ENOC's annual theme for 2021 is “COVID-19: learning for the future”, and will assess the impact of states’ responses to COVID-19 on children’s rights in Europe. As part of the ENYA (European Network of Young Advisors) child participation project, children and young people from across Europe have been working on the same issue to formulate recommendations that will be incorporated in the ENOC statement.

In this framework, ENOC organised on 1-2 July 2021 an ENYA Forum held online.

Young people from 17 countries/regions (Albania, Andalusia/Spain, Basque country/Spain, Bulgaria, Catalonia/Spain, France, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Malta, Montenegro, Norway, Northern Ireland/UK, Slovakia, Scotland/UK, Wales/UK, Ukraine) participated in the project. Between February and June 2021, ENYA country teams have conducted several meetings and activities where the young advisors expressed views and shared their experiences on what aspects of their lives have been impacted by laws and policies put in place by governments to tackle the pandemic, and what mitigating measures and solutions can be found.

At the final stage of country activities, two elected young representatives per country/region, accompanied by ENYA Coordinators, participated in the ENYA Online Forum. The ENOC Secretariat and several Ombudspersons and Commissioners for Children joined the event. Country/region teams had the opportunity to present the outcomes of their domestic activities, and discussed various issues affected by the COVID-19 pandemic: education, health, poverty, violence and abuse, participation, family, digital environment, information, and leisure and play. Young advisors worked and agreed on common recommendations on these issues.

The ENYA Forum was hosted by the Office of the Commissioner for Children Malta, general Coordinator of ENYA 2021 activities.

Read the agenda here.