Evaluate existing youth work approaches, practices and methods and to continuously invest in their innovative development through new initiatives and activities based on the real life experiences of children, young people and youth workers and youth leaders.

The Treaty provides that EU action is to be aimed at encouraging the development of exchange programmes for young people and socio educational instructors (hereafter called ‘youth workers and youth leaders’) and the participation of young people in democratic life.

- encouraging the development of youth exchanges and of exchanges of socio-educational instructors, and encouraging the participation of young people in democratic life in Europe,

Article 149 TEC lists the different fields in which the European Community can develop cooperation: teaching and dissemination of the languages of the Member States; mobility of students and teachers; cooperation between educational establishments; exchanges of information and experience on issues common to the education systems of the Member States; youth exchanges and exchanges of socio-educational instructors; distance education.

The Council deems it desirable to support the development of co-operation between these structures, fostering exchanges of information and experience on youth programmes developed at Community, national, regional or local level through study visits, internships and other activities (b) Training of youth leaders The Council is aware of the fundamental role that socio-educational instructors including those in charge of youth associations play in intercultural learning amongst young people, in the development of values appropriate to a ...[+++]democratic society and in the respect and promotion of cultural diversity.

2. The Council agrees to step up cooperation in the following fields: - the training of information workers, socio-educational youth workers and educators (professionals and volunteers) working in the youth information sector - the linking of youth information structures in the Member States - regular studies on young people in the countries of the European Union (a) Training: The Council notes, on the one hand, that young people need to be more familiar with the countries and institutions of the European Union in order fully to exercise their European citizenship and their right to mobility and, on the other hand, that in receiving, inf ...[+++]orming and advising young people, information service staff play a vital role in the transmission of information.