On this page

1. Mechanisms and actors

Mechanisms and actors

Ministry for Sports, Youth and Associative Life (Ministère des Sports, de la Jeunesse et de la Vie associative)

The Ministry for Sports, Youth and Associative Life (Ministère des Sports, de la Jeunesse et de la Vie associative), through the Directorate for Youth, Popular Education and Associative Life (Direction de la jeunesse, de l’éducation populaire et de la vie associative – DJEPVA), promotes interministerial cooperation aimed at ensuring greater complementarity between public policies and the ministries responsible for them. This complementarity is particularly evident between youth policies and education policies, as well as policies relating to culture.

In this context, the transfer of the function of Interministerial Delegate for Youth (Délégué interministériel à la jeunesse – DIJ) to the Director of the DJEPVA in November 2024 has helped streamline the coordination of State-led youth policies by relying on the administration responsible for designing and steering policies relating to young people, civic engagement and popular education. The DIJ monitors the implementation of actions carried out by the various ministries in favour of young people while ensuring the involvement of all relevant stakeholders and partners. The DIJ also organises interdepartmental committees on a wide range of youth-related issues, including governance and mental health.

To support this coordination, the Interministerial Committee for Youth (Comité interministériel de la jeunesse – CIJ), a body established by Decree No. 82-367 of 30 April 1982, may be convened at any time at the initiative of the Prime Minister. However, no meeting of this body has been held since 2016.

The design and implementation of youth policies are based on multi-stakeholder cooperation involving the State and its ministries, local and regional authorities, representatives of associations, youth organisations and, in some cases, young people themselves.

The Advisory Council on Youth Policies

The Youth Policy Advisory Council (Conseil d’orientation des politiques de jeunesse – COJ) provides a forum for discussion and debate among the various stakeholders involved in youth policies (for further details, see Section 1.4 “Youth policy decision-making”, subsection “Policy monitoring and evaluation”). It has the power to submit proposals to the Government with a view to improving the situation of young people.

The Council comprises eight boards when sitting in plenary session, reflecting its crosscutting character and horizontal cooperation:

1. State
2. Local authorities
3. Young people and youth organisations
4. Youth and non-formal education associations and movements
5. Integration of young people
6. Social partners
7. Associate members
8. Experts

According to the Ministry of Sports, Youth and Voluntary organisations, the Council’s different sessions have distinct roles:

• The plenary session sets the major focuses, enables members to share a common culture and common objectives, and ensures regular communication of committees’ and workgroups’ activities ;
• The two thematic committees (non-formal education and integration of young people) work on more targeted problems ;
• Committees and plenary sessions alike may create workgroups to appraise specific questions.

Territorial Structured Dialogue

Territorial Structured Dialogue is a method aimed at improving the effectiveness of public policies in favour of young people by encouraging dialogue, at local level, with young citizens who are the direct beneficiaries of these policies, as well as with civil society (particularly the voluntary sector).

Structured Dialogue takes place through long-term cycles, generally lasting 18 months, during which young people become familiar with the issues at stake, engage in exchanges with elected representatives, and develop their knowledge and skills on the policy topic under discussion. The objective is for them to contribute their perspectives, experiences and expectations to the debate.

At the end of the 18-month cycle, a political outcome is expected. While its format is predefined, its content depends on the results of the process. Working methods remain flexible, and popular education organisations generally play an important role in this process. The National Committee for Relations between Youth and Popular Education Associations (Comité pour les relations nationales et internationales des associations de jeunesse et d’éducation populaire – CNAJEP) is responsible for coordinating the implementation of Structured Dialogue in France.