Young cooperators honour International Youth Day 2026 with 5 concrete recommendations

Today – 12th August 2026 – is the United Nations’ International Youth Day, a yearly observance to highlight youth’s contribution to an inclusive and sustainable development globally. 

Through specific activities under the ICA-EU Partnership #coops4dev🌍 and the everyday work by the Young European Cooperators Network (YECN), Cooperatives Europe puts youth economic empowerment at the center of its mandate to amplify young voices across the European economy. 

As a result of the 3-day discussions of the first-ever European #coops4dev🌍 youth event “Youth Voices, Cooperative Choices: Advancing a Democratic Economy in the Enlarged Europe” (YVCC)”, hosted in Budapest from 29th June to 1st July 2026, Cooperatives Europe celebrates the 2026 UN Youth Day with 5 concrete evidence-based recommendations by the participating young cooperators and entrepreneurs.  

1. Integrate cooperative entrepreneurship in education curricula
2. Facilitate access to finance for affirmed and emerging youth-led cooperatives
3. Provide accessible business knowledge and technical support
4. Foster participation and intergenerational governance
5. Create and sustain networking opportunities

These recommendations are addressed to Cooperatives Europe and its members, along with national and European policymakers holding a portfolio on inclusive economic empowerment and entrepreneurship. 

They build on and reinforce the current EU internal and external agenda linked to inclusive economic entrepreneurship, notably – but not limited to – the Social Economy Action Plan (2021–2030) and its 2026 mid-term review, the 2023 Council Recommendation on developing social economy framework conditions, the EU Youth Strategy (2019–2027) and the 2026 EESC Recommendations on EU Competitiveness and Youth Entrepreneurship.
  

Read more on the recommendations and related actions points here: Budapest recommendations. 

This article has been co-funded by the European Union. The contents of this article are the sole responsibility of  Cooperatives Europe and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.