"Youth for Europe" - Interim evaluation report
The European Commission has published an interim evaluation report on the third phase of the Community's "Youth for Europe" programme. The report reveals that, despite certain shortcomings to do with operational procedure, Community cooperation has played an important role in stimulating new developments and renewed interest in this sector. "Youth for Europe" targets young people aged 15-25 resident in the 15 Member States of the EU, as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. As of January 1998, the associated countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Cyprus will also be participating in the programme. The five main actions proposed are: - Intra-Community actions involving young people (Action A); - Support to youth workers (Action B); - Cooperation between Member States' structures (Action C); - Exchanges with non-Community countries (Action D); - Information for young people and youth research (Action E). The Commission's evaluation report is based essentially on a cross-examination of the final reports of the projects supported by the programme, the activity reports from the national agencies and also the results of various thematic seminars and workshops organized within the framework of the programme. In addition, an external evaluation of the programme was commissioned. This helped to pinpoint certain achievements, strong points and developments, as well as possible avenues for the future.