Agnes Gkoutziamani runs for the Advisory Council on Youth 2024/2025

Agnes Gkoutziamani, our Advocacy Manager, is representing Youth and Environment Europe (YEE), for the AC CoE 2024/2025 election.

🟡 By simplifying policies and building the needed capacity for members of the European Youth Forum in order to create new ways of participation
🟡 Inspired by the Council of Europe, ensuring implementation of the co-managed policy-making within national and local levels by creating an interactive template format for adoption.
🟡 Working closely with European Youth Forum member organisations which are an access point for marginalised young people and creating an effective channel of communication to voice their views to the Council of Europe.
🟡 Working closely with the Drafting Group of the Recommendation Paper on Climate Crisis and young people, to ensure the final document reflects the needs and prospects of young people in this fight.
🟡 Increase access to opportunities for youth to directly participate in decision-making. Young people continue to play a significant role in environmental, political and social movements, but the momentum of this on-the-ground action is not leveraged to transform policy and decision-making processes, limiting their capacity to accelerate impact.
🟡 Build leadership development programmes within institutions to establish the next pipeline of talent that is empowered with both capacity building, institutional knowledge and the resources required to grow into leadership positions.

🟡 There are no human rights if we do not have a healthy environment to live in. Council of Europe member states are still divided about this, and with the Reykjavik Summit around the corner, it is our turn to set our motion clear: right to a healthy environment should be part of our human rights.
🟡 Youth-led litigation is so powerful, so why not switch to youth led mitigation and guarantee our right to a healthy environment?
🟡 Youth can bring a strong intergenerational youth perspective and contribute to “greening” human rights.
🟡 Promoting the concept of climate justice to be added in the top of the agenda of the CoE as the division among north and south is increasing social inequalities, creating two pace societies when there is only one planet.

🟡 Advocating for Advisory Council to have regular consultations with national representatives in order to strengthen the voices of all the Members.
🟡 Promoting the cruciality of funding to youth to ensure that no one is left behind
🟡 Ensuring that all the youth representations include young people from marginalised communities and rural areas, as youth is not a homogenous group
🟡 Ensuring that organised and unorganised youth are acknowledged, represented and youth workers are trained and follow safeguarding policies to access and protect those young people.
🟡 Raising awareness and advocating for the inclusion of young people affected by the conflict: The Russian aggression against Ukraine has had a significant impact on the lives of young people living in the affected areas; support and resources should be prioritised to the youth affected in order to guarantee peace and security.

Background

Agnes comes from Northern Greece, from a small rural town.
Studies

She studied Law and has gained two Master's Degrees, one in International & European Legal Studies and one in Energy and Climate Law.
Work

She works at YEE as the Advocacy Manager.
Other activities

She is a co-founder of a non-formal youth club in her hometown promoting rural youth’s rights.