Beyond Borders Neighbours Together
The following areas were identified in a consultation process with international youth work stakeholders from neighbouring partner countries (2021) and further defined in consultation with the community of practitioners during the Beyond Borders Kick-off Seminar in Paris in June 2022.

Recognition and further development of youth work
Youth work is seen as the essence of youth cooperation. There is a shared concern across all three neighbouring regions about the value attributed to recognition and validation of both.


Youth participation and youth policy development
The promotion of greater youth participation in policy making and greater civic participation of youth are seen as essential for impactful cooperation. Support for policy reform should always duly consider youth participation.


Stakeholder cooperation and coordination
All major stakeholders both within the EU and outside of it should work more closely together to ensure the Programmes’ success.


Exchange of good practice
There is a need for exchange of good practice in the field of youth and youth policy (covering youth work, non-formal learning, volunteering and other fields) between countries, organisations and communities.


Inclusion and diversity
Diversity is seen as a great asset of the youth sector and a factor conditioning democratic participation. There is a need for greater inclusion to allow for greater diversity in the youth sector and beyond.


Volunteering
It is considered beneficial to youth development. There is a shared concern across all three neighbouring regions about the value attributed to youth work and volunteering.


Capacity-building for youth organisations
Supporting youth organisations through various capacity-building measures is beneficial and seen as an efficient way to develop youth work and youth participation.


Programme promotion and information
Young people are interested in the European youth programmes and want to know more. In order to increase the impact of the Programmes, more has to be done to promote and inform young people and the organisations working with them about them.


Thematic priorities
A number of thematic priorities are especially important in the context of programme and partner country cooperation, such as resilience, gender and peace-building. Some priorities are more global and cross-cutting, also being relevant in partner country-only or programme country- only work, such as sustainability and digitalisation.