Key for young Europeans
to information, mobility and participation
The EYCA Board with EYCA Director Marcel Hagmann (Lisbon, January 2010). President: Wolfgang Schick (Austria) Vice-Presidents: Angela Dato (Secretary, Italy) Jose Sousa (Treasurer, Portugal) Observer: Concha Fernandez Iglesias (Spain)
Members: Xavier Castellana (Spain) Walter Groenen (The Netherlands) Jarkko Lehikoinen (Finland) Milos Milenkovic (Serbia) Graeme Robertson (UK) Manel Sanchez Garcia (Andorra) Riivo Sinij채rv (Estonia) Mugurel Stan (Romania)
EYCA represents 41 Youth Card organisations in 38 European countries (37 full members, 2 associate members, 2 projects). All EYCA Member organisations issue the European Youth Card in their territory, which provides young people with benefits in the fields of culture, mobility, services, products, and much more. The European Youth Card Association has its official seat in The Netherlands and its office in Bratislava, Slovakia. EYCA’s Member organisations are NGOs and private foundations, state and public institutions, private companies, and other legal entities. Based on EYCA's Statutes, Member organisations commit to re-invest profit generated from card sales into further development of the benefits provided by the European Youth Card as well as into projects targeting youth.
EYCA Board The Board of Administration (The Board) consists of 11 members, including the President, and is responsible to govern the organisation. The highest body is the General Assembly (GA), where all EYCA Member organisations with full membership are represented and decide on all matters regarding the Association. During the June 2008 EYCA conference in Bucharest, the Board members listed on the left were elected by the General Assembly for a three-years term.
About EYCA
Legal status and structure
„Keeping up with the developments in virtual space, many EYCA member organisations now have a Facebook profile and are communicating with their cardholders through this and other social networks. Organisations deliver information to young people in real time, answer their questions, promote events and offers and run interactive forums. One of the most successful users of Facebook has been Carnet Jove Catalunya, the Catalan youth card, which has more than 33.000 fans.
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The EYCA Office is based in Bratislava, Slovakia and consists of 5 staff including the Director. The Office is mandated by the Board to implement the operational business plan of the orga?nisation, which includes the following main tasks: • Facilitation of communication between members: best practice exchange, newsletter, a corporate and a European Youth Card website • Administration of European projects • Ensuring of Quality Standards • Promotion of the European Youth Card and its benefits • Involvement in youth policy on European level • Cooperation with the European Commission, Council of Europe and other European institutions and associations • Organisation of Board meetings, annual conference, and other events The EYCA Office is registered in Slovakia as a non-profit organisation and has its Quality Management System certified according to the ISO 9001:2008 standard by SGS Slovakia. Office staff: •Marcel Hagmann, director •Julia Szendrei, financial manager •Stani Gajdosova, member support and programme •Sasha Petrasova, PR & communication •Dana Vyzinkarova, office assistant
„Young Scot has signed a contract with the British Council to become the Eurodesk relay for Scotland. They will handle Eurodesk enquiries from multipliers and young people in Scotland, and promote European youth information through their website.“
Headquarters
EYCA Office
European Youth Card Association Member Organisations Country
Organisation
Website
ANDORRA
Carnet Jove Andorra
www.carnetjove.ad
ARMENIA
Armenian Junior Chamber / EURO<26
www.euro26.am
AUSTRIA
EURO<26 Jugendkarte, Akzente Salzburg
www.euro26.at
BELARUS
Centre for Youth Information and Documentation - CYID http://adukacyja.info
BELGIUM Flemish-
CJP vzw
www.cjp.be
BELGIUM German-
Jugendbüro der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft
www.jugendbuero.be
BELGIUM French-
Carte Jeunes Wallonie-Bruxelles (Associate member)
www.cartejeunes.be
BULGARIA
Youth Information Network Bulgaria EURO<26 Bulgaria
CROATIA
Croatian Youth Hostel Association EURO<26 Hrvatska
www.euro26.hr
CYPRUS
Youth Board of Cyprus, Karta Neon EURO<26
www.euro26.org.cy
CZECH REPUBLIC
Sdružení Karty mládeže, o. s.
www.euro26.cz
ENGLAND
National Youth Agency Gateshead Youth Council
www.gbyoc.org.uk www.nya.org.uk www.youthinformation.com
ESTONIA
Eesti Euroopa Liikumine (European Movement Estonia)
www.euro26.ee
FINLAND
Finnish Youth Cooperation Allianssi
www.euro26.fi
FYROM
Aurora Turs Skopje (Associate member)
www.aurora.com.mk
GEORGIA
International Program Participants Association of Georgia (IPPA)
www.euro26.ge
GERMANY
(Project country operated by EURO<26 Schweizer Jugendkarte AG)
www.euro26.de
GREECE
Institute for Youth
www.europeanyouthcard.gr
HUNGARY
EURO<26 Nonprofit Kft
www.euro26.hu
speaking community speaking community speaking community
Organisation
Website
ITALY
Associazione Carta Giovani
www.cartagiovani.it
LATVIA
EURO<26 Jaunatnes Attistibas Asociācija (JAA) - Youth Development Association
www.euro26.lv
LIECHTENSTEIN
EURO<26 Jugendkarte Liechtenstein
www.euro26.li
LITHUANIA
Zigzag Travel
www.euro26.lt
LUXEMBOURG
Carte Jeunes EURO<26 Luxembourg
www.euro26.lu
MALTA
NSTS - Student & Youth Travel
www.nsts.org
MOLDOVA
CTD-EURO<26
MONTENEGRO
Evropska karta za mlade
www.euro26.org.me
NETHERLANDS
CJP
www.cjp.nl
POLAND
Polish Youth Projects Association
www.euro26.pl
PORTUGAL
Cartã o Jovem EURO<26
www.cartaojovem.pt
ROMANIA
Asociatia EURO<26 Romania
www.euro26.ro
RUSSIA
Russian Union of Youth
www.euro26.org.ru
SCOTLAND
Young Scot
www.youngscot.org
SERBIA
EURO<26 Serbia Association
www.euro26.rs
SLOVAKIA
CKM SYTS
www.euro26.sk
SLOVENIA
Movit – EURO<26
www.ejkartica.si
SPAIN
Instituto de la Juventud (Injuve)
http://www.infoven.migualdad.es/infoven/
SWEDEN
(Project country operated by Mecenat AB)
www.mecenat.se
SWITZERLAND
EURO<26 Schweizer Jugendkarte AG
www.euro26.ch
TURKEY
Youth Association for Habitat
www.euro26.com.tr
UKRAINE
YIC EURO<26 Zarevo
www.euro26.org.ua
Membership
Country
Youth Card Organisations in Spain Country
Organisation
Website
ANDALUCIA
Instituto Andaluz de la Juventud
www.andaluciajunta.es/patiojoven
ARAGON
Instituto Aragonés de la Juventud
www.carnejoven.es
ASTURIAS
Instituto Asturiano de la Juventud Consejeria de Cultura Comunicación Social y Turismo
www.princas.es/juventud/cjoven
BALEARES
Conselleria de Presidencia i Esports; Consorci Turisme Joven
www.cjove.com
CANARIAS
Dirección General de Juventud
www.juventudcanaria.com
CANTABRIA
Gobierno de Cantabria Dirección General de Juventud
www.jovenmania.com
CASTILLA LA MANCHA
Instituto de la Juventud de Castilla-La Mancha
www.jccm.es/vp1/juventud
CASTILLA LEON
Junta de Castilla y León Instituto de la Juventud de Castilla y León
www.castillayleonjoven.com
CATALUNYA
Secretaria de Joventut Agencia Catalana de la Joventut
www.carnetjove.cat
EXTREMADURA
Dirección General de Juventud
www.juventudextremadura.com
GALICIA
Xunta de Galicia Dirección Xeral de Xuventude e Solidariedade
www.rix.org
LA RIOJA
Instituto Riojano de la Juventud
www.larioja.org/juventud
MADRID
Comunidad de Madrid Dirección General de Juventud
www.madridesjoven.com
MURCIA
Instituto de la Juventud de la Región de Murcia
www.carnejovenmurcia.es
NAVARRA
Instituto Navarro de Deporte y Juventud
www.carnetjovennavarra.com
PAIS VASCO
Dirección de Juventud y Acción Comunitaria
www.gazteaukera.euskadi.net
VALENCIA
Institut Valenciá de Joventut
www.ivaj.es
CIUDAD DE CEUTA
Consejería de Juventud, Deportes y N. Tecnologias
www.ceuta.es/juventud
MELILLA
Consejería de Deporte y Juventud
EYCA is pleased to announce that Carte Jeunes Wallonie-Bruxelles, representing the French-speaking community of Belgium, was approved as Associate member of the Association by the General Assembly in 2009. The application for associate membership by Aurora Tours from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is to be approved during the GA in Yerevan, Armenia in May 2010. Regretfully, Canllaw Online in Wales and Carta Giovani in San Marino are no longer members of the Association as of the beginning of 2010.
Increase of maximum cardholder age Since 2008, EYCA member organisations may increase the age limit for cardholders to 30 years. However, this is considered voluntary and members who do not wish to raise the age restriction do not have to. As a result, 28 organisations issue cards for young people up to the age of 30 with the remaining 12 continuing with the age limit of 26.
Members and age limit
Membership
EYCA in numbers
Members’ statistics CARDHOLDERS There were more than 4 million cardholders as of December 31, 2009. THE EUROPEAN YOUTH CARD The prize of the national cards ranges from €5 to €19. The age limit for cardholders is individual from country to country, however the majority of the member organisations raised the age limit to 30 years. 32 % of members have a debit/credit card as part of their portfolio; 35 % issue a student card; 21 % cooperate with a city, a region or a local municipality; 30 % of organisations offer an insurance to their cardholders as part of the card. DISCOUNTS Throughout Member countries, there are more than 53.000 discounts available. Among the most attractive discounts and co-branded cards member organisations list: banks, insurance companies, air travel, railways, public transport, car hire, and telecom. Thirteen members offer more than 1.000 discounts each. COMMUNICATION A vital part of the member organisations’ work is providing cardholders with information about issues that concern young people. EYCA members provide youth info to more than 1.8 million young people through newsletters and magazines and to 1.4 million cardholders through e-mail campaigns. THE CARD BUSINESS EYCA’s member organisations employ together 95 full-time and 106 part-time staff who work directly with the European Youth Card. COMMITMENT The main motivation of EYCA member organisations to promote the European Youth Card among young people is the European dimension of the card, the reciprocity of discounts, the possibility for networking, exchange of best practices, and encouragement of mobility among cardholders.
Mission and Vision The EYCA mission is founded on three core priorities for young people: Information, Participation, and Mobility. Through projects and initiatives, EYCA’s member organisations communicate quality information to young people. By providing benefits for travel, accommodation, and culture, they promote youth mobility within countries and throughout Europe. Youth card organisations also encourage young people to be actively involved in society and influence what happens around them.
„Carta Giovani, the Italian EYCA member, has signed an agreement with the region Piemonte about issuing a co-branded PYou Card. This card features special benefits because it is valid as a museum and cinema card and entitles the cardholder to the use of city transport. The project is connected to the fact that Torino is the European Youth Capital in 2010.
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„The Slovenian youth card Ej!KArtica has participated in the process of introducing, discussing and phrasing the new youth law in Slovenia, which among other legislation defines young people up to the age of 29. Together with youth workers, experts and politicians, they took part in a workshop on ‘The living conditions of youth in Slovenia’.
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Trafo – A portal for ideas that inspire As an association of youth organisations, EYCA was often confronted with the fact that ‘youth information’ is neither available in a language that is spoken by ‘mainstream’ young people nor in a format that is attractive for them. EYCA decided to design a new web-portal that will be filled with user-generated content. Trafo - short for transformer – gives young people the chance to create their own ‘youth information’ through articles, videos, or other media. In phase one of the project, EYCA organised a training for 20 young journalists and staff from member organisations. They learned what youth info is, where it can be found, why it is important, and how it can be transformed. Each participant of the training then produced portal contributions with tutorship from the trainers. Their postings are the initial content of the Trafo site. To advertise Trafo with as many people as possible, we linked it with facebook and EYCA’s member and partner organisations promoted the portal all over Europe. Everybody up to the age of 30 was invited to take part in the Trafo competition by uploading an original posting in one of the three contest categories - Shout it out (information), Do as I do (participation) and How I got from A to B (mobility). Winners with the best postings were awarded attractive prizes. EYCA continues developing the Trafo portal further into a platform for ideas, projects and events that inspire. To find out more please go to www.europeanyouthcard.org/trafo The European Commission, the Partial Agreement on Youth Mobility through the Youth Card within the framework of the Council of Europe and the European Youth Foundation financially supported the TRAFO competition and website.
During the May 2009 conference in Cardiff, the EYCA General Assembly approved the new logo of the Association and its use. The new EYCA logo continues the identity of the old EURO<26 logo by retaining and building on three key elements: the streamlined black “Hercules” figure by contrasting the letters “Y” and “A”, the magenta background and the yellow star. The main motivation for the logo re-design was the raising of the age limit in most EYCA member organisation up to 30 years. Moreover, the new logo is modern and adjusted to the target population of the European Youth Card, as well as easier to be combined with other logos and well recognizable in minimum size.
The old EURO<26 logo will be valid until December 31, 2012. For a transition period of two years - May 2009 until May 2011 - the new EYCA logo will be used together with the old EURO<26 logo only. In this combination, the old logo features without the original yellow frame and without the inscription EURO<26. The design of the cards, both classic and co-branded, mentions the name European Youth Card, either in English or in translation in a national language. Member organisations of EYCA will ensure the validity of cards with both the new and the old logo as well as the reciprocity of discounts Europe-wide. The new full Graphic Chart is to be approved by the General Assembly in May 2010.
New visual identity
Logo re-design
Initiatives
Partial Agreement The Partial Agreement (PA) on Mobility through the Youth Card in the framework of the Council of Europe supports the development of the European Youth Card. The 19 Member states of the PA – Andorra, Austria, Azerbaijan, Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, The Netherlands, Portugal, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Switzerland – have, through their financial contributions, aided numerous activities. These include exchange programmes among Member organisations, development visits to countries, and other projects. To find out more please visit www.coe.int “On May 8-10, 2009, the Serbian Ministry of Youth and Sport and EURO<26 Serbia organised and hosted the European Conference on Youth Mobility in Belgrade. Representatives of national governments as well as youth cards discussed youth mobility and strategies of promoting the youth card. Tina Mulcahy, Executive Director of the European Youth Centre Strasbourg, introduced the concept of the Partial Agreement to the participants. The latest signatories to the PA are Azerbaijan and Slovakia.”
„Only a few months after the launch of the new
Carte Jeunes in the French-speaking part of Belgium, the newest EYCA member organisation has already gotten on board a daily newspaper, the University of Liege, a radio station, a bus company, a travel insurance and many other key partners. The Carte Jeunes is sold both through the organisation’s website as well as in youth centres and hostels.
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EYCA and volunteering All volunteers on the European Voluntary Service receive a European Youth Card thanks to the cooperation between EYCA and the EC (Directorate General of Education and Culture). In 2009, the special edition of the EVS European Youth Card received a brand new look connected to the change of the EYCA logo. The design of the card and the promotional materials symbolise mobility by a chain of European countries â&#x20AC;&#x153;travelingâ&#x20AC;? across the letterhead and the envelopes. The EYCA office has officially become an EVS hosting organisation and the first volunteer will join the team in August 2010. EVS in numbers for 2009 Total number of volunteers: 6056 Typical EVS profile: 18-25 years old (age limit is 16-29), woman (men make up one third of the participants), volunteering for 12 months (programme can last up to 18 months). Volunteers came mostly from Germany, France, Turkey, Italy and Poland and typically spent their time volunteering in Poland, Spain, France, Germany and the UK (top five sending and receiving countries). To support volunteering also outside the EVS, EYCA has issued a co-branded card together with the Alliance of European Voluntary Service Organisations (www.alliancenetwork.eu). The Alliance is an international non-governmental youth organisation that represents national organisations, which promote intercultural education, understanding and peace through voluntary service. It has currently 43 member organisations, which all run international volunteer projects in their own country and exchange volunteers with each other. The Card will be printed on a non-profit basis and initially given to 7500 young volunteers participating in projects in and outside of Europe.
Partners in Europe The Three Networks (EYCA, ERYICA, Eurodesk) in cooperation with the European Youth Forum (YFJ) have conducted several actions representing youth interest and collecting young people’s opinions. The Three Networks met in Paris in January 2009 to further discuss areas of cooperation as networks at European level as well as the collaboration at national level by member organisations. During the May 2009 meeting, the Three Networks have focused their work on a common statement vis-à-vis the European Commission’s “EU Strategy for Youth – Investing and Empowering”. The work on this feedback regarding the relevant fields of action was finalized during a meeting in June 2009 and sent to Pierre Mairesse (Director of Directorate D - Youth, Sport and Citizenship, DG Education and Culture), whom the representatives of the networks met in July 2009. During the November 2009 meeting in Bratislava, the Three Networks designed a “NET 3.0 Recommendations” document where they presented themselves as a valuable resource, which should be consulted on all decisions and discussions regarding youth policy and proposed specific projects. The initiatives cover outreaching youth information, e-information and e-participation (revamping of the European Youth Portal) and a postcard campaign.
„For the academic year 2009-10, Allianssi /EURO<26 is in charge of ”The Europa Diary” in Finland. This agenda
is published in all 27 EU countries and besides a diary it contains information on topics such as environment, consumer rights, health, the European Union, and much more. The diary was distributed to about 35.000 high school students all over Finland who will also find out about European Youth Card benefits in their country and abroad.
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More than 90 delegates and guests came together for four days in Wales for the XXVth annual conference of EYCA. The event took place in Cardiff from May 14 throughout May 17, 2009 and was hosted by Canllaw Online, the Welsh member organisation. The conference was dedicated to evaluating EYCA’s performance since the last conference – the members analysed key documents such as the business plan, the budget and the annual report. Among other topics discussed were the Board responsibilities as well as the development of the card in countries where EYCA is not present at the moment. Our guest speaker was Fiona Blacke, Chief Executive of the National Youth Agency (www.nya.org.uk) in England. She strongly encouraged representatives of EYCA’s member organisations to include young people in all spheres of their activities – in governance, as volunteers, in youth focus groups, and in business operation. EYCA would like to thank our partner organisations ERYICA and European Youth Forum for participating in the plenary discussion about the “Communication of the new framework of the new Youth Policy in Europe” for 2009-2015 together with a representative of the European Commission. In the General Assembly, EYCA member organisations decided on the introduction of the new logo and approved other changes regarding the Association. The Gold Hercules for best card organisation was awarded to EURO<26 Slovenia, and Carta Giovani Italy received the Silver Hercules for best developing card organisation. The EYCA annual conference 2010 will take place in Yerevan, Armenia from May 12 until May 15. Armenian Junior Chamber will be hosting the conference for the first time in a country of the former Soviet Union.
The European Youth Card e-shop KIOSK For cardholders who live in a country where there is no EYCA member organisation, it is possible to purchase the European Youth Card through our web sales shop. EYCA would like to thank the Swiss member organisation, which has set up and maintained the website so far. From November 2009, there is a new online e-shop (www.europeanyouthcard.org/kiosk) with the same functionality and a new name - EYCA Kiosk – administered by the EYCA office.
Events and projects
Conference
Finance
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET as at December 31, 2009 The consolidated financial statements of the European Youth Card Association are audited by AQOUNTA, The Netherlands. 2009 [€]
2008 [€]
13 306
17 272
Debtors
315 950
267 858
Other receivables
30 310
41 581
Prepayments and accrued income
13 094
8 837
Liquid assets
68 613
171 182
Total Current Assets
427 966
489 458
TOTAL ASSETS
441 272
506 730
LIABILITIES
2009 [€]
2008 [€]
47 271
47 250
Creditors
32 029
11 331
Taxes
4 420
4 276
Other liabilities
357 552
443 873
Total Current liabilities
394 001
459 480
TOTAL LIABILITIES
441 272
506 730
TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS Tangible fixed assets CURRENT ASSETS
EQUITY CAPITAL CURRENT LIABILITIES
CONSOLIDATED OPERATING STATEMENT as at December 31, 2009
2009 [€]
2008 [€]
Contributions
370 993
350 348
Grants
98 982
11 331
Partial Agreement (CoE)
54 800
89 100
Partnerships
1 168
20 209
Other Income
9 546
13 372
Total Income
535 489
484 360
2009 [€]
2008 [€]
Personnel
247 040
221 014
Housing
27 187
27 042
Overhead
23 001
40 517
Depreciation
4 982
7 898
Statutory Events
59 325
81 016
Finance/legal
65 157
36 191
PR-communication/marketing
35 354
19 650
Programme
73 421
62 865
Total Expenses
535 467
496 193
21
-11 833
INCOME
EXPENSES
OPERATING RESULT
Finance
2009 Income
2009 Expenses
One of EYCA’s key documents defining the work of the youth card organisations are the Quality Standards. They outline a common level of quality and operational benchmarks and help member organisations adhere to EYCA’s mission and vision. To improve the quality of services provided, to encourage pan-European cooperation and to support members in their development, the EYCA office conducts so called quality visits to member countries. In 2009, Marcel Hagmann (Director) and Stani Gajdosova (Member support and programme) visited Hungary, Greece, Cyprus, Latvia and Lithuania. Meetings also took place with youth card organisations in German-speaking Belgium and Liechtenstein.
How it all began In 1986, there were six national youth cards in Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Portugal, Scotland and Spain, offering discounts to young people, which initiated cooperation in this field. The founding principle was that the only criteria to qualify for a youth card was age – regardless of social and educational status. By signing the Lisbon Protocol (the basic document defining the reciprocity of discounts), they paved the way for the first European card design (1990) and thus started the European Youth Card Association. Every year since then, EYCA has seen growth in the number of Member organisations, cardholders, and benefits offered for young people. In 1991, EYCA signed the Partial Agreement on the Youth Card within the Framework of the Council of Europe and since 1995 EYCA also enjoys the support of the European Commission. In past years, EYCA has successfully carried out the following projects and initiatives: EURplace26, a photo competition supporting the “All Different, All Equal” campaign; Europe for a Change, a pan-European project exploring young people’s experiences of the pre- and post-enlargement EU and EYCAdemy, a qualitative youth research.
„EURO26 Romania together with the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Youth and Sports have
launched a Run for Culture campaign. All young people and students in Romania will receive a free card during the two-year initiative. Its special feature is a 75 % discount in major cultural institutions such as the National Theatre, the Opera House, the National Museum of Art and other. In addition, every 26th day of the month is declared Day 26 and the entrance is free with the new card.
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Looking back and forward
Quality Matters