Shrinking civil society space for young people

The Council of Europe is the continent's leading human rights organisation. It includes 47 member states, 27 of which are members of the European Union. The Council of Europe advocates freedom of expression and of the media, freedom of assembly, equality, and the protection of minorities. The Council of Europe helps member states fight corruption and terrorism and undertake necessary judicial reforms. The Council of Europe promotes human rights through international conventions, such as the Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence and the Convention on Cybercrime.

Lana Pasic is a Youth Research and Policy Officer at the Partnership between the European Commission and the Council of Europe in the field of youth. She is coordinating the Pool of European Youth Researchers (PEYR) within the youth partnership, and she is working on the projects related to youth political participation, democratic citizenship education, social inclusion, digitalisation and AI. Lana holds MPhil degree in Development Studies from the University of Oxford, where she specialised in Children, Youth and Development. Previously, she consulted with various international and non-governmental organisations and institutions, including UNICEF, UNDP, Council of Europe, Oxfam, Save the Children, European Youth Forum and SALTO SEE, and has worked with young people from Bosnia and Herzegovina, South-East Europe, Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America.