Governance

The competent government body for defining and coordinating youth policies is the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports through the General Secretariat of Vocational Education, Training, and Lifelong Learning. 

In Greece, many bodies, associations and non-governmental organizations are active in youth issues. 

In Greece, a broad network of civil society actors, youth organizations, associations, and non-governmental organizations is active in the field of youth affairs, contributing to the shaping of public dialogue and the implementation of actions promoting participation, volunteering, and the social empowerment of young people.

The Hellenic National Youth Council (HNYC) is an independent, non-governmental and non-profit federation of youth organizations in Greece, founded in 1998 and currently comprising approximately 59 youth organizations. It constitutes the official national body representing organized Greek youth at both national and international level and participates in institutional structures such as the Interministerial Committee for Youth, the Organizing Committee of the Youth Parliament, and the National Volunteering Committee, as well as in European and international networks such as the European Youth Forum. Through the National Youth Council (E.S.Y.N.), its member organizations intensify dialogue and promote youth participation, education, and awareness-raising on social and political issues.

Cross-sectoral Cooperation

According to the Ministerial Decision 30964/2022, an inter-ministerial working group has been set up with the aim of planning, coordinating, monitoring, promoting and formulating the policy proposals implemented for the youth. The inter-ministerial working group has the purpose of recording the existing policies of each Ministry concerning young people aged 15-29, their continuous updating and the recording of the implementation of policies related to sustainable development goals in the fields related to youth. The same inter-ministerial working group is the body responsible for the coordination of the European Year of Youth 2022, during which it was responsible for the planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the relevant actions. Interministerial cooperation continues to constitute a key mechanism for the horizontal coordination of youth policies at the national level.