ENSP Youth Tobacco Control Leadership School

#YTCLS22

A unique opportunity for young advocates

The event expects around 40 participants, selected from the ENSP Youth Group active in EU countries, as well as tobacco control and public health advocates from non-EU, Eastern, Southern European countries, together with students of Collegium Civitas and Warsaw Medical University.

 

Within this unique gathering, the participants will get the chance to build leadership and advocacy skills of young European public health advocates in managing tobacco control programs and policies, as well as to share and exchange their knowledge on major current and future needs, threats, successes and challenges in tobacco control.

European Year of Youth 2022

The Commission welcomed the political agreement reached by the European Parliament and the Council to make 2022 the European Year of Youth. Following the announcement by President von der Leyen in her 2021 State of the Union address that 2022 should be a year dedicated to those who have dedicated so much to others, the Commission submitted in October its formal proposal to designate 2022 the European Year of Youth to the co-legislators.

Activities during European Year of Youth 2022

This year, one of the Commission's priorities is to coordinate a range of activities in close contact with the European Parliament, the Member States, regional and local authorities, youth organisations and young people themselves. The initiatives being developed under the European Year of Youth will be supported by €8 million from Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps, the European Year of Youth dedicated top-up decided by the budgetary authority for 2022. Other Union programmes and instruments also significantly contribute to the objectives and activities of the Year. Young Europeans have therefore the chance to benefit from many opportunities to gain knowledge, skills, and competences for their professional development, and to strengthen their civic engagement to shape Europe's future.

 

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Youth opportunities at the EU level

Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions:

Doctoral Networks 2022

Become a Horizon Europe Young Observer

As part of the European Year of Youth 2022, master's students in the EU are invited to become "Young Observers" in Horizon Europe proposal evaluations, having the opportunity to follow closely how the EU selects projects for funding. For this purpose, participants will:

• Observe the work of independent experts evaluating proposals. This is a unique opportunity to experience directly how the EU budget for Horizon Europe is used, by selecting the best proposals in a fair and impartial evaluation process within a fiercely competitive environment.
• Gain knowledge and support to develop skills relevant for assessing proposals, getting an insider’s view and awareness of the opportunities of the EU funding programmes, useful at a later stage in the career.
• Receive a ‘Young Observer’ certificate, awarded by the European Commission.
• Play a pivotal role in testing this new initiative, by giving feedback to the European Commission and taking part in follow-up actions to inspire young people to engage with research. 

Other news and youth events

2nd NCD Youth Conference

From 29th August to 1st September 2022, the 2nd NCD Youth Conference took place in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Organised by Youth Health Organization, the conference brought together more than 70 international participants representing the Public Health and Youth sectors.

 

The main theme was "Health Literacy in the context of NCDs" which allowed participants to explore the aspects and perspectives of this topic and the field of youth health. The main goal was to empower youth workers and leaders to set up healthy environments for their constituents locally and improve the participants’ level of health literacy and their competencies for working in the field of NCDs. ENSP was represented by Karina Mocanu during the opening plenary, as well as during the special parallel session dedicated to " Health literacy & Alcohol, tobacco and other substances".

Within the closing plenary, YHO launched an informal Youth Alliance for Health Literacy that is supported by the Ljubljana Declaration. More news about this to follow!

European Allergy and Asthma Youth Parliament

The European Allergy and Asthma Youth Parliament is a group of young patient advocates aged 16-30 who meet regularly to influence EU policy around food safety, air quality and the environment, digital healthcare, One Health, and improving mobility for young people. Through the Youth Parliament, they gain confidence as young patient advocates and offer their unique perspectives to policymaking.

 

As a diverse network of young patients, the team is equipped with a variety of personal experiences and backgrounds, which we use in our aims to improve our skills as patient ambassadors. The Youth Parliament is open to all young people in Europe living with allergy or asthma, or scientific advisors and healthcare professionals who are interested in understanding the patients’ perspective.

 

As part of their 2022 Capacity Building training to enhance their understanding of the European Union and the tools available to them to influence it, the Youth Parliament organised a side event where they invited speakers from prominent European youth organisations to provide insight into their work as advocates based on the following topic: "How do I find my voice as a young person in the EU?".

 

Among other relevant organisations, ENSP Youth Group had the opportunity to be represented at this event by Karina Mocanu, where Youth Parliament members listened to experiences of campaigning in and advocating towards the EU, to learn of different perspectives and approaches. As the central focus of the Youth Parliament is improving healthcare for young people, discussions explored different factors which impact health in terms of both smoking prevention and cessation.

Statement of the Youth

on the Intergenerational Responsibility of the Tobacco Industry

On the occasion of International Youth Day on August 12,  global organizations representing the youth have released a statement condemning the tobacco industry’s creation of a new generation of addiction and calling for governments to make the tobacco companies pay for past, present and future harms.

ENSP joined the call of the global youth. “When government allows the tobacco industry to influence tobacco control or vaping policy, they are serving the heads of our children to the tobacco industry on a platter. We should not allow this,” says ENSP Secretary General, Cornel Radu-Loghin.

 

According to the statement, vaping policies should consider primarily the risks of youth addiction / recreational use. The youth also wants governments to exact tobacco industry accountability and liability, which can come in the form of revocation of licenses, compensation for harms, financial guarantees for future harms, and can involve court cases, tobacco surcharges, penalties, fees or taxes, among others.

 

Tobacco causes 8 million deaths a year in addition to causing addiction and environmental harm (Optional to add Local Data). Single-use plastics in cigarette packs and butts alone cause at least 20B USD annually in marine resource losses (Optional to add local data).  Overall, the losses outweigh any economic gains of the industry, costing USD 1.4 trillion in economic losses annually.

 

Read the full statement...

The EU Single-Use Plastics Directive and its impact on tobacco products: A policy analysis

The primary objective of the SUP Directive is to prevent and minimize the negative effects that some plastic products have on the environment, particularly the marine environment, as well as on human health. In an effort to combat marine litter, the Directive imposes restrictions and criteria on SUPs that fall under the purview of specific categories and items made from oxo-degradable plastic. 

 

Become a European Youth Ambassador in Tobacco Control!

Every year, the ENSP offers the possibility for young individuals to interact with ENSP longstanding members and experienced partners within a traineeship programme. In 2022, ENSP opened a few positions in order to place selected candidates either in the ENSP office in Brussels, or within the ENSP members' offices across Europe.