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1. Structure of Decision-making

2. Main Themes

3. The National Agency for Youth

4. Policy monitoring and evaluation

Structure of Decision-making

Youth policy making in Cyprus takes place at central government level. The top-level authority responsible for policy-making in the youth field is the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth. However, the ministry itself does not manage youth issues. Instead, it has under its auspices the Youth Board of Cyprus which constitutes the national agency dealing with youth issues and youth policy in the country. 

Many more institutional actors are involved in youth policy issues and are members of the Cross-Sectoral Working Group for Youth, that is described in 1.5-Cross-sectoral approach with other ministries. 

These include the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Ministry of Justice and Public Order, Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance, Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defence.

Apart from the eleven above-mentioned ministries, five (5) Deputy Ministries which have been established based on the provisions of relevant laws are operating and are involved in decision making with regard to youth affairs. These are the Shipping Deputy Ministry, Deputy Ministry of Tourism, Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Strategy, Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare and Deputy Ministry of Culture.

Moreover, the following institutions/agencies are involved:

The Cyprus Sports Organization  (Κυπριακός Οργανισμός Αθλητισμού)  which operated under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport and is the competent authority for sports in Cyprus.

The Cyprus Theatre Organization  which is under the auspices of the Deputy Ministry of Culture and is responsible for the theatre in the country.

The Commissioner for Children’s Rights whose mission is to protect and promote the rights of the child. Their role is to represent children and their interest at all levels, to promote public awareness and sensitivity so that children’s rights in the family, at school, in the community are safeguarded and to identify and promote the views of children where they themselves cannot be heard, to monitor legislation relating to children and to submit proposals aiming at their harmonization with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to carry out public awareness campaigns, to appoint a representative of the child in judicial proceedings affecting him/her and to represent children in procedures affecting them.

The Commissioner for Citizen (Γραφείο Επιτρόπου του Πολίτη) who implement policies to encourage active citizenship and participative governance at all levels.

Τhe Commissioner for Gender Equality whose role is to promote equality between men and women and the elimination of discrimination against women.

The Commissioner for the Development of Mountain Communities (Γραφείο Επιτρόπου Ανάπτυξης Ορεινών Κοινοτήτων) with the mission to implement the National Strategy for the Development of Mountain Communities.

The Commissioner for Environment (Γραφείο Επιτρόπου Περιβάλλοντος) whose role is to propose suggestions and put in place policies for the environment.

The Cyprus Agricultural Payments Organization whose main responsibility is the payment and the management of funds, which Cyprus is entitled to for the agricultural sector after its entry to the European Union, as well as the management of all other aid granted from national funds to support farming and rural areas.

The Human Resource Development Authority (Αρχή Ανάπτυξης Ανθρώπινου Δυναμικού) which aims at creating the prerequisites for planned and systematic training and development of the human resources of Cyprus at all levels and in all areas to meet the needs of the economy within the framework of the social and economic policy of the state.

The Cyprus National Addictions Authority  which is the supreme coordinating body in the field of licit and illicit addictive substances and pathological gambling in Cyprus, and, since November 2017, has been the successor of the Cyprus Anti-Drugs Council (2000).

The Foundation for the Management of European Lifelong Learning Programmes is the National Agency for the EU Programmes Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps . 

Other actors/agencies that are involved in youth policy affairs are the Union of Cyprus Municipalities, the Union of Cyprus Communities, the Agency for missing people and enclaved persons, the Service for Overseas and Repatriated Cypriots and the National Betting Authority.

Main Themes

The themes addressed by the National Youth Strategy 2017-2022 were chosen based on the themes addressed by the former EU Youth Strategy 2010-2018 as described in Section 1.3.

In order to gain adequate understanding of the actual needs of young people, the Youth Board of Cyprus has commissioned research on the current situation of young people in Cyprus (available only in Greek). The research was conducted in 2015 and covers the 8 themes of the National Youth Strategy and the former EU Youth Strategy. Additionally, the Youth Board of Cyprus, when preparing the National Youth Strategy, has gathered additional data about the situation of young people in Cyprus from the Statistical Service of the Republic of Cyprus, Eurostat and the European Youth Report.

Since 2020, the Youth Board has been conducting on an annual basis the Youth Barometer survey (Νεοβαρόμετρα), whose results also serve as a source of identification of the main needs and concerns of young people. 

The National Agency for Youth

The Youth Board of Cyprus is the government agency established to address youth issues, design and manage youth related programmes and initiatives, support both individuals and entities in availing themselves of funding opportunities, as well as producing and disseminating information on youth policies and opportunities. The Youth Board of Cyprus was established in 1994 as a legal entity of public law. It operates under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth which is the top-level authority primarily responsible for youth in Cyprus.

With regard to the role and responsibilities of  the Youth Board of Cyprus, according to the Youth Board Law (available only in Greek), its administrative board shall advise, through the Minister of Education,  Sport and Youth, the Council of Ministers about the configuration of a comprehensive and specialized policy on youth matters, which should promote the following aims of the Board:

1. The progress and welfare of all young people of Cyprus, regardless of nationality or religion
2. The provision of equal opportunities to all young people and youth organizations for the participation and the assumption of responsibility in the social, economic and cultural development and progress of their community and the country in general
3. The engagement and recreation of young people of Cyprus
4. The immediate and effective confrontation of the problems of the young people.

Moreover, the Αdministrative Βoard of the Youth Board of Cyprus shall (among its other aims):

1. Study, work out and suggest to the Council of Ministers a unified policy or specialized projects regarding youth matters
2. Undertake the implementation of programmes regarding youth upon the approval of the Council of Ministers
3. Be informed on youth matters by the competent services of the Ministries concerned and set out to the government its views in relation to these matters
4. Participate in international youth organizations’ meetings and develop bilateral contacts with respective youth bodies of other countries in order to be informed regarding the international development youth matters
5. Stipulate protocols/programmes of cooperation with corresponding youth bodies of other countries for the achievement of the Board’s aims
6. Suggest, in consultation with other state agencies, the conduction of scientific studies concerning the needs of young people and measures for their fulfilment.

The Minister of Education, Sport and Youth has the authority:

1. To issue and provide the Administrative Board of the Youth Board of Cyprus with directives, general in nature, regarding the exercising of its functions, that are necessary for the general interest of the Republic of Cyprus;
2. To ask the Administrative Board to submit reports, accounts and any other information relative to the Youth Board’s assets and activities. By virtue of this paragraph, the Administrative Board is obliged to provide the Minister of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth anything he asks for, as well as the relevant books, documents and any other facility necessary for their check.
3. The minister shall be the contact person between the Administrative Board and the Council of Ministers and any document intended for the Council of Ministers shall be submitted for this purpose to the minister.

With regard to the established lines of accountability, the Youth Board, as a legal entity of public law, is subject to annual checks of the Audit Office of the Republic of Cyprus. Moreover, according to the Youth Board Law, the Administrative Board shall prepare in the form of a bill the Youth Board’s budget, which is subject to the approval of the Council of Ministers and is submitted to the House of Representatives to be voted as a law. The Youth Board shall keep suitable books and accounts as defined by the Minister of Finance.

The budget of the Youth Board of Cyprus for 2024 is published in the Cyprus Government Gazette. The approved budget for 2024 was €5 099 590. 

Policy monitoring and evaluation

The Youth Board of Cyprus recognized the need for setting up a monitoring mechanism for the implementation of the National Youth Strategy 2017-2022. This mechanism aims at ensuring the policy monitoring and evaluation. It is based on a cross-sectoral cooperation which includes all partners mentioned in the section 1.4- Structure of the decision-making and the Cyprus Youth Council. The Youth Board of Cyprus is coordinating this mechanism.

Two three-year Action Plans were drafted for the implementation of the NYS (2017-2019 and 2020-2022). The Action Plans consist of the specific actions, as well as their budget, and provide a detailed outline of the NYS implementation mechanism, in order for the targets and priorities that have been set to be achieved within six years. The Action Plans also identify the necessary indicators that will measure the impact of the strategy.

The monitoring of the policy takes place through progress reports and consultations with young people. The Youth Board of Cyprus, based on the contribution received by all government actors involved in the Strategy, prepared the first progress report (A’ Έκθεση Προόδου) regarding the implementation results of the first Action Plan 2017-2019. In addition, the Youth Board of Cyprus, organized in total nine consultations with young people living in urban and rural areas with an aim to evaluate the first Action Plan, provide feedback and suggest new programmes or modifications to the existing ones so that they can be included in the second Action Plan. The second Action Plan (2020-2022) and the first Progress Report were submitted to the Council of Ministers via the Minister of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth and approved in February 2021.With the completion of the Strategy 2017-2022, the Youth Board has commissioned an external independent evaluation of the strategy which will serve as a basis for the design of the upcoming Strategy 2030.

Two three-year Action Plans were drafted for the implementation of the NYS (2017-2019 and 2020-2022). The Action Plans consist of the specific actions, as well as their budget, and provide a detailed outline of the NYS implementation mechanism, in order for the targets and priorities that have been set to be achieved within six years. The Action Plans also identify the necessary indicators that will measure the impact of the strategy.

The monitoring of the policy takes place through progress reports and consultations with young people. The Youth Board of Cyprus, based on the contribution received by all government actors involved in the Strategy, prepared the first progress report (A’ Έκθεση Προόδου) regarding the implementation results of the first Action Plan 2017-2019. In addition, the Youth Board of Cyprus, organized in total nine consultations with young people living in urban and rural areas with an aim to evaluate the first Action Plan, provide feedback and suggest new programmes or modifications to the existing ones so that they can be included in the second Action Plan. The second Action Plan (2020-2022) and the first Progress Report were submitted to the Council of Ministers via the Minister of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth and approved in February 2021.With the completion of the Strategy 2017-2022, the Youth Board has commissioned an external independent evaluation of the strategy which will serve as a basis for the design of the upcoming Strategy 2030.