The Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC)
Country: European level
Duration: Members of the CYC Executive are elected for 2 years, non-renewable.
Procedure for involvement: Election by General Assembly.
Specific Criteria:
- No person on the CYC Executive shall be under the age of 15 years or reach their 30th birthday during their term of office (with exceptions assessed on a case-by-case basis);
- Being a national of a Commonwealth member country.
Description:
The Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) represents young people between 15 and 29 years of age in the Commonwealth.
The CYC was first established in 2013 with the support of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Commonwealth Youth Programme. It was endorsed by Commonwealth Heads of Government at their biennial summit in Sri Lanka as an ‘autonomous, youth-led organisation’.
Led by a nine-member executive elected by the General Assembly, the CYC acts as a coalition of national youth councils and other youth-led civil society and private sector bodies from across the 54 member countries of the Commonwealth.
The executive of the Council is composed of:
- Chairperson;
- Vice-Chair Person for partnerships and resources;
- Vice-Chair Person for inclusion and engagement;
- Vice-Chair Person for policy, advocacy and projects;
- Regional representative – Africa & Europe;
- Regional representative – Asia;
- Regional representative – Caribbean & The Americas;
- Regional representative – Pacific;
- Representative – Special Interest Groups
It aims to further advance the youth development agenda by integrating young people into the development work of the Commonwealth at national, regional, and Pan-Commonwealth levels. It also provides a sustainable platform for unified engagement with decision-makers and youth-led development initiatives.
The CYC works to mobilise the voices of young people and advocate for governments to meaningfully engage young people. It partners with the Commonwealth Secretariat and other organisations with a focus on youth development.
The structure of the Council is comprised of:
- Commonwealth Youth Council General Assembly;
- Commonwealth Youth Council Executive;
- Commonwealth Regional Youth Delegations;
- National Youth Delegations;
- Commonwealth Youth Council Standing and Thematic Committees;
- Secretariat of the Commonwealth Youth Council;
- Commonwealth Youth Development Stakeholders Panel;
- Other subsidiary institutions, including existing and emerging subsidiary organisations, networks, alliances, coalitions, conferences, Commonwealth youth forums, and standing committees.
Additionally, the Commonwealth Youth Council also has in place several other youth participation initiatives, such as:
- Commonwealth Students Association;
- Commonwealth Youth Sport for Development and Peace Network;
- Commonwealth Youth Climate Change Network;
- Commonwealth Youth Gender Equality Network;
- Commonwealth Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs;
- Commonwealth Youth Programme.
Source: