1.8 Cross-border cooperation
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Cooperation with European countries
The Hellenic Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports has signed several agreements with other European countries in the youth field.
As an example, the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports has developed collaborations with Bulgaria, Slovakia, Belgium, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, Poland, Austria, Germany, Italy, Cyprus, Czech Republic, and other EU countries concerning the following activities:
- bilateral programmes for educational exchanges,
- summer schools, so that young Greeks get in touch with foreign languages and civilisations,
- grants for youngsters wishing to study in a specific EU country.
International cooperation
Greece participates in Experts Groups dealing with youth issues, such as the European Steering Committee for Youth (CDEJ) of the Youth Department of the Council of Europe (CoE), the Youth Partnership between the European Union and the Council of Europe, the Sub-Group on Youth Work of the European Commission, the Youth Action Plan in EU External Action, the Youth Strategy for the Union for the Mediterranean and others.
Greece's accession procedures to the Council of Europe Partial Agreement on Youth Mobility through the Youth Card have been completed and since 25-01-2022 Greece has officially become the 23rd participating country. The Council of Europe, since 1991, has entered into force the Partial Agreement with the EU European Youth Card Association (EYCA) on Youth Mobility, which aims to promote and facilitate the mobility of young people in Europe and access to services and goods, necessary for their personal, professional and cultural development. The partnership between the Council of Europe and its member states through the Partial Agreement on Youth Mobility, now offers more than 6 million new and additional information opportunities, benefits in terms of physical, cultural and educational mobility, accommodation, access to cultural goods, participation in foreign language courses, education and training seminars on a variety of topics, as well as direct access to services and products online and offline. The Hellenic Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, through the GSVETLL, is a founding member of the European Youth Card Organisation (EYCA) and, at the same time, the GSVETLL is the National Authority supervising the implementation of the card in the country.
Greece collaborates with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on a variety of levels about youth. The Greek partnerships' activities are aligned with the policy areas of employment and social inclusion, as well as regional and local development, social economy, and community initiatives. For instance, OECD conducted a research in collaboration with Greece about the prevention of the harmful alcohol use.
Greece participates in United Nations conferences, in UNESCO, in UNICEF and in ECOSOC on issues related to youth.
Also, the Hellenic Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports has signed cooperation agreements and Memoranda of Understanding with countries such as China, Georgia, India which include activities in the field of youth.