 and at most 60 percent of the members shall be elected from the candidates who have been nominated by youth associations. Moreover, the Youth Council may co-opt members. The Youth Council is supported by the Ambrassade, an association recognised and granted by the Flemish Government and also responsible for development, support and provison of information to the youth sector. Website: www.vlaamsejeugdraad.be / www.ambrassade.be Local youth councils In the Flemish Parliament Act of 6 July 2012 on supporting and promoting local youth policy and youth work policy it is stated that a local youth council should be established and recognised in order to be eligible for subsidisation and in view of the organisation of the consultation and the participation of children and young people in the preparation and implementation of youth policy. - 10 -
3.3.2 Youth NGOs Youth organisations play an important role in the implementation of Flanders youth policy. Dozens of accredited youth organisations are active at Flemish level dedicated to youth work and young people in many different ways in a leisure time setting. Youth organisations or youth associations usually receive funding based on specific funding regulations or grant schemes. The legislator has assigned some specific tasks to the following organisations: JINT (coordinating body for international youth work) was established to implement the European Youth programmes within the Flemish Community, to promote international exchange and co-operation of, for and by youth and to foster the reflection on youth, youth work an youth and children s rights policy by all actors involved on the basis of international exchange and cooperation. www.jint.be. De Ambrassade (Youth Support structure) carries out following tasks: practice development, practice support and the provision of information to and about the youth sector, the provision of support to the Youth Council referred to in Article 7, the provision of information to children and young people www.ambrassade.be. VVJ (Association for Local Youth Services and Youth Coordinators) is an organisation, whose members are local authorities from the Dutch language area of Belgium and the bilingual Brussels Capital Region, the Flemish provincial authorities as well as the Flemish Community Commission in Brussels. Most of the municipal authorities are members of this support organisation. The association is granted in view of practice development, practice support and the provision of information to and about municipal and provincial youth policy. www.vvj.be. Knowledge Centre on Children's Rights aims to increase knowledge of children's rights at national and international level. The Knowledge Centre on Children's Rights takes an interdisciplinary approach to children's rights based on scientific research: www.keki.be. - 11 -
The children s Right Coalition is an umbrella organisation of non-governmental organisations for the preparation, editing and distribution of a report on the way in which Flanders puts children's rights into practice. ADJ (General Service for Youth Tourism) manages two youth facilities of the Division for Youth. It develops a policy paper to obtain an annual operating grant from the Division. The centres in question are: o Training Centre Destelheide in Dworp focuses on management training initiatives for accredited youth associations and for consultation relating to young people and youth work: www.destelheide.be. o Youth Centre Hoge Rielen in Lichtaart hosts young people and associations for camping and bivouac activities and educational initiatives. It is also suitable for nature classes, reflection or training sessions and seminars: www.hogerielen.be. Other non-profit organisations In addition, the Flemish authorities accredit and fund some 90 nationally organised youth organisations and organisations dealing with youth information, participation and associations for cultural education. An overview can be found on the following website: www.jeugdbeleid.be 3.4 National network(s) for knowledge on youth linking all actors in the field (policy makers, researchers, young people and their organisations, NGOs)? Before 2003 systematic and coordinated efforts were made in youth research in Flanders, thus showing overlaps and gaps in this broad area. Policy makers as well as practitioners and researchers experienced this as an obstacle. In order to overcome these obstacles, the Youth Research Platform (JOP) was created in Spring 2003 at the initiative of the Flemish Minister for Home Affairs, Culture, Youth and the Civil Service. The JOP has performed policy-oriented research activities since then. JOP is an interdisciplinary and interuniversity partnership of three research groups: Research group Tempus Omnia Revelat (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) Department of Social Welfare Studies (Ghent University) - 12 -
Youth Criminology research group (LINC, KU Leuven) The goals of JOP are located on two main directions. The first direction aims at the building and expansion of knowledge through existing youth research in both a national and international context, in which the themes diversity and social inequality receive specific attention. The second direction includes the continuation of a description of youth by periodically gathering empirical data through the Youth Monitor (JOP-monitor). Both 'lines of activity' are to be consolidated and validated in an international context. Website: www.jeugdonderzoeksplatform.be Furthermore, the Parliament Act of 2012 on Flemish youth and children s rights policy also recognises a Knowledge Centre for Children's Rights (cfr supra). The main objective of this Knowledge Centre is to increase the (scientific) knowledge on children's rights on the national and international level. Website: www.keki.be Representatives of both JOP and KeKi participate in the Research Network on children and young people in Flanders. This assembly was set up in 2011 by the division Youth of the ministry. It consists of youth policymakers and representatives of all relevant organisations that are involved in research on children, youth and children's rights. 4. Legislation National legislation on youth Regional and local legislation on youth As from 1 January 2013 the Flemish Parliament Act of on 11 January 2012 on conducting a renewed policy on youth and children s rights has come into force. This Parliament Act serves different purposes (cfr also supra): - describing instruments for a youth an children s rights policy - legal basis for a Flemish Youth Council - recognising Flemish institution involved with youth and children s rights policy - operational grants allocated to organisations - 13 -
o nationally organised youth associations o associations for cultural education o associations for information and participation o political youth associations - project grants o annual project grants for the different youth associtions and experimental youth work initiatives o project grants based on a call concerning the development/realisation of Flemish youth policy by the Flemish Government In order to be subsidised, different criteria are into place regarding the kind of organisation mentioned in the legislation. Structural funding is based on a policy memorandum of the association for a period of 4 years and examined by the administration at the one hand and a committee of experts at the other. As was mentioned earlier in this text, the Parliament Ac of 6 July 2012 on the support and stimulation of the municipal youth policy and the determination of provincial youth policy came into place. An all-encompassing municipal policy plan (term = 6 year) will replace the former youth policy plan and other domain-specific plans and the competences of provincial government are confined within certain limits. The Flemish Parliament Act of 6 July 2013 on the subsidisation of hostels, youth accommodation centres, support structure and the ngo Algemene Dienst voor Jeugdtourisme (General Service for Youth Tourism), determines the funding conditions for hostels and youth residences and their activities. Website: www.sociaalcultureel.be 5. National Policy Programmes on youth The Flemish Youth and Children s Rights Policy Plan The key instrument of the Flemish Government in the implementation of its youth policy is the Flemish Youth and Children Rights Policy Plan. It presents, for the next policy period and - 14 -
within an overall vision on youth and the youth and children's rights policy, the priority objectives of the Government of Flanders and define the performance indicators. In the Flemish Youth and Children's Rights Policy Plan the Government of Flanders shall also describe how it puts into practice the concluding observations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child that were formulated following the report that was submitted by Belgium in accordance with Article 44 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as the other international policy frameworks regarding children's rights. The Government of Flanders shall present a Flemish Youth and Children's Rights Plan to the Flemish Parliament no later than one year after the start of each term of office. When doing so, the Government of Flanders shall take into account the needs and abilities of children and young people and the youth sector and shall involve at least the following actors: 1 the youth sector, 2 other non-profit organisations, for or by children and young people, who have relevance for the Flemish Community due to their scale, purpose or content, 3 youth experts, 4 representatives from local and provincial authorities and the Flemish Community Commission. The Government of Flanders shall deliver to the Flemish Parliament and the Children's Rights Commissioner an interim report on the implementation of the Flemish Youth and Children's Rights Policy Plan after the second year of implementation, as well as a final report in the last year of implementation. Policy Plan 2011-2014 For the period 2011-2014, this strategic youth policy plan formulated the desired social effects deemed crucial for children and young people within the policy period. The following four objectives have been established for the period 2011-2014: - Creating equal opportunities for all children and young people. Incentives must be given for interculturalism and there should be permanent attention to exclusion and deprivation. - Increasing opportunities for young people to develop their talents and competences. - 15 -
- Providing space to children and young people to be young. Space in this context refers to three dimensions: policy space (attention by authorities for youth), mental space (respect for young people s personality and culture) and physical space (literally the space to be young together). Young people are part of the public space where they play, hang out, live and move around, but they also need mental space to be creative, take risks and cherish positive feelings. - Empowering young people to participate as full members of society. Giving them the opportunity to help shape society, whether it is in school, at work, in their area, in organisations, in municipalities This implies they should be well informed about possibilities. The International Convention on the Rights of the Child serves as an ethical framework for this youth policy plan. An inventory was made of the big challenges that young people are facing nowadays, based on an analysis of the life circumstances of children and young people. They could be clustered around eight topics: - organisations and voluntary activities - health, identity, sexuality and well-being - education and training - employment and entrepreneurship - creativity, culture and media - space for young people and care for the world - participation and information - social inclusion and diversity These fields of action bare lots of resemblance to the renewed framework for European cooperation in the youth field for 2010-2018. Not a surprise if you know that this European framework was used as a basis for the Flemish analysis. The Flemish Action Plan for Children s Rights 2011-2014 complements the youth policy plan and explicitly implements the international obligations of Flanders with regards to children s rights. Its main objective is to reinforce Flemish policy on children's rights. The areas for action are: coordination and monitoring, practice-based children's rights education and - 16 -
information, children's participation, diminishing violence against children, child poverty reduction, equal opportunities and minors' health and wellbeing. Other instruments created in order to implement the Flemish policy on youth and children s rights: - Impact report of new legislation on children and youth: any draft Act submitted to the Flemish Parliament has to be accompanied by a report regarding its impact on children and youth, whenever the proposal directly affects people under the age of 25. - Contact points for youth and children s rights and an increased coordination: all Departments and Agencies of the Flemish Authorities should appoint one member of staff to be the contact point for the policy on youth and children s rights. They will be asked to contribute to future Flemish Youth Policy Plans. They will also be involved in the monitoring and reporting on the implementation of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Flemish Youth Policy Plan. They will be responsible to estimate the impact of the policy prepared or implemented by their department or agency on children and young people and their rights. - A Youth Progress Report to monitor the situation of youth: this is a scientific report concerning youth developments in Flanders. The report will appear at least every five years. 6. Budget / Public expenditure allocated to youth National level In 2013, the Division for Youth had a budget of 71,085,000 euro to achieve its objectives. Most of the money was allocated to the Act on local and provincial youth policy (21,630,000 euro) and the Act on the Flemish policy on youth and children s rights (31,971,00 euro). Regional level Local and regional level have their own budget, next to the subventions of the Flemish Government. - 17 -
7. European Dimension of youth policy 7.1 Council of Europe. The Flemish Government gives a yearly contribution to the European Youth Foundation. The representative of the Flemish government is active in different expert groups. The Flemish Government supports 'Perspectives on youth: European Partnership Series'. This series aims to function as an information, discussion, reflection and dialogue forum on European developments in the field of youth policy, youth research and youth work. 7.2 European Union. 7.2.1 Implementation of the Erasmus+ programme, Youth in Action. Jint vzw o o o o is responsible for coordinating the YOUTH programme in Flanders. It is in charge of information and promotion, training, funding and assessment. Jint vzw also runs SALTO Inclusion, one of the centres of expertise enjoying support from the European YOUTH Programme. Is responsible for updating the information on Eurodesk Website: www.jint.be 7.2.2 Follow up of the EU Youth Strategy (2010 2018) on the national level The Flemish Youth Policy Plan has a European perspective (cfr 5). It was closely connected to the endeavours of the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council and to the European Youth Strategy 2010-2018. After extensive consultations with young people and a series of youth policy stakeholders in the EU member states, eight priority themes were put forward. The goals of the Youth Policy Plan correspond to these eight European themes. The Flemish Government will use its international cultural cooperation agreements to collect expertise and exchange approaches on these topics. The national report (in view of the progress reporting of the European Youth Report) was made in cooperation with the Flemish Youth Council, the National Agency JINT and youth researchers. - 18 -
8. Further sources of information on youth policy in Flanders C'est plus compliqué que ça. A review of youth policy in Belgium by the international team of the council of Europe. www.sociaalcultureel.be/jeugd/internationalesamenwerking _doc/coe_policy-reviewen.pdf National youth report of the Flemish Community of Belgium: First cooperation cycle of the EU youth strategy 2010-2012. http://ec.europa.eu/youth/documents/national_youth_reports_ 2012/belgium flemish_community.pdf - 19 -