On this page

1. Formal mechanisms of consultation

2. Actors

3. Information on the extent of youth participation

4. Outcomes

5. Large-scale initiatives for dialogue or debate between public institutions and young people

Youth participation and consultation are core principles of youth policy in Luxembourg and are promoted at both local and national levels. Youth participation in policy-making is organised through several parallel processes, which operate with different objectives, timelines and consultation logics. While these processes are not always formally interconnected, they address shared priorities and draw on common approaches, including European frameworks and tools, which inform and inspire youth policy development at national level.

Formal mechanisms of consultation

Institutional consultation framework under the Youth Law of 2008

The 2008 Youth Law defines the objectives and instruments of youth policy in Luxembourg and establishes consultation mechanisms intended to support its development and implementation. These formats aim to create structured dialogue between young people, youth organisations and public authorities, and to ensure that youth policy is informed by both participatory input and scientific evidence.

At national level, direct youth consultation takes place primarily through the Youth Parliament and the National Youth Council (CGJL – de Jugendrot). The Youth Parliament operationalises the National Assembly of Young People foreseen in the 2008 Youth Law and provides a platform for non-organised young people, while the National Youth Council represents organised youth at national level.

The Youth Law also provides for a Higher Youth Council (Conseil supérieur de la jeunesse) as an advisory body bringing together representatives from different youth-related sectors. While it is mandated to examine youth-related issues and formulate opinions, it has not been regularly convened in recent years, and its functioning is currently under review (see section 5.3 Youth representation bodies).

In addition to these legally foreseen mechanisms, the Comité de pilotage Jeunesse functions as an important consultation platform within the youth sector. It brings together representatives of the two federations of youth services (FEDAS, DLJ), the federation of the municipalities (Syvicol) and the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth. It serves as a forum to discuss the regulatory and financial framework of professional youth work and contributes to structured exchanges within the sector.

Given the transversal nature of youth policy, coordination across ministries is supported by an Interministerial Youth Committee, which facilitates coherence between different policy areas affecting young people.

Alongside these consultation and coordination mechanisms, youth policy development is informed by scientific evidence. The National Youth Report (Jugendbericht), as well as studies such as HBSC or ESPAD, analyse young people’s living conditions and challenges and provide an analytical basis for policy reflection.

Consultation outcomes and research findings are taken into account in the development of the five-year National Youth Action Plan (Jugendpakt), which defines the strategic orientations of youth policy for the respective period.

Over time, consultation practices have evolved towards a more sector-based approach. Discussions increasingly take place within thematic or sector-specific platforms focusing on areas such as education, employment, housing, well-being or participation, allowing for more targeted exchanges and the involvement of actors with relevant expertise.

Consultation in the framework of the EU Youth Dialogue

In parallel to the national consultation framework, Luxembourg participates in the EU Youth Dialogue, which operates independently from the mechanisms established by the 2008 Youth Law. The EU Youth Dialogue is organised in cycles linked to the Trio Presidency of the Council of the European Union, with thematic priorities and Youth Goals defined for a period of 18 months. At national level, consultations are carried out to gather young people’s views on these priorities and to feed into European policy discussions. 

The 11th cycle of the EU Youth Dialogue was led by the Trio Presidency of Poland, Denmark and Cyprus from January 2025 to June 2026. It focused on European Youth Goal #1, “Connecting EU with Youth”. This goal aims to strengthen young people’s sense of belonging to the European project and to improve trust in EU institutions by fostering dialogue and participation.

The 12th cycle, led by Ireland, Lithuania and Greece from July 2026 to December 2027, will focus on European Youth Goal #4, “Information and Constructive Dialogue”. Luxembourg will hold the EU Presidency during the 13th cycle of the EU Youth Dialogue in 2029.

Consultations organised within the framework of the EU Youth Dialogue are coordinated by the National Youth Council (CGJL - de Jugendrot) through a National Working Group bringing together the Ministry responsible for youth and other stakeholders, depending on the topic. While the results of these consultations are not formally integrated as such into the national youth policy framework, they are aligned with national priorities and contribute to policy reflection. European Youth Dialogue priorities and tools are used as reference points and sources of inspiration for the development of youth policy at national level.

Consultation in the field of education

In the field of education, youth consultation is organised through specific mechanisms distinct from general youth policy. The National Pupil Conference of Luxembourg (Conférence nationale des élèves au Luxembourg – CNEL) is the officially recognised representative body for pupils and acts as the main interlocutor for the Ministry of Education.

CNEL represents pupils’ interests on issues related to education policy, school organisation and pupils’ rights and duties. It is consulted on reforms and measures affecting secondary education and provides opinions and recommendations to the competent authorities. Through this mechanism, pupils participate directly in decision-making processes related to education.

Local-level consultation mechanisms

At local level, youth participation is supported through a combination of municipal initiatives and national youth policy instruments. The 2008 Youth Law currently provides for Municipal Youth Plans (Plans communaux jeunesse) as a tool to structure local youth policy, identify the needs and priorities of young people and guide the development of local initiatives.  However, this instrument has not been implemented consistently in practice. An amendment to the Youth Law is foreseen, which will remove the provision on Municipal Youth Plans and revise the framework for local youth policy.

While formal consultation channels exist, they often engage a limited number of young people and may not fully reflect the diversity of local youth populations. Strengthening the representativeness and accessibility of youth participation at local level has therefore become a political priority, notably by elaborating more low-threshold participation formats.

Many municipalities have expressed interest in further developing participatory approaches that go beyond traditional consultation formats. In this context, local youth participation is expected to evolve in the coming years, with a stronger focus on inclusive methods and outreach to non-organised young people. The National Youth Service (Service national de la jeunesse – SNJ) supports these initiatives.

Furthermore, the National Youth Service (Service national de la jeunesse – SNJ), in its role of supporting youth policy development at national level, organises consultations on specific topics. These activities aim to reach non-organised young people, gather their perspectives and ensure that they are taken into account in both national and local policy discussions.

In addition to municipal mechanisms, local participation is also supported through initiatives targeting children and young people, such as the JuKo (Jugendkonferenz), formerly known as KaJuKo (Kanner- a Jugendkonferenz). Organised by the Jugendbureau Éislek, this initiative creates a space for dialogue between young participants, local actors and decision-makers on issues relevant to young people and contributes to strengthening participatory culture at local level.

Participation through young delegates processes

The National Youth Council (CGJL - de Jugendrot) supports several young delegates programmes. These include the EU Youth Delegates, who act as ambassadors for the EU Youth Dialogue; the UN Youth Delegates, implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Centre for Political Education (Zentrum fir politesch Bildung - ZpB); and the Climate Youth Delegate programme, carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity.

Within these programmes, young delegates are required to organise consultations with diverse groups of young people and institutional actors, which serve as the basis for drafting joint statements or declarations.

Children participation

In addition to youth-specific legislation and youth participation mechanisms, children’s right to participation is recognised under the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The National Action Plan for the Rights of the Child identifies participation as a fundamental right in line with Article 12 of the Convention and is coordinated by the Children’s Rights Service of the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth.

Within this framework, the Centre for Political Education (Zentrum fir politesch Bildung - ZpB) together with institutional and civil society partners, regularly organises consultation and dialogue activities with children. These initiatives aim to raise awareness of children’s rights, encourage them to express their views and strengthen their capacity to participate. Examples include ChiCo – Children’s Conference, which facilitates dialogue between children and decision-makers, and Kannercomités (children’s committees) in some maisons relais, where children can discuss issues affecting their daily environment and take part in decision-making processes.

Local participation is also supported through specific initiatives targeting children and young people, such as the JuKo (Jugendkonferenz), formerly known as KaJuKo (Kanner- a Jugendkonferenz). Organised by the Jugendbureau Éislek, this initiative creates a space for dialogue between young participants (from around 12 years old), local actors and decision-makers on issues relevant to young people and contributes to strengthening participatory culture at local level.

Actors

Youth participation in policymaking in Luxembourg involves actors at national and local levels.

At national level, the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth is responsible for youth policy and oversees youth participation and consultation processes.

• The Interministerial Youth Committee contributes to the coordination between ministries on youth-related matters.
• The National Youth Council (CGJL - de Jugendrot) represents youth organisations and acts as the main interlocutor for organised youth.
• The Youth Parliament (Jugendparlement) provides a platform for individual young people to express their views and address recommendations to decision-makers.
• The Higher Youth Council is an advisory body providing opinions on youth-related issues.
• In the field of education, the National Pupil Conference of Luxembourg (CNEL) represents pupils in matters related to education policy.
• The Comité de pilotage Jeunesse is a sectoral coordination platform bringing together youth service federations, municipalities and the Ministry responsible for youth to discuss the regulatory and financial framework of professional youth work.
• The National Youth Service (Service national de la jeunesse - SNJ) contributes to youth participation, in particular by promoting youth participation in the youth sector. 

At local level, municipalities are involved in youth participation through local consultative arrangements.

Research partners, such as the Centre for Childhood and Youth Research at the University of Luxembourg, contribute by conducting research and evaluation studies on patterns, forms and determinants of participation and non-participation at the European, national and local levels.
 

Information on the extent of youth participation

Currently, there is no systematic mechanism of data collection/monitoring of the process of consultation of young people with regard to decision making. However, the Youth Survey Luxembourg (YSL) monitors young people’s political participation and social engagement, including attitudes towards political efficacy, trust in politicians, and different forms of political participation. In addition, the topic of youth participation in both digital and non-digital words is part of the National Youth Report 2025. 

Outcomes

There are several outcomes of the consultations processes. 

The outcomes of national youth participation processes are documented. Depending on the process, consultation results may be published online or used as input for follow-up work at policy or strategic level.

At national level, the National Youth Action Plan (Jugendpakt) represents the most important policy document into which young people’s views have been directly integrated. In addition, several representative bodies contribute to participation processes by producing opinions, resolutions or analytical inputs on issues relevant to young people. These contributions are not always directly linked to formal policy documents but nevertheless feed into political debate.

The Youth Parliament adopts resolutions that are presented to the Chamber of Deputies. The National Youth Council (Jugendrot) may issue statements on behalf of its member organisations, The CNEL regularly issues opinions on education policy. Furthermore, the National Youth Report, published every five years, provides an evidence-based analysis based on quantitative surveys and qualitative studies. It supports political reflection and informs youth policy development.

Large-scale initiatives for dialogue or debate between public institutions and young people

Beyond the formal consultation mechanisms, policymakers in Luxembourg may also consult young people and youth representative bodies on a case-by-case basis, depending on the policy topic. For example, in 2025, youth organisations and the National Youth Council (CGJL - de Jugendrot) were invited to provide input in the context of the public consultation on pension reform.