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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

Formal Mechanisms of Consultation

Youth involvement in decision-making processes in Portugal is mainly characterised by being:

• Advisory, in the sense that youth contributions, although often considered and incorporated in the decisions, are not binding;
• Representative, in the sense that consultation procedures take place mainly through youth representative organisations, from youth and students associations to platforms of youth organisations, or even local or national youth advisory councils.

Formal consultation mechanisms take place mainly in the advisory boards of the State’s different public intervention fields. Youth participation is concentrated in organisations related to youth, sport, education, employment, or health.

At national level, youth consultation takes place through the following  mechanisms:

• Youth Advisory Council;

• IPDJ Advisory Council.

At local and regional level through:

• Youth Municipal Councils;

• IPDJ Regional Advisory Councils.

Actors

The actors involved in the youth consultation processes are diverse, encompassing governmental structures, youth and students’ organisations, or even civil society organisations   that work with relevant issues with an impact on young people.

Youth actors

• National Youth Council (CNJ), a right granted by its founding law, regarding the preparation of legislation and definition of policies that affect young people;
• National Federation of Youth Associations (FNAJ), for direct advice in several legislation processes, participation in the constitution of working groups, and others;
• Youth Associations – youth associations are involved in consultation processes, not only by intervening locally in project implementation, but also as youth representatives in conversations with the political power, such as the Youth Municipal Councils, where all youth associations of a municipality enrolled in RNAJ have a seat;
• Student’s associations –students associations, as well as their respective federations, have played a key role in youth consultation processes, especially regarding education policy and  the defence of students' interests with policymakers and with school administrative bodies. Due to Law no. 57/2019, of 7 August, students’ representatives have a seat on councils, as interlocutors.

Public authorities

Usually, the following public authorities launch youth consultation processes:

• Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport;
•  IPDJ – Portuguese Institute of Sport and Youth;
• Parliamentary Committee on Culture, Communication, Youth and Sport;
• City Councils – the local government is a key actor in any youth consultation process and plays a key part in stimulating structures for associations headed by young people, since they have a closer relationship. Its active role is essential to the creation and promotion of municipal  youth councils, and it constitutes a privileged public space for youth participation, for the development and implementation of local youth policies.

Additional stakeholders

The meetings of the Advisory Council on Youth (CCJ) can include other elements justified by the agenda, even if they are not members of the CCJ. According to Article 1(2) of Decree-Law no. 129/2015, the following individuals or entities can participate in the meetings, whenever convened by the President:

• Government members from specific sectors;
• Members from the regional governments of Madeira and Azores; 
• Movijovem — Youth Mobility, C.I.P.R.L.;
• National Agency for the Erasmus+ Youth in Action programme - Youth organisations at national, regional and local level;
• Other entities developing relevant action in the youth sector.

In addition to the above-mentioned key actors, there are also other ministries that promote comprehensive consultation and monitoring processes focusing on youth. Here are some examples:

• The Ministry of Education involves young people in policy consultation, monitoring and assessment, through the National Education Council;
• The Ministry of Health does the same, through the National Council for Drugs, Drug Addiction and the Harmful Use of Alcohol;
• And the Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security, through the Committee for the Coordination and Monitoring of the Youth Guarantee.

The Interministerial   Commission for Youth Policies (CIJ) was established in 2007, considering the transversal and cross-sectoral nature of youth policies. This Commission was created by Resolution of the Council of Ministers no. 77/2007, of 4 June, with the purpose of ensuring the integrated operational coordination of youth policy in an intergovernmental structure, which promotes the creation of integrated networks of information and services for young people, attracts financial means for programme implementation, and stimulates a joint and supplementary action of said structures.

Information on the extent of youth participation

The National Youth Council (CNJ), and the National Federation of Youth Associations (FNAJ) are requested for their opinion about bills regarding youth associations, the legal framework for summer camps, the legal framework for the youth worker profile, programmes to   support and promote youth employment, among other youth-related matters.

The opinions expressed are discussed and considered in the final preparation of official   documents.

Both the National Youth Council (CNJ) and the National Federation of Youth Associations (FNAJ) are involved in IPDJ`s activities, playing a key role in the design and implementation of those activities (e.g., Youth Association Day, International Youth Day, University on Youth Development, etc.).

Outcomes

The mainstreaming of young people's opinion in policy measures formulation and assessment can be found in various processes. Here are some examples:

• The National Plans for Youth and the National Youth Agenda were devised from a wide national consultation process, through an online form, accessible to all young people, as well as from a national forum dedicated to the theme. The contributions were crucial for preparing and designing the plan. The report of the consultation process was made available online, and outside the digital world through several forums.
• The current law concerning the legal youth associations framework (Law no. 57/2019) was also subject to an extensive consultation, discussion, and negotiation process.
• The youth worker’s professional profile development and its respective RVCC (recognition, validation and certification of competences) were part of the contributions from several actors in this sector, namely their representative platforms.
• The “Youth Pass” was developed based on a work group with several actors, including youth representatives.
• The ”Formar+” programme received contributions from a public consultation process.
• The National Plan for Implementation of a Youth Guarantee has already been amended as a result of proposals made by the representation of youth interests in the Committee for  the Coordination and Monitoring of the Youth Guarantee.

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

A wide consultation process was developed to create the National Youth Plans (I and II; 2018-2024) and the National Youth Agenda (2025 onwards). A diversified set of mechanisms was developed, such as online surveys, the development of focus groups, debate forums, in addition to the dissemination and collection of perspectives through formal bodies and channels.

The legal framework for Youth Associations and its revision were also examples of issues subject to consultation and large-scale initiatives to promote debate between public institutions and   young people.