Interests of young people discussed in a global network

Most of the work done by the Children and Young People's Unit affects young people in England. But young people today can look forward to closer European integration and an ever-shrinking global community, as barriers between countries and cultures are broken down.

There are several ways the CYPU can promote this international flavour in children's interests. The Unit is the main agency for Britain's contribution to organisations working on the international stage such as the European Union (or European Commission) and the United Nations.

The experiences of English young people and politicians working together can help inform what is going on in international policy-making bodies. It works round the other way too. The work of these bodies provides an unrivalled opportunity for young people in England to experience what is going on abroad.

In Europe, an EU White Paper on youth is under discussion and, through the CYPU, young people from this country have been able to make a contribution. The White Paper recommends ways of involving young people aged 15 to 25, giving them better information on how decisions are made, enabling them to have a bigger say and helping politicians to understand young people's problems.

The first area that will be put into effect is more participation and information among young people, and young people in England were invited to make their own suggestions about how best to achieve this. See the CYPU's website at www.cypu.gov.uk/eurozone for further information.

The CYPU is the UK's co-ordination point for work on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The convention sets out international standards on children's rights that nations are supposed to follow.

For more information, see the United Nation's High Commissioner on Human Rights website: www.unhchr.ch