Youth in Action Programme

Youth in Action is the Programme the European Union has set up for young people. It aims to inspire a sense of active European citizenship, solidarity and tolerance among young Europeans and to involve them in shaping the Union's future. It promotes mobility within and beyond the EU's borders, non-formal learning and intercultural dialogue, and encourages the inclusion of all young people, regardless of their educational, social and cultural background: Youth in Action is a Programme for all.

The Youth In Action programme is the EU’s mobility and non-formal education. Its general objectives are:

• Promote young people’s active citizenship in general and their European citizenship in particular;
• Develop solidarity and promote tolerance among young people, in particular in order to foster social cohesion in the European Union;
• Foster mutual understanding between young people in different countries;
• Contribute to developing the quality of support systems for youth activities and the capabilities of civil society organisations in the youth field;
• Promote European cooperation in the youth field.

In order to achieve its objectives, the Youth in Action Programme foresees five operational Actions:

Action 1 - Youth for Europe

Action 2 - European Voluntary Service

Action 3 - Youth in the World

Action 4 - Youth Support Systems

Action 5 - Support for European cooperation in the youth field

DG Education and Culture is responsible for the running of the Youth in Action Programme. It manages the budget and sets priorities, targets and criteria for the Programme on an ongoing basis. Furthermore, it guides and monitors the general implementation, follow-up and evaluation of the Programme at European level. The Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) is responsible notably for the implementation of the permanent and centralised actions of the Youth in Action Programme and for launching the specific calls for proposals. It is in charge of the complete life cycle of selected projects, from analysing the grant request to monitoring projects on the spot.

The National Agencies are responsible for the implementation of the permanent and decentralised actions of the Youth in Action Programme.

Source: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/youth/programme/about_youth_en.php