Cyprus Youth Council Information

The Cyprus Youth Council (CYC) was founded in 1996 as a volunteer, non – governmental, non – profit organization. It aims at promoting dialogue and cooperation between youth in Cyprus and also connecting them with youth in Europe and Globally. CYC is in continuous cooperation with the European Youth Forum. Areas of interest, always in relation to youth, include human rights and equality, employment and social issues, active citizenship and life- long learning, non formal education and youth policies. The CYC seeks to act as a platform of exchange and communication between all youth NGOs in Cyprus. Therefore the CYC organises events, seminars, workshops and activities that provide the necessary space for its members to exchange good practices, interests and experience on any youth related topic. The CYC also acts as a platform for its members for participating in European projects. The CYC is also the main stakeholder in the Structured Dialogue that seeks to promote the political participation of all Cyprus youth. The process also allows youth to voice their opinions and concerns on a chosen topic every 6 months. Moreover, the CYC voices the concerns of youth NGOs including lobbying to policy makers for a number of youth related issues (e.g. youth unemployment, validation of non-formal education etc) The CYC’s values and objectives are based on the U.N. Constitutional Charter and the European Convention on Human Rights. The CYC has Turkish-Cypriot member organizations and all of its events, activities and seminars are open to all Cypriot youth. Among others, the CYC co-organized activities and actions, such as the Theatre of Oppressed and a Human Library. Also, the Structured Dialogue process seeks to engage and empower all Cyprus youth.