Governance

The Minister of Youth is the main actor involved in youth policy making. It lies within the French-speaking Community of Belgium.
The Youth Department is a service within the Ministry of Culture. It implements the youth policy by applying decrees. It recognises and funds youth associations. 
Youth associations are non-public actors who implement directly the principles of youth policy by working directly with young people. 
There are 2 main types of youth associations: 
1.    Youth organisations that are active at the Community-wide level. It includes youth movements such scouts but also others types of youth organisations such as thematic movements or youth services. 
2.    Youth centres which are active at local level. They work with young people on temporary projects (dance, culture, theatre, media literacy, environmental projects, etc.). 
The Youth sector also includes Homework schools and Holidays centres which are at the intersection of youth policies and childhood policies. 

For the 2024–2029 term, the Minister for Youth has launched the “Youth Pathway” initiative. It sets out four thematic workstreams:

Theme 1: Promote and enhance the visibility of young people’s voluntary engagement.

Theme 2: Equip frontline youth workers and organizations with tools to support young people’s mental health and well-being.

Theme 3: Support the opening and availability of campsites and camp facilities.

Theme 4: Raise awareness of media literacy and media education.

Cross-sectoral cooperation

The Common Political Declaration 2024 - 2029 highlights that in consultation with the Regions, the Government will also seek to strengthen support for the development of high-quality camp facilities for youth movements. This may take the form of enhanced collaboration with schools, sports clubs, local authorities, and farmers to facilitate the identification and certification of new camp sites for the benefit of participating children and young people.