11/08/1998

Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, Colleagues, ladies and gentlemen.

First of all I wish to express our gratitude to the Portuguese hosts for making this conference possible and for all the efforts that have been put into the organisation and planning of this impressing initiative.

Expo 98 has. given the whole arrangement a frame which signals belief in the future. A future where young people n o t are considered as problems, but as the solution - as it has been stated earlier at this conference.

Portugal has taken an important step to ensure the continuation and further progress of a global dialogue on youth-related issues. An area of politics, which also has a very high priority in Denmark. Not only because the youth is the future. But also because the youth is the present - and now more than ever ready to participate in the everyday-life of all societies.

Let us cooperate internationally in our common efforts in giving the youth the best possibilities for doing so!

For the sake of our societies and our common world it must be repeated again and again: Youth participation and youth empowerment are extremely important for a well functioning society.

Therefore Denmark has welcomed this conference in Lissabon as a contuniation of the important worldwide dialogue on youth-related isues. Hereby the importance of youth and youthrelated issues is stressed once more.

The thougths from this conference will spread throughout the world. Not only through the final declaration but perhaps first and foremost through all the representatives here - as a result of a close coorperation between the states and the NGO's, not least all the young people present here.

May I say a few words of the Danish youth politics, as it is formulated by our government under the responsibility of the Danish Minister of Education.

The Danish youth policy has one overall objective: "All young people should be able to enjoy the possibilities of an eventful youth qualifying them for an independent and diversified life as active contributors to the development of society".

This overall objective is complemented by ten objectives covering such diverse subjects as influence and responsibility, education for all young people, full employment for young people, IT and international qualifications.

All of these objectives are followed up by a range of initiatives, first and foremost the socalled youth municipalities. 17 local municipalities in Denmark have been selected to participate in the project which runs over a period of three years.

The aim is to let local municipalities test and develop a whole range of innovative ways to realise the objectives of the youth policy. Of course the local youth population is involved in the planning and implementation of the project.

It might be of interest for you to hear that many of the youth-municipalities wishes to add an international dimension to their activities. By these means they want to encourage and stimulate the international competences of their young people.

It is our hope that a broad range of these projects will be of interest not only within Denmark, but also in your countries.

There are furthermore two points that the Danish Delegation would like to stress. In our country much attention is attached to disadvantaged and marginalised youth.

- To provide various ways to give them the necessary means and possibilities.

- To develop their potential.

- To find theirown personal strengths.

We are therefore pleased that this group is given high priority by many delegations.

We also find *it important to assure that besides the youth who are members of a youth organisation the youth politics must also be aware of the young people who rather participate on a more informal basis in various projects.

The way to a world with a stronger democratic culture goes through the young people. As a preparation for their future democratic acting it is important that they are a part of everyday democratic life.

The Danish youth politics has been shaped after a long proces where thousands of young people have been involved. Here at this conference our delegation has had a close and constructive exchange of views with NGO's from Denmark. It is naturally for us - in the same way that we ask young people to join as full members of the official danish delegation at the UN-assembly in New York later this year.

Mr. chairperson - tomorrow we'll leave Lissabon with a luggage of good experience and a belief in the future international cooperation about youth politics.

Thank You