Overall, various actors in Austria are actively involved in promoting youth participation in global issues. These actors include the Section VI: Family and Youth in the Federal Chancellery, the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research, provincial states, youth departments, the Austrian National Youth Council, and agencies such as the Austrian Development Agency and OeAD agency. Each of these entities plays a specific role in allocating resources, integrating global issues into education, spreading awareness, representing youth interests, and implementing programs to engage young people in international experiences.

Federal Ministries

Section VI: Family and Youth in the Federal Chancellery (Sektion VI: Familie und Jugend) is the coordinating body for the Austrian Youth Strategy, focusing on promoting youth participation and engagement in Austria. It plays a vital role in allocating funds and supporting extracurricular youth education and youth work. These efforts extend to global issues as well. The activities of Section VI are guided by the Federal Youth Promotion Act (Bundes-Jugendförderungsgesetz), which ensures a framework for their initiatives.

To promote young people’s participation in global issues in the classroom, the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research is responsible for school curricula. Furthermore, it advocates for the implementation of educational principles such as Civic education and Education for Sustainable Development in schools. The teaching of global issues in compulsory schools is the responsibility of the provincial states. In addition, the provincial youth departments (Landesjugendreferate) are responsible for extracurricular children’s and youth work and thus contribute to the dissemination of global issues among young people with various offers and activities.

The Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology and the Federal Ministry of European and International Affairs support various initiatives, forums, etc. that work to disseminate education for sustainable development and global learning among young people in and out of school.

National Agencies (ADA and OeAD)

The Austrian Development Agency (ADA) plays a vital role in implementing the Three-Year Programme of Austrian Development Policy (2022-2024). Collaborating with diverse stakeholders, ADA addresses global challenges and aligns with the 2030 Agenda/SDGs. The Federal Ministry of European and International Affairs provides strategic oversight for Austrian development policy (Österreichische Entwicklungspolitik und -zusammenarbeit). ADA prioritizes environmental protection, climate change mitigation, and the promotion of civil society participation, particularly among vulnerable groups. Additionally, ADA supports development communication and education programs in Austria (Projekte und Programme) to raise awareness among young people about global issues.

The Agency for Education and Internationalisation (OeAD) is an agency of the Republic of Austria that promotes inclusive and high-quality education. With its programs, it supports and advises educational, scientific, research, and cultural institutions. OeAD implements education activities in Austrian schools on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Science, Education and Research, contributing to raising global awareness among the youth. Through its Erasmus+ program (EU-Programme für den Jugendsektor), it enables young people to gain knowledge and experience abroad, including voluntary assignments related to environmental protection.

The National Youth Council (BJV) represents the interests of children and young people in Austria since the enforcement of the Federal Youth Representation Act in 2001 (Bundes-Jugendvertretungsgesetz 2001). It focuses on promoting youth participation and quality of participation opportunities. The BJV plays a key role in selecting and preparing UN youth delegates (UN Jugenddelegierten), who advocate for Austrian youth at international meetings, including the UN General Assembly. They prioritize sustainable development, climate policy, and global learnin among young people in Austria (‘Nachhaltigkeit und Klimaschutz’), contributing to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and strengthening youth participation in global issues.

National Working Group on Youth Dialogue and Youth Participation

The National Working Group on Youth Dialogue and Youth Participation (Nationale Arbeitsgruppe Jugenddialog und Jugendbeteiligung - NAG) pursues as a cross-sectoral cooperation the promotion of qualitative youth participation in Austria within the framework of the Youth Dialogue (Jugenddialog). As a link between national and European level, it coordinates tasks that contribute to anchoring youth participation in all areas of youth policy and youth work as well as the European Youth Goals (see below under cross-sectorial cooperation).

General distribution of responsibilities

Youth policy and thus youth participation is a cross-departmental issue in Austria. The concrete implementation of youth participation takes place in particular at the different levels of politics (politische Ebenen): internationally, at federal, provincial, regional and municipal level. Existing policy areas such as formal education, volunteering, open youth work, etc. integrate youth participation and engagement in global policy issues.

At the international level (Internationale Jugendpolitik), the UN and the EU are primarily responsible for youth participation in global issues.

At the federal level, the Federal Chancellery coordinates the youth policy agenda and thus youth participation. The Federal Youth Council acts as a legally anchored representation of the interests of all children and young people at national level. Its tasks are regulated in the Federal Youth Act, and implementation is the responsibility of the Federal Chancellor.

According to the Federal Constitution (Bundes-Verfassungsgesetz), responsibility for out-of-school child and youth work lies primarily with the Federal Provinces. Open youth work is an indispensable component of a contemporary municipal and regional youth policy. Beyond the facility level, it advocates for the participation of young people in municipal planning and decision-making processes (Beteiligung von Jugendlichen) and thus promotes the involvement of young people in cities and municipalities.

On the basis of the Federal Development Cooperation Act (Bundesgesetz über die Entwicklungszusammenarbeit), the Federal Government provides development cooperation as part of its international development policy. Official development assistance comprises all Austrian official development assistance provided by the federal government, the provinces and municipalities. The federal ministries are charged with the coherent implementation of the "2030 Agenda" for sustainable development by a resolution of the Federal Council of Ministers in 2016. The main responsibility for sustainable development thus lies with the federal authorities. Environmental issues are dealt with at all levels of government.