Yope Advocates
YOPE collaborates to a collective agenda for youth in the justice system by engaging with international actors in knowledge and capacity exchanges.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child and the principles of Child-Friendly Justice put forward by the Council of Europe establish clear guidelines on the rights of young people suspected of and accused of a crime. However, the lived experience of young people in contact with the justice system reveals gaps in implementation – pointing to potential ways forward.
Young people have the right to be heard and to express their views on matters that concern them. According to Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, those opinions should be taken seriously.
‘I never expected to share my experience in front of a group of professionals and that they would be really interested in what I have to say.’
YOPE Expert
Portfolio of activities:
Through our advocacy efforts, YOPE brings stakeholders together and facilitates policy discussions on the national and European levels, with the experience of young people as a central point. To achieve that, YOPE uses a wide range of participatory and creative methods, fostering new approaches for collaboration.
Advocacy meetings with policy makers
YOPE has facilitated advocacy meetings between decision- and policy-makers and experience experts on the EU level as part of different projects. When asked what the EU should do to better support youth in the different moments in their journey through the system, youth speaks about the need for more integrated child protection system, more child-friendly practices in detention centers, more accessible information regarding their rights, among others.
YOPE team meets Dutch MEP Samira Rafaela in the European Parliament in Stratsbourg. This visit was part of the VOICE in Action project (2021-2023), co-funded by the Erasmums+ Programme of the European Union. Learn more about the project here.
Manifesto for Youth Inclusion (2024)
The Manifesto for Youth Inclusion in the Training of Penitentiary workers was co-developed by the Experts of YOPE and youngsters at Oberstown Detention Campus for Children (Ireland), as part of the Giving Back collaboration. The Manifesto calls on decision- and policy-makers in closed youth institutions to recognise the importance of youth’s lived experience and value their contribution as trainers for different staff in closed facilities. The Manifesto emphasises how this approach has the potential to..
“foster empathy and a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by incarcerated youth, providing crucial context for effective and compassionate intervention.”
Read the full Manifesto here.
Connecting with the European youth justice field
YOPE establishes collaborations with other civil society organisations, research institutions, and networks in order to learn from them, bring the perspective of the young people we work with to international spaces and strengthen our impact.
YOPE is a member of the Child-Friendly Justice European Network, which aims to accelerate the concrete and effective adaptation of justice systems to children at local, national and European level.
Child Friendly Justice – European Network General Assembly 2024, Brussels