8 Pillars
Policy Field Α: Employment and Entrepreneurship
This policy field addresses one of the greatest current challenges for youth today: employment. The state is already making efforts to enhance the employability of young people through various projects and action plans. In addition, special emphasis is placed on the development and promotion of entrepreneurship and self-employment, in order to empower young people to start their own business with the right guidance and based on solid foundations.
1st Objective: Development, support and promotion of youth entrepreneurship.
2nd Objective: Enhancement of the employability of young people and their integration into the labour market, while ensuring their labour rights.
Policy Field B: Social Inclusion
The primary purpose of the NYS is to promote equality and respect for human rights in order to eliminate social discrimination against young people. This can be achieved through a culture which promotes social inclusion. Social inclusion allows all young people to enjoy all social benefits without hindrance. At the same time, it is a dynamic process that allows all social groups to engage into dialogue that will lead to social peace.
1st Objective: Safeguarding equality and respect for human rights.
2nd Objective: Creation of a mindset that promotes social inclusion.
Policy Field C: Participation
Young people cannot be excluded from the decision-making process about their lives, especially when it comes to adults. After all, self-representation has always been a key requirement in the process of claiming the rights of organised groups or social movements (e.g. people with disabilities, ethnic groups, women, etc.). The main goal of this field is to ensure that young people are involved in all decision-making stages regarding the policies related to issues or problems that concern them. When young people participate in politics they care about their future, they are able to judge based on the long-term common good, get informed, analyse, vote, promote ideas, evaluate and take part in collective actions.
1st Objective: Ensuring youth participation in all decision-making stages for shaping policies that reflect the needs and views of young people.
2nd Objective: Youth empowerment for active participation in civic life.
Policy Field D: Education and Training
Education is undoubtedly one of the most important investments of a person, both in terms of personal growth and knowledge acquisition and in connection with the labour market. As a result, aiming for quality education for all young people will serve as the basis of the NYS actions. Education and training aim to address challenges such as skill gaps in the workforce, technological developments and global competition.
1st Objective: Safeguarding quality education for all young people.
2nd Objective: Ensuring equal opportunities for young people in education and training.
Policy Field E: Health and Well-being
The promotion of health, well-being and disease prevention is a primary need not only for young people but for everyone. Well-being is often based on personal choices that should meet an individual’s personal needs: physical, mental, spiritual, social, occupational and environmental. In addition, the state must help young people by adopting appropriate measures. For this reason, NYS pays special attention to this field as young people’s good physical and mental health is the foundation for all other needs or priorities young people may set.
1st Objective: Equal and uninterrupted access to quality and youth friendly healthcare services.
2nd Objective: Promotion of health, well-being and disease prevention.
Policy Field F: Volunteerism
Volunteerism is defined as the activity that is done freely, spontaneously and selflessly by individual citizens or members of organisations in order to help other people or for the greater good of society in general. As a social activity, volunteerism is of vital significance nowadays, as it has become a life attitude that yields substantial benefits for volunteers through their contribution to society and people in need.
1st Objective: Development of a volunteerism mindset and promotion of voluntary involvement of young people.
2nd Objective: Official recognition and validation of skills acquired through volunteering.
Policy Field G: Youth and the World
This policy field highlights the importance of young people’s perception of their place in the world. It is important for young people to realise their impact on local culture and ecology and comprehend its potential global effect. More specifically, this field addresses issues such as climate change, the UN Millennium Development Goals, human rights, mobility and exchange of ideas and experiences among young people in Europe and the world.
1st Objective: Creation and utilisation of opportunities for mobility.
2nd Objective: Promotion of a global, international, ecological mindset.
Policy Field H: Creativity and Culture
Culture is recognized as a main element of creativity, which is related to the arts and culture and can bring multiple benefits to an area both in economic and social terms. Some of the main ways of cultural expression for Cypriots are arts and cultural events.
1st Objective: Creation of conditions for equal access and participation in culture and the arts.
2nd Objective: Development of conditions for artistic creation.