Advocacy
Through advocacy, YFU works to create a supportive policy environment that empowers our member organizations to pursue our shared mission.
OUR APPROACH
YFU operates in a complex, interconnected landscape at national, European, and global levels. To ensure our work can thrive, we advocate for positive change in legislation, policies, and programs—removing barriers, opening opportunities, and strengthening the conditions for intercultural exchange.
We do this on two levels: Internationally, by actively engaging in policy debates and influencing key global agendas. Nationally, by supporting our member organizations to participate effectively in policy discussions.
As the world grows more interconnected, YFU is expanding its advocacy efforts, especially where European and global agendas intersect—such as OECD’s PISA assessments and UNESCO’s work on global citizenship education. At the European level, we continue to advance the vision of the European Education Area, helping schools internationalize and making long-term individual pupil exchanges more accessible through the Erasmus+ program.
Our objectives
- Elevate intercultural learning and secondary school exchanges on education and youth policy agendas.
- Contribute to the goals of the European Education Area by supporting the internationalization of schools and expanding access to long-term individual exchanges.
- Empower YFU members to shape youth and education policies and engage in public debate.
Our Focus
- Global and intercultural competencies
- Learning mobility
- Education for democratic citizenship
- Youth work and volunteering
- Non-formal education
OUR CALLS
- Recognition of study periods abroad to fully unlock the potential of learning mobility.
- Greater investment in individual pupil mobility, with stronger involvement of non-profit exchange organizations in this scheme of Erasmus+.
- Inclusion of intercultural and global competencies in all relevant policy frameworks and assessment tools.