Low level of youth participation in rural and deprived urban areas remains one of the key issues across the Eastern Partnership coun-
tries. Specifically in Armenia, Moldova and Ukraine there is a lack of youth participation structures in rural areas. At the same time, young
people are not able to join the decision-making processes on youth issues at a local level. There are either no youth consultative bodies or youth councils in the municipalities or the existing ones are formal in their nature. Moreover, there are no procedures or culture to approach young people when they deal with youth issues. This is also coupled with limited access of information and not sufficient foreign language skills among youth. Thus, mobility projects, youth exchanges, seminars, volunteering programs under Erasmus+ programme of the EU and any other forms of youth activism and participation often remain not accessible for the young people.

Our research findings suggest, that there is absence of holistic State Youth Policies which would address the existing challenges and create opportunities and environment for the development and advancement of young people. This, eventually, prevents young people from meaningful participation and impact on the governance and decision-making. Youth policies still remain “elitist” and exclusive, targeting highly educated young people who live in cities and have some resources to get a professional occupation. Thus,
better educated, more privileged young people from higher social backgrounds, and from predominantly major urban areas are the ones who mainly benefit from existing opportunities. Increasing poverty, conflicts and corruption are coupled with a failure of national and local authorities responsible for youth to improve the existing infrastructure and, most importantly, to fill it with need-based and contemporary youth work methodologies.