World Cafe on Youth Unemployment

RE:ACTIVISM – July 1st to 8th –Petrosani – ROMANIA
The post is the outcome of the world café activity implemented within the 4th day of activities in the youth exchange RE:ACTIVISM – Action 1.1 – Youth in Action implemented by the Students’ League from Petrosani and involving 30 youngsters from Portugal, Poland, Greece, Italy, Bulgaria and Romania. For this session, the youngsters had been tackling the solving mechanisms of youth unemployment, in 3 groups, each 15 minutes the youngsters changing the working station: What to be done? Who should do it? When to be done? The outcomes of the activity had been the following:
What to be done?
- Voice out loud the problem – active youth participation
- Unpaid internships – then the employers would see the efforts and the youth will have better chances to get jobs
- Syndicated – youth led – representing the youth rights and combating youth unemployment
- The current economic model is not enough, thus there’s need for change – state intervention on the labor market but also on education – based on a demands for jobs – adapting the educational system to the requirements of the labor market nowadays there is the lack of forecasting the needs of the labor markets and the educational systems are producing specialists for fields that don’t need those specialists
- Tax reductions for the companies hiring young people – encouraging the business to hire young people
- Internet based administration
- For the young entrepreneurs’ ideas – facilitating the establishments of their initiatives – easier procedures, lower taxes, financial support from the state banks
- Mandatory internships for all youngsters – both in the business and also in the administration
- Support groups – can be NGOs as well – where youngsters are sharing experiences – can be also online platforms.

Who can change?
- Youngsters – directly – motivation, empowerment
- Family, friends – through their support and also offering them support
- Local community – can help the youngsters through offering them participation schemes – developing themselves them personally and professionally
- Politicians – at all the levels – from the local to European – creating opportunities for youngsters
- NGOs and support groups – organizing activities, seminaries for youngsters
- Mass-media – through promoting access opportunities for youngsters
When to change?
- Now! – pressing the governments to vote laws in the directions to solve the problems
- Even if the situation can’t be changed at once, taking the proposed measures, in 2 to 5 years the situation would definitely be better!