Youth in Action

Youth in Action is the EU Programme for young people aged 15-28 (in some cases 13-30). It aims to inspire a sense of active citizenship, solidarity and tolerance among young Europeans and to involve them in shaping the Union's future.

Youth in Action is a programme for all! It promotes mobility within and beyond the EU 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 in figures

Duration: 2007-2013

Budget: 885 million euros for seven years

Geographic reach: EU Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Turkey, the EU neighbours (Eastern Europe and Caucasus, the Mediterranean region, South-East Europe) and other partner countries in the world

Age brackets: 15-28 (in some cases 13-30)

Programme Actions:


The Youth in Action Programme aims to achieve the following general objectives:

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•     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.

To this end, the Programme is structured around 5 Actions:

Action 1 - Youth for Europe

Encourages young people's active citizenship, participation and creativity through youth exchanges, youth initiatives and youth democracy projects.

Action 2 - European Voluntary Service

Helps young people to develop their sense of solidarity by participating, either individually or in group, in non-profit, unpaid voluntary activities abroad.

Action 3 - Youth in the World

Promotes partnerships and exchanges among young people and youth organisations across the world.

Action 4 - Youth Support Systems

Includes various measures to support youth workers and youth organisations and improve the quality of their activities.

Action 5 - Support for European Co-operation in the Youth field

Supports youth policy co-operation at European level, in particular by facilitating dialogue between young people and policy makers.