One of the overarching aims of the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027 is to create more and equal opportunities for all young people to participate in the education and labour market as well as in society more generally. The development of a national strategy on social inclusion can be one of the means to address the exclusion of young people with fewer opportunities in European societies. A strategy is an overarching public document, an action plan, or a set of official documents indicating the main directions to be followed in the organisation of policy making at national level.

About half of European countries address the social inclusion of young people through both their National Youth Strategy and one or more broad top-level strategy or programme that may target the wider population, but includes a particular focus on youth. The latter are usually national strategies for combatting social exclusion and poverty; for promoting education and employment; for ensuring children and young people’s rights and welfare; for promoting the inclusion of particular groups of young people, e.g. those who are homeless, disabled, at risk of crime or radicalisation or belonging to the LGBTIQA+ community.

In the other half of the surveyed countries, the social inclusion of young people is addressed only through such broader top-level strategy(ies)/programme(s). Only a few tackle the topic uniquely through the National Youth Strategy.