Existence of a national strategy to increase young people's political and civil society participation

There exists no specific strategy focusing solely on youth participation, but participation is one of the pillars of the Flemish Youth and Children’s Rights Policy Plan. The Flemish Youth and Children’s Rights Policy Plan is a policy instrument of the Government of Flanders that bundles together the youth and children’s rights policies in Flanders. The Flemish Youth and Children’s Rights Policy Plan outlines in one single plan all the concerns regarding children and young people and their rights which the Flemish Ministers will pay heed to in their policies in the current legislative term. As laid down by decree, this must be done one year after the start of the Government’s term of office.  In 2025 the Government of Flanders presented for the sixth time a youth policy plan to the parliament (Vlaams Jeugd- en Kinderrechtenbeleidsplan 2025-2029). 

The child and youth perspective and resulting from this specific objectives and / or actions related to children and young people are also given a place within the most relevant horizontal policy plans, including the Flemish Action Plan on Combating Poverty, the Flemish Climate Plan, the Horizontal Integration and Equal Opportunity Policy Plan, the Coordinated Flemish Volunteer Policy Action Plan, the Action Plan to Combat Sexual Violence, the Homeless People Action Plan and the Action Plan to Prevent Violent Radicalization, Extremism , Terrorism and Polarization.

Scope and contents

The Youth and Children’s Rights Policy Plan serves as an example of participatory policy with a strong involvement of children, young people, their organizations and experts. All objectives and actions start from the perspective of children, young people and their rights. Preparations for the current plan started in the fall of 2023. Based on this extensive input, policy challenges were identified and translated into four main priorities: “Well-being” (Goed in je vel), “Space to be young” (Ruimte om jong te zijn), “Living together in solidarity” (Samenleven in solidariteit), and “The transition to adulthood” (De weg naar volwassenheid). These priorities were validated through advisory procedures and further developed in multi-stakeholder working groups. The four priorities structure the policy plan. Each priority is translated into a dedicated set of objectives and actions (see also 5.4).

Responsible authority for the implementation of the strategy

The Government of Flanders is responsible for implementing the Youth and Children’s Rights Policy Plan and issued an interim report after two years. At the end of the Government’s term of office, a final report will be drawn up.

Monitoring and evaluation

For each priority, process and result indicators are linked to the objectives and actions. These indicators are aligned, where possible, with those used in the annual policy and budget reporting (BBT), allowing for systematic monitoring across policy domains. 

In addition, the plan foresees annual reporting, a mid-term evaluation (2027), and a final evaluation (2029), all of which rely on these indicators to assess progress and effectiveness. 

Importantly, the plan also introduces an experimental impact measurement component, particularly for project-based actions (such as project calls). This involves qualitative assessments, including baseline and follow-up measurements, to better understand the real impact on target groups. . 

Revisions/Updates

The Youth and Children’s Rights Policy Plan 2025-2029 follows up the plan of 2020-2024 which was the first fully integrated youth and children’s rights policy plan.