April 17, 2025
Visit of Council of Europe representatives to Timișoara, as part of the TYPIC project
Visits
On April 10, 2025, Timișoara hosted a visit from three representatives of the Council of Europe’s co-management structure.
Nina Grmusa, President of the Advisory Council on Youth (CCJ) and the Joint Council on Youth (CMJ), Matias Rubio, member of the Advisory Council on Youth, and Jorge Orlando Queiros, member of the Bureau of the European Steering Committee for Youth (CDEJ), positively responded to FITT’s invitation, issued within the framework of the TYPIC – Timisoara Youth Participation in Co-management project, funded by the European Youth Foundation.
About the TYPIC project
TYPIC – Timisoara Youth Participation in Co-management is a strategic initiative of FITT that aims to create a local co-management system inspired by the model of the Council of Europe. Through this project, we aim to:
- strengthen collaboration between young people, youth organizations, and local public authorities;
- contribute to the expansion of the Advisory Council on Youth of the Municipality of Timișoara, ensuring broader and more diverse youth representation;
- create a Local Coordination Committee for Youth, bringing together representatives of public services and institutions with at least partial responsibilities in the field of youth;
- merge these two structures into a Joint Youth Council at the local level, with both consultative and decision-making roles in youth policy.
TYPIC is funded by the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe, implemented in partnership with the National Youth Foundation and it represents an innovative initiative at national level, aiming to adapt and implement the co-management model in local administration.
Meetings with the Municipality representatives and youth organizations
During the visit, the Council of Europe representatives took part in a series of meetings with local authorities, young people, and civil society actors.
In the meeting with the representatives of the Timișoara City Hall, discussions focused on the existing mechanisms and tools that support youth participation at the local level, as well as a presentation of the Council of Europe’s co-management model.
Another key moment of the visit was the meeting with representatives of youth organizations, members of the Advisory Council on Youth of the Municipality of Timișoara, held at the Youth House. During this session, the potential for adapting the co-management system locally was discussed. Participants had the opportunity to learn directly from the three representatives how the system works at the Council of Europe level, the benefits it brings to young people, and the possible challenges of implementing it. Discussions emphasized the importance of active youth participation in community life and the role of local structures in supporting this engagement.
Tour of the Youth House
During the visit, the delegation had the opportunity to discover the Youth House in Timișoara, the only youth center in Romania that holds the Council of Europe’s Quality Label for Youth Centres.
The representatives toured the infrastructure owned and managed by FITT – from the educational hub dedicated to Ukrainian students, to the activity rooms, art studio, and multifunctional spaces used for non-formal education, art courses, and cultural events.
A step towards a more inclusive local administration
Implementing a co-management system at the local level is not merely an administrative step, but a strategic investment in building young people’s trust in public institutions. It is a crucial step towards a more democratic, open, and youth-responsive administration.
Adopting and adapting the Council of Europe’s model to the local context offers Timișoara the opportunity to become a national leader in youth participation in decision-making processes, thus strengthening a culture of dialogue and shared responsibility between citizens and authorities. In a city that aspires to sustainable development and participatory governance, young people can no longer be treated as mere beneficiaries—they must be recognized as active partners in shaping the community!
