Governance

The competent government body for defining youth policies is the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs through the General Secretariat of Vocational Education, Training, Lifelong Learning and Youth. 

The Youth and Lifelong Learning Foundation, supervised by the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, provides technical and scientific support to the General Secretariat for Vocational Education, Training, Lifelong Learning and Youth and is responsible for managing European programs for youth.

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) also play an important role. The official body representing the Greek Youth is the Hellenic National Youth Council (H.N.Y.C.) The H.N.Y.C. is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit federation of youth organizations. It is the official representative of the Greek Youth abroad and the interlocutor of the government at a domestic level. Its aim is to strengthen the role and coordinate the actions of its member organizations. The member organizations of H.N.Y.C. conduct it one of the largest and most representative in Europe.  Having as its goal the continuous training and awareness of young people on issues that concern them, H.N.Y.C. implements meetings, conferences, cultural and other programs, seminars and actions that directly target young people.  

At the same time, the 13 regions of the country that emerged after the implementation of the Kallikratis plan, among others, are responsible for the development of initiatives, measures and programs related to the support of young people at a local and regional level. For this purpose, cooperation with relevant government agencies is necessary.

Municipalities are charged with responsibilities related to children and young people. According to law 3443/27-02-2006 to strengthen the participation of young people in the management of local affairs that respond to their interests in each municipality and community of the country, Municipal and Community Youth Councils (Local Youth Councils) were established respectively. The task of the Local Youth Councils is to identify, highlight and monitor the needs and problems of the youth at a local level, to undertake, in collaboration with the relevant Regional and Local Authorities, initiatives and activities for the full and free development of youth's personality, the care for taking measures for the active and effective participation of young people in the local community and the development of cooperative relations with respective Local Youth Councils at national and European level.

Cross-sectoral Cooperation

According to Ministerial Decision 30964/2022, an inter-ministerial working group was established with the aim of planning, coordinating, monitoring, promoting and formulating the policy proposals implemented for the youth. The inter-ministerial working group aims to record the existing policies of each Ministry concerning young people aged 15-29, its continuous updating and the recording of the implementation of policies to achieve sustainable development goals in the areas related to the youth of the country. The inter-ministerial working group is the body responsible for the coordination of the European Year of Youth 2022. Specifically, as stated in the Ministerial Decision, the task of the Committee is the planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting of actions throughout the European Year of Youth.