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1. Legal/policy framework for the functioning and development of youth organisations

2. Public financial support

3. Initiatives to increase the diversity of participants

Legal/policy framework for the functioning and development of youth organisations

Law no. 23/2006, of 23 July, currently Law no. 57/2019, of 7 August, establishes the legal regime for youth organisations and the legal framework for the support  to youth organisations. 

The initial section seeks to establish the criteria for identifying organisations that fall within the youth organisations scope. It stipulates that a youth organisation must comprise at least 80% members aged 30 or under, including a minimum of 80% of young individuals (aged 30 or under) on its executive board.

The law further defines a youth-centred organisation as a non-profit entity which, despite not meeting the formal criteria of a youth association, has, over the past three years, developed at least 50% of its activities exclusively for individuals aged 30 or under, and/or has a stated social purpose focused primarily or exclusively on serving young people. Recognition of such organisations is subject to approval by the Government member responsible for youth affairs.

Additionally, the law recognises students associations as students’ representative body within a given institution of basic, secondary, higher, or vocational education.

A central piece of this legal framework is the National Registry for Youth Organisations (RNAJ), where all of the above mentioned entities must be registered to be recognised in the youth sector. As such, being registered with RNAJ is essential to guarantee the support and rights granted by law.

Public financial support

There are four kinds of support available to youth organisations delivered by IPDJ, which are granted through the Law on Youth Associations: financial, logistic, technical, and training. According to this law, financial support is framed by three programmes, regulated by Decree-Law no. 1230/2006:

• Youth Support Programme (Programa de Apoio Juvenil – PAJ): aims to support the activities developed by youth associations and informal youth groups (as defined in Article 40(1)(a) of Law 57/2019). It can be biennial, annual, and  one-off;
• Student Support Programme (Programa de Apoio Estudantil – PAE): supports the activities developed by students associations and their respective federations;
• Infrastructure Support Programme (Programa de Apoio Infra-Estrutural – PAI): supports investment in infrastructure, facilities and equipment for the activities developed by youth associations and similar organisations.

Besides these three programmes, there is also a Training programme (programa Formar+), which provides  and promotes training support for young people, the associative movement and youth professionals, through four support measures.

Currently, there is also a line for financial support for the development of internships in youth organisations, as a measure to fight unemployment, promoting the reinforcement of youth organisations’ human resources (even if many of them are voluntarily driven), but also taking full advantage of the skills usually delivered to unemployed youngsters in the context of a youth organisation. It is the “Incentive for the Development of Associations” programme (programa de Incentivo ao Desenvolvimento Associativo – IDA), created by Order no. 155/2013, of 18 April, and amended by Order no. 160/2019, of 24 May.

These are dedicated programmes, that go deeply to the core of youth organisations’ basic needs. However, there are many other funds available in programmes that correspond to Youth Organisations’ areas of action or interest. For instance, leisure times occupation, summer camps, international work camps, volunteering programmes, and other areas where youth organisations can apply with ideas and projects, apart from their regular activity plans. No duplicated financial support is authorised.

Apart from these programmes, IPDJ runs a programme called the House of Youth, allowing youth organisations to have a place to start its activities and gather its members.

Public support programmes for youth organisations have an estimated allocation of 6 million euros  available annually. There are over 1,100 active youth organisations regularly registered and active in the RNAJ.

Type of activities supported

Supported activities are diverse, including culture (theatre, music, arts), environment, science, sport, political engagement and debate, youth empowerment, gender and minorities empowerment, multiculturalism, migrations and networking, entrepreneurship, youth work, among others. This means that it is possible for a youth organisation to receive support  in almost every area of its own interest and motivation, if non-formal education learning methodologies are applied, with restrictions regarding the type of budgetary items, levels of funding, co-funding obligations, and self-funding.

Initiatives to increase the diversity of participants

The inclusion of all young people in IPDJ initiatives and programmes, especially young people with fewer opportunities, is a permanent concern reflected in different actions that allow the participation of a diverse group of young people in youth organisations. The youth movement in Portugal is very rich as far as diversity is concerned, covering many young people with different backgrounds and reflecting the diversity of Portuguese society.

The consultation processes have been trying to meet the plurality of young voices. For example, the National Consultation Forum for the National Plan for Youth shows a specific intent to include young representatives that identify themselves as belonging to differentiated  social groups, namely:

• young people from rural and remote areas;

• young people residing in the outermost regions of Madeira and Azores; 

• young representatives from associations advocating for LGBTQI+ rights; 

• young Roma;

• young Afro-descendants and migrants in Portugal.