Caritas Europa has recently joined COMECE’s Youth Platform – a forum for European Catholic youth organisations to strengthen their involvement in the Church’s dialogue with the EU. The creation of this platform was an answer to Pope Francis’ call to make more room for the voices of young people and to reports from European youth organisations of a lack of coordination and resources at the EU level.

Caritas Europa is representing Young Caritas – a movement among our European network created to enhance youth engagement and give young volunteers more visibility.  Indeed, as young people bring more hands and energy to the national and diocesan Caritas, so grows the need of channels for them to bring ideas and initiatives into charity and policy work.

By joining a part of COMECE’s Youth Platform, Caritas Europa aims to promote Young Caritas at the European level among other Catholic organisations and to contribute to the dialogue with the EU institutions on youth programmes and opportunities.

The objectives of the Youth Platform are to:

– promote the involvement of young people, especially Catholic youth movements, in the dialogue with the EU institutions on youth and other related policies;

– strengthen COMECE advocacy work on EU youth policy by allowing Catholic youth organisations to bring in their expertise and practical insights;

– improve the coordination and visibility of Catholic youth organisations at an EU level.

Members of the Platform meet once a year and are in constant communication. Among them, you can find the representatives of the following organisations: FIMCAP Europe, ICYCW-CIJOC, IYCW-JOCI, JECI-MIEĆ, MIJARC, Kolping Youth Europe, Don Bosco Youth-Net and Don Bosco International.