Council of Europe introduces quality label for youth centers

The Council of Europe has published a guide for youth centers seeking the Council's seal of approval. The Council of Europe Quality Label for Youth Centres can help existing youth centers determine whether their existing policies and programs support the values, standards and objectives of the CoE, and can provide guidance for improvement in these areas if necessary.

Indicators of quality contained in the guide include:

The centre promotes the priorities of the Council of Europe's youth sector by actively addressing human rights education, intercultural learning, youth participation, active democratic citizenship and social inclusion of young people in its activities, working practices and infrastructure.

And:

The centre is an ally for youth civil society in advocating for decision makers and power holders to take young people's points of view and concerns into account when making and implementing policies.

This publication should be useful for youth service providers and others supporting youth participation even outside of Europe.