The European Knowledge Centre for Youth Policy (EKCYP) Correspondents
The EKCYP is supported by a European wide network of European Knowledge Centre for Youth Policy correspondents nominated by the member states ministries.
The European Knowledge Centre for Youth Policy correspondents draft country sheets on national youth policies and answer questionnaires on the topics of Participation, Information, Voluntary Activities and a Better Understanding of Youth. The results can be found in the section country information of the EKCYP.
The answers to the questionnaires are either quantitative (e.g. the numbers of young people who belong to youth organisations, the number of people who vote in elections and the number of young people) or qualitative (e.g. measures to foster voluntary activities, actions that have been taken this year on the different topics and methods for increasing citizenship).
The European Knowledge Centre for Youth Policy correspondents
Albania
Jehona ROKA
Armenia
Marine Sargsyan
Head of Cooperation and Analysis Division of the Department of Youth Policy of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia.
Candidate of Philological Sciences, Master of Public Administration.
Since 2010 she has been working at the Cooperation and Analysis Division and has participated in the creation of the important documents of youth policy such as The Concept of State Youth Policy of the RA, The Strategies of the State Youth Policy of RA for 2012-2017 and 2018-2022, The Regulation of Youth Worker Institute, The Training Program of the Youth Worker.
She has participated in a series of trainings on youth policy and youth work.
Austria
Mr Manfred ZENTNER
Donau-Universität Krems
I studied Mathematics and Philosophy but work as a youth researcher since 1997. My main fields of interest are youth cultures, political participation of young people as well as attitudes and values. Furthermore I am active in evaluation studies on youth policy and on the implementation of preventive concepts and health promotion in youth work.
From 1997 to 1999 I was researcher at the Austrian Institute for Youth Research where I became scientific director in 2000. From 2001 to 2013 I worked in the fields of research and knowledge transfer at the private research organisation jugendkultur.at in Vienna. Since 2013 I am engaged at the Danube-University Krems in the Department for Migration and Globalization as researcher and lecturer. Furthermore I am lecturer at various teacher training colleges in Austria.
Already in the late 1990s I was involved in the network of experts on youth research and one of the national correspondents for the EKCYP since its start.
In the year 2007 I was raporteur in the Council of Europe international review team for the national youth policy in Hungary and four years later for the international review of the youth policy in Belgium.
Azerbaijan
Ms. Narmin ASLANBAYOVA
Belarus
Mr Andrei SALIKAU
National Institute for Higher Education, Youth Policy and Sociocultural Communication Department
Andrei Salikau is a Professor at the Youth Policy and Sociocultural Communication Department, the National Institute for Higher Education, Minsk, Belarus. Andrei received his B.A. in Arts, M.A. in Humanitarian Sciences, Ph.D. in Culturology (candidate of Culturology) from the Belarusian State University of Culture and Arts, Minsk, Belarus. Also, he received conferred qualification «Specialist in Youth Work» from the National Institute for Higher Education.
He has been taking part in many national and international activities in the youth field (forums, symposiums, consultative meetings, workshops, webinars, etc.). He is a member of the editorial board for the Youth Voice Journal, and executive secretary for the editorial board of the academic journal «Modern youth and society». Andrei Salikau is a member of some ed-hock expert groups on youth issues at national and international levels. He carries out scientific and scientifically popular researches in the youth field and manages some international youth programs and projects.
His research interests include state youth policy (development and implementation); international youth cooperation; young people's creativity and culture; intercultural dialog in the youth field; youth quality of life and wellbeing; financial literacy and economic culture for youth; social protection of youth in the Republic of Belarus.
Belgium (Flemish speaking community)
Ms Lieve BRADT
Ghent University, Department of Social Work and Social Pedagogy
Prof. dr. Lieve Bradt obtained her PhD in Educational Sciences at Ghent University in 2009. Since 2016 she is Professor of Social Pedagogy at the Department of Social Work and Social Pedagogy at Ghent University. She is promotor coordinator of the Youth Research Platform (Jeugdonderzoeksplatform), a policy research centre subsidized by the Flemish Government. The Youth Research Platform is an interdisciplinary and interuniversity cooperation between Ghent University (social work and social pedagogy), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (sociology) and KU Leuven (youth criminology). The Youth Research Platform’s main tasks are (1) expanding our knowledge on youth by drawing up an inventory of existing youth research in both a national and international context, and (2) recurrently conducting large-scale survey research on the life-conditions, attitudes and activities of young people in Flanders.
Belgium (French speaking community)
Julie De Wilde
Ministère de la Communauté française - Observatoire de l'Enfance, de la Jeunesse et de l'Aide à la Jeunesse
Julie De Wilde is a sociologist who has worked as an academic researcher in UCL (Université catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve) for almost six years. She works now at the Observatoire de l’enfance, de la jeunesse et de l’Aide à la Jeunesse (Observatory of childhood, youth and youth care) since 2014. The Observatory is part of the Ministry of the french-speaking Community Governement. Its works consists on generating studies and datas in this specific field. It’s also in charge of the evaluation of different decrees concerning public policies on childhood and youth.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mr Jasmin JASAREVIC
PRONI Centre for youth development
Child Protection officer in PRONI Brcko, an “A”, “B” and “B+” level certified educator and General Manager of the PRONI Center for Youth Development. He has served on the national BH Commission for youth since 2006. He holds several Training of Trainers certificates focused on youth worker trainings, with a focus on engaging youth in conflict mitigation activities. Jasmin was involved in youth policy and youth work development since 1998. Jasmin is currently engage as a Correspondent for Youth Policy Development from BiH within a program of the European Knowledge Centre for Youth Policy (EKCYP). He was the first trainer from BiH to be included in the online list of trainers of the SALTO-YOUTH Resource youth center, and is also a President of the Management Board of Anna Lindh foundation - BiH Network and a previous member of the Executive Board of the US Alumni Association Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since 2012, Jasmin is BIH Country Director for YouthBuild International.
Bulgaria
Lilia TOPALOVA
For more than 16 years Lilia Topalova has been involved in the implementation of youth policies on National and European level.
As a member of WG of Knowledge Management & Staff Training (KMST) of GD EAK for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture she worked to support NAs staff in the implementation of Erasmus+ Programme to reach out a coherent European approach for capacity building, staff competences and strategic partnership.
Croatia
Mr Marko KOVACIC
Institute for Social Research
Marko Kovacic is a youth researcher seated at the Institute for Social Research where he is affiliated to the Center for Youth and Gender Studies. Currently, he is a visiting fresearch ellow at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona where he studies youth political participation.
Marko’s education include PhD in (youth) public policy at the University of Ljubljana (ongoing), an MA in public policy at the University of Zagreb and an MA program in political science at Central European University, Budapest. Marko’s research focus is on youth policy, particularly non-formal political participation of young people in the post-socialist context, youth political competency and youth work. He has been publishing papers on those and similar issues in domestic and international journals and presented his findings in more than 20 international conferences.
Apart from the academic career, for more than 10 years Marko has been an active member and a trainer in various civil society organizations and initiatives, focusing on youth and educational issues. Hence, he is a national correspondent on youth policy for the European Knowledge Center for Youth Policy, administrated by the Youth Partnership between the Council of Europe and the European Commission. Marko has worked as a consultant and evaluator for numerous international organizations on topic of youth and education. In addition, he is a youth research methodology lecturer at the Youth Studies programme in Croatia.
Cyprus
Ms Anna LYTRA
Youth Board of Cyprus
Czech Republic
Šimon Presser
Estonia
Ms Reelika PIRK
Ministry of Education and Research, Youth and Talent Policy Department
Reelika Pirk is an analysist at the Ministry of Education and Research, Youth and Talent Policy Department. She is also a PhD candidate in sociology at Tallinn University. Her research interest is in youth studies, precisely youth and social-political participation.
Finland
Mr Tomi Kiilakoski
Finnish Youth Research Society
Tomi Kiilakoski, PhD, is a senior researcher in the Finnish Youth Research Network and an adjunct professor in the University of Tampere. His areas of expertise include youth work, youth participation, educational policy, school violence and its prevention, cultural philosophy and critical pedagogy. He has worked in the university of Tampere and Humak University of Applied Sciences. He has authored eight books on youth work, youth participation and critical pedagogy in his native language, Finnish. He engages actively in promoting participation and developing youth work on the local and state level in Finland.
France
Jeanne Gorny
Jeanne GORNY
Ministère de l’Education et de la Jeunesse / Ministry for Education and Youth
Georgia
Nino Mikhanashvili
Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport
Nino Mikhanashvili has been working in the field of youth since 2016. She is the coordinator for international relations at the Youth Agency of Georgia. She is the contact person for international correspondence, reporting and cooperation.
Nino holds a Bachelor's Degree in Economics and Masters in Public Administration.
Germany
Felix Bender
IJAB – International Youth Service of the Federal Republic of Germany
Felix Bender is a Project Officer at the Information on International Youth Work and Youth Policy department of IJAB – International Youth Service of the Federal Republic of Germany. He received degrees in Governance and Public Policy and European Studies from the University of Passau.
Since 2019 Felix have been involved in youth policy and youth work on a European and national level and engages actively in promoting participation and non-formal education on the local and state level in Germany. He is part of the Eurodesk national coordinators office based in Bonn and a member of the European Youth Portal Advisory Group.
For more than 10 years Felix has been an active facilitator and trainer in diverse civil society organizations and initiatives, focusing on youth and educational topics. He is a Representative for a youth organization to the European Youth Forum
Greece
Chrysanthi PAPADOPOULOU
Chrysanthi (Chrysa) PAPADOPOULOU (Ms.),
Department of European and International Affairs on Youth/
Youth Directorate/General Secretariat for Vocational Education, Training, Lifelong Learning and Youth/Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs.
Hungary
Enikő Varga-Végvári
Ireland
Maurice DEVLIN
Italy
Maria Luisa Silvestrini
Prime Minister’s Office
Department for Youth and National Civic Service
Latvia
Correspondent to be confirmed
Liechtenstein
Stefan BATLINER
Lithuania
Ms Ruta BRAZIENE
Ruta Braziene holds a PhD in Social Sciences (Sociology). She is Chief Researcher at the Lithuanian Research Centre, Labour Market Research Institute. Her areas of expertise include youth transition from the education to the labour market, youth labour market integration, youth social exclusion and living conditions, housing provision for the youth, youth policies development and evaluation and etc. She held a research grant and was a Chief Researcher –project leader “Transition of Youth from Education to the Labour Market in Lithuania: development of monitoring system’ (2012-14) from Lithuanian Science Council. She holds a research grant and is a Chief Researcher – project leader “Housing Provision for the Youth: Processes, Problems and Solutions in Lithuania” (2017-18) from Lithuanian Science Council. She has written and published monographs, articles and reports on youth: for example: “Transition of Lithuanian youth from education to the labour market: theoretical presumptions and empirical evidence” (2013, ISI Web of Science, in Lithuanian), “Youth and Housing in Lithuania: Different Opportunities, Pathways and Challenges” (2018, monograph, in Lithuanian).
She has more than 20 years of scholarly and practical experience with Universities, local Governments and NGOs in Central and Eastern Europe, the United Nations (UN) and the European Commission, as well as more than 8 years of experience of ESF evaluations.
Luxembourg
Robin Samuel
Malta
Mr Jason ZAMMIT & Mr. Ian FARRUGIA
Mr Jason ZAMMIT - Aġenzija Żgħażagħ
Mr. Ian FARRUGIA
Aġenzija Żgħażagħ
Moldova (Republic of)
Mrs Mariana TURCAN
Currently, Mariana Turcan is the Executive Director of Creative Development Association. She has a good experience in the youth sector, she was the President of the National Youth Council Moldova (2003-2005), Bureau Member of the European Youth Forum (2005-2006), trainer and co-ordinator of different projects, member in different committees and working groups at national and international level etc.
Montenegro
Mr Krsto VUKADINOVIC
Norway
Ms Miriam Poulsson KRAMER
Poland
Mateusz Jeżowski
Mateusz Jeżowski is a Research Unit coordinator at the Polish National Agency of Erasmus+ Programme and Youth Wiki national correspondent. Since 2006 he has been involved in research projects on youth, education and international mobility, with a special focus on transnational volunteering activities. He co-authored three books on youth policy in Poland and in the Eastern Europe and Caucasus countries and authored several research reports on international mobility impact on young people, local communities, youth organisations and schools. He is working on a PhD on social engagement of ex-EVS volunteers.
Portugal
Ms Ana Cristina GARCIA
Ana Cristina Garcia works in the Sport and Youth Portuguese Institute with programs and projets connected with free time and volunteering. She belongs also to the team of Lisbon Youth Centre where she is the responsible for non informal education, democarcy, citizenship and social inclusion. For a long time she is a trainer for trainers in Portuguese language.
Romania
Adina Marina Șerban, PhD
PhD in Political Sciences (Comparative European Youth Policies in Romania and Turkey), with extended expertise in grassroots youth work and youth work methodologies and practices, youth participation methodologies and inclusion policies. MA in Comparative European Social Studies (MACESS) at London Metropolitan University, holding a BA in Political Sciences and one in Social Work – University of Bucharest. Her research interests are in the field of social policies for young people, structured dialogue and participatory youth structures, youth led movements, as well as into the transfer mechanisms of European policies and programmes to the local realities.
Slovenia
Correspondent to be confirmed
Slovak Republic
Peter Papšo
Department of Youth, Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak republic
Spain
Correspondent to be confirmed
Sweden
Ms Tiina Ekman
The Swedish Agency for Youth and civil society
North Macedonia
Mr Tomislav GAJTANOSKI
Coalition of youth organisations SEGA
Tomislav holds bachelor degree in Public Administration and has extensive experience in youth policy development over the past 9 years. He was consultant in the preparation of the National Youth Strategy 2016 – 2025, and holds expertise and extensive knowledge in youth participation. Additionally, Tomislav holds expertise in continuous research process on the right to participation of children and youth and expertise in Results Based Approach in PCM. He is an author of several publications such as the Youth Participation Manual, Lobbying Advocacy Manual, Creating Local Youth Policies manual and Report on Monitoring of child rights.
The Netherlands
Letty Darwish
Letty Darwish is Adviser and researcher at Netherlands Youth Institute (NJi), the national knowledge centre about the youth sector, in Utrecht.
Main activities: Contributing to several NJi projects about strengthening children and youth wellbeing in cooperation with the youth field; Collecting, writing and publishing online and offline in English about youth policy and participating in expert meetings; National correspondent on Dutch youth policies for Youth Wiki, the online encyclopedia on youth policies in Europe. Assessing and monitoring youth participation projects: one about promoting active world citizenship (SBOS) from the ministry of Foreign Affairs and the other the European programme promoting youth mobility (Youth In Action / Erasmus+ Youth).
Türkiye
Correspondent to be confirmed
Ukraine
Ms Iryna Belyaeva
Iryna holds a master’s degrees in Public Administration and International Relations. She has extensive experience in youth policy development. Over the past nine years she was Head of Youth policy department at the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine. She coordinated the work on the development and approval of the National Youth Strategy 2030, State Target Programs “Youth of Ukraine” for 2016-2020 and 2021-2025. She also represented Ukraine in the Council of Europe Steering Committee on Youth (2015-2023), chaired the Programming Committee on Youth of the Council of Europe (CPJ) in 2017, and was Deputy chair of the Programming Committee on Youth of the Council of Europe in 2016.
Iryna is currently working at the civil society organization “The Initiative Center to Support Social Action “Ednannia”.
Reports of the EKCYP correspondents meetings
- Joint PEYR-EKCYP annual meeting report, 2022
Photo gallery
- 17th Joint PEYR/EKCYP meeting, 2021
- 16th meeting, 2020
- 15th meeting, 2019
- 14th Joint PEYR-EKCYP meeting, 2018
- 13th Joint PEYR-EKCYP meeting, 2017
- 12th Joint PEYR-EKCYP meeting, 2016
- 11th meeting, 2015
- 10th meeting, 2014
- 9th meeting, 2013
- 8th meeting, 2012
- 7th meeting, 2011
- Joint PEYR-EKCYP meeting, 2010
- 6th meeting, 2010
- 5th meeting, 2009
- 4th meeting, 2008
- 3rd meeting, 2008
- 2nd meeting, 2007
- 1st meeting, 2006