The European Union offers young Europeans the opportunity to express their views and help build a sustainable world. On the eve of the tenth International Youth Day, the European Union has highlighted again that, if society is to make sustainable progress, young people must take a fuller part in social, economic and political life.

There are 96 million young people aged 15-29 in the EU (about 20% of the population). The programme 'Youth in Action' was designed to meet their expectations and aims to inspire young Europeans with a sense of citizen participation, solidarity and tolerance by involving them more in shaping Europe's future.

In concrete terms, the programme encourages:

• Young people to move around the EU and the world to study and work.
• Non-formal education and contact with other cultures.
• The inclusion of all young people, regardless of educational, social or cultural background.

To this end, the European voluntary service (EVS) supports young people participating in various voluntary activities within and beyond EU boarders. It helps young people aged 18-30 to work on social projects abroad for between two and twelve months, a formative experience at a key stage of their life.

To sum up, youth is  one of the highest priorities of the European Union, wich has recently issued a report on the situation of young people in the EU. Moreover, the Commission has modiffiied its youth strategy, and the new one, "Youth – Investing and Empowering", has the following goals:

• To create more opportunities for youth in education and employment.
  
• To improve access and full participation of all young people in society.
  
• To foster solidarity between youth and society.
  

The theme of this year’s International Youth Day – “Sustainability: Our Challenge. Our Future” – is a global call to action for young men and women. This is the tenth year that United Nations celebrate this day.