Mechanisms and actors

Youth policy in Latvia is an interdisciplinary policy, which is realised by various state and local government institutions according to their competency, as well as by youth organisations and other physical or legal persons. Young people also participate in the creation and implementation of youth policy.

Various sectoral ministries are involved in the implementation of youth policy:  the Ministry of Education and Science ( the development of the single national policy in the area of youth policy and coordinated implementation thereof, youthwork, education, sports, etc.), the Ministry of Welfare (issues of social inclusion and employment of young people), the Ministry of Culture (learning of Latvian culture and democratic values, strengthening media literacy), the Ministry of Defense (issues of youth civic participation), the Ministry of Agriculture (promotion of opportunities for rural youth), the Ministry of Health (youth health issues), the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (youth education and participation in sustainability development issues, development of youth entrepreneurship in regions, strengthening digital competencies), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (youth participation in international politics), and the Ministry of Interior (youth safety, including cyber security).



Municipalities have always played a particularly significant role in youth policy. Their role has been further strengthened with the enactment of the new Municipality Law. It stipulates that working with youth is one of the autonomous functions of a municipality.

Youth Advisory Council

To ensure the coordination of youth policy and youth participation, the Youth Advisory Council has been established, which replaced the Youth Policy Coordination Council as of January 1, 2009.

The goal of the Youth Advisory Council is to promote the development and implementation of coordinated youth policy at various levels of administration (municipal, national, and European Union level), as well as to promote youth participation in decision-making and public life.

The tasks of the Youth Advisory Council are:

• to evaluate the situation in the implementation of youth policy and provide recommendations to the Ministry of Education and Science on the priority directions in youth policy;
• to provide recommendations to state administrative institutions for the effective implementation of youth policy, consulting on the need to implement measures, projects, and programs in the field of youth, as well as the need to make amendments to regulatory documents and policy planning documents. The Council can suggest the development of new regulatory documents and policy planning documents related to the implementation of youth policy;
• to provide recommendations to municipal institutions for the implementation of youth policy at the municipal level;
• to provide recommendations to non-governmental organizations, whose target group is young people, for work with youth.

To prepare recommendations, the Youth Advisory Council has the right to form working groups, request and receive the necessary information from persons involved in the implementation of youth policy through the intermediary of the ministry, as well as to invite experts and officials with advisory rights to meetings. The term of office of the representatives of the Youth Advisory Council is two years.