In Romania youth unemployment always represented an issue that was not handled well by the authorities. Over one million young people have left the country in the last decade, for higher salary and in the hope of a higher standard of living.  And still, Romania is historically within the top ten countries with the highest unemployment rate among youth… The phenomenon of “brain drain” is also well known in Romania. To prevent it the country has to rethink its public policies and listen to the voice of those most neglected, and who are the most affected by the situation, the youth.

The Youth Forum of Romania (Forumul Tinerilor din România – FTR) decided to take action and try to reset the negative trend. Together with its partner organisations collected the voice of young people and presented it to the decision-makers. In the framework of their project they organised open sessions where people could express their concerns regarding the employment of young people. Simultaneously a public survey was conducted and information/good practices were gathered from all over the world.

Besides there was a series of training held by the project leaders in different cities. During these trainings two important topics  were discussed: “Advocacy techniques for the imposition of NGO and social partner proposals in public consultations on draft legislation” and “Strengthening social and civic dialogue at local level”. Both trainings provide a solid foundation for youth organisations for further initiatives with similar aspects.

The purpose of the open sessions and accompanying events was to create a public policy proposal, which was presented to the National Education Ministry for approval. FTR and its partner took the role to be the messenger of this initiative representing the Romanian youth.

The public policy proposal they developed was presented at local forums for young people, gathering their input in order to develop the initial version of the policy proposal. These public forums contributed to the development of various competences of the participating people, who had the chance to practice public speaking and understand that their opinion matters. Networks built during these meetings were another important end results.