Processes of institutionalization of youth cooperation in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region

The Barents Euro--‐Arctic region --‐ is the largest arena of the inter--‐regional cooperation in Eu--‐ rope, which brings together four States, located near the Barents Sea. For twenty years since the creation of the region in the structure of the cooperation, such as in vivo, continuous changes oc--‐ cur: created and updated working papers, there is a process of integration of the working groups, develop areas of cooperation. These trends are also reflected within the youth cooperation in the structure of the BEAR, the institutionalization of the research which seems quite a hot topic. Par--‐ ticular attention is paid to the premises, major trends, funding mechanisms and stages of devel--‐ opment of youth cooperation BEAR for a decade: 2003--‐2013.

The creation of the Barents region

Just the very establishment of the Barents Euro--‐Arctic Region was the fruit of the policy, on the one hand, the reforms initiated in the Soviet Union after the coming to power of MS Gorba--‐ chev is to ensure the security of the country, through the international cooperation, rather than the military confrontation, but on the other – is the powerful integration processes taking place in the Western Europe. Thanks to the joint efforts of January 11, 1993 in Kirkenes held historic Con--‐ ference of Foreign Ministers, which was signed by the Kirkenes Declaration, which is the basic document of the Barents cooperation for over twenty years of the interaction.

Duplex organization Barents region is particularly valuable for the further development of the cooperation. It is through this structure occurs important regional work on the development of the region beyond the state borders. Decisions taken by the central authorities, often based on the priorities and findings at the regional level. "The Godfather" by Thorvald Stoltenberg BEAR ideas pointed to a fundamentally important factor – is the initiative and support from below: "How will be the cooperation in the Barents region, determined by people living in the region. And do not specify their capitals " [1, p . 4--‐17 ]. It is difficult not to agree with this statement, which is clearly proven by the regional youth of the co--‐operation, which was launched in the late twentieth century.

Priority areas of the Barents cooperation have been identified in the Kirkenes Declaration: economy, trade, science and technology, tourism, infrastructure, education, cultural exchanges, as well as projects related to improving the situation of the indigenous peoples of the North. It should be noted that the direction of youth cooperation came much later --‐ in 2002, and at the time of the Kirkenes Declaration youth Barents region was not considered as a subject for sepa--‐ rate areas of the cooperation. The experience of the recent decades proves that in a rapidly changing world will be a strategic advantage for those countries that can effectively and efficiently be used to develop innovative capacity, which is the main carrier of youth. That is why in the last decades of the twentieth century of the countries of the world community paid attention to youth as a special group in the society, requiring new approaches for the interaction.

Youth collaboration on the regional level

Officially youth cooperation at the regional level in the Barents region began with a meet--‐ ing of youth BEAR, held in the Swedish city of Kiruna on the 4--‐6 September 1998 First Youth Sci--‐ ence Barents Region was on the agenda for the sixth meeting of the Barents Euro--‐Arctic Council in 1999 in the Norwegian city of Bodø. [1] In May 1999, the Finnish initiative was established a spe--‐ cial working group on youth policy under the Barents Council. Formal status of theb youth cooper--‐ ation in the framework of the BEAR received by the organization in 2000 of the International Bar--‐ ents Regional Forum, which since its establishment held several conferences. One of these confer--‐ ences was the "Face of the Future", held 15--‐16 May 2001 in Tromsø, Norway [2, p. 4--‐17]. The con--‐ ference was attended by the ministers responsible for the implementation of youth policy in the Barents region. The outcome of the conference pressing need to adopt the special programs for youth in the Barents Region. Adopted a plan for future action in the field of youth policy, under which envisaged the establishment of Body, providing information and support to help youth groups in the region.

The result of the interest in the youth policy was the creation in 2002 of the Working Group on Youth Policy Council of the Barents Euro--‐Arctic Region (Working Group on Youth Policy (WGYP), which received the status of a permanent along with the other working groups. [3] Working Group on Youth Policy is composed of the representatives of the ministries responsible for the imple--‐ mentation of the youth policy in the Barents region [4, p. 108--‐110].

In May 2002, the Council of the Barents region adopted an action plan in order to increase cooperation in the youth field. In accordance with certain priorities and the objectives of the youth policy in the Barents Region was decided to set up in December 2002 in Murmansk Office for Youth Cooperation (Barents Youth Cooperation Office --‐ BYCO). The main task of the office is to provide information support as well as assistance in the finding partners and project management of the youth organizations working with youth international initiatives in the Barents region, and to encourage cooperation between the information structures in the youth sector of the Barents region [3]. The main task of the office is to provide information support as well as assistance in finding partners and project management youth organizations working with youth internationa initiatives in the Barents region, and to encourage cooperation between the information struc--‐ tures in the youth sector of the Barents region. [3] Office is funded by the ministries responsible for youth policy in Russia, Finland, Sweden and Norway, as part of youth cooperation under the auspices of the Council of the Barents Region.

It should be noted the role of the high office location for Youth Cooperation in Murmansk in Russia, close to the border with Norway and the Norwegian and International Barents Secretari--‐ at in Kirkenes. This provision allows for the office of more frequent contacts and solutions emerg--‐ ing issues. Notable also is the undeniable fact that the majority of youth projects submitted Bar--‐ ents Secretariat, it initiated the Russian partners. In this context, the result of the work of the Of--‐ fice for Youth Cooperation in the Barents region leaves no doubt about the effectiveness of the work done.

At the regional level, the process of the structural consolidation of the youth policy oc--‐ curred almost in parallel with the ministerial level. Barents Regional Committee founded the Re--‐ gional Working Group on Youth Affairs (Regional Working Group on Youth Issues (RWGYI) in 2002. Noteworthy that from the first days of the observed temporary Working Group on Youth Affairs, whose main objective was the implementation of the youth programs in the Barents Region the development and adoption of which is the responsibility of the Regional Council.

The Barents Programme

The main document is summarizing the direction and the content of the cooperation in the region for the near future is the Barents program, which is an effective tool and a solid basis for the joint decision--‐making and implementation. As part of the Barents Programme Regional Youth Council adopted the first youth program (the Barents Regional Youth Programme) in January 2003 Currently implemented Barents Youth Program for 2011--‐2014 [p. 75--‐85]. The program was adopt--‐ ed as a response to the challenge of population decline in the BEAR. Regions in the north of Russia, Norway, Sweden and Finland have common challenges and problems, among them the most pressing concerns to population decline, measures to deal with that are ineffective. The result is that young people want to leave the Barents Region and choose warmer and the central region in the country. According to statistics, the area leaves most educated youth. That is why the Barents Youth Program aims to improve the attractiveness of life and professional development by im--‐ proving living conditions, as well as providing new opportunities for the individual development of young people. The main priority areas of the cooperation Youth program are education and busi--‐ ness, culture and sport, the environment, social issues, health, indigenous people and minorities. Chairman of the Barents Regional Council Mr. Knutson, defining the highest value of the Youth program, pointed out that it is the first step in the development of a healthy regional youth policy in the Barents Euro--‐Arctic Region. He also stressed that the responsibility for its implementation rests with all States BEAR regions [2, p . 4--‐17 ]. Development and adoption of the Youth program were good and strong foundation for the development and deepening of the Barents process in the human dimension, and created favorable conditions for further mutual cooperation between the countries of the region.

Barents Regional Youth Council— BRIK

The countries of the Barents region, there are many common tasks in the field of youth policy, which is a prerequisite for mutual cooperation in this field. During an international youth seminar in Murmansk in October 2003, participants expressed a common desire of young people to participate more actively in the Barents cooperation. They concluded that the best way to ad--‐ dress this issue is to create a new youth structure in the Barents cooperation --‐ Council, consisting of the representatives of the youth of the region. [7]

Thus, the Barents Regional Youth Council --‐ BRIC (the Barents Regional Youth Council --‐ BRYC) was created in 2004 to ensure the active participation of the young people in the Barents cooperation. Organized the first meeting of BRIC was held in Kirkenes during the festival "The fes--‐ tival" in 2004 [6, p. 75--‐85]. The Council consists of 14 members: one youth representative from each subject in the Barents Region and one representative of the indigenous people. A Youth Council aims to promote BEAR regional youth interests and projects. BRIC members are working together to strengthen multilateral youth cooperation, empowerment of youth to take an active part in the formation and the development of the Barents region. Activities funded by the Counci of the Barents region. Board members are selected by the administrations of the Barents region on the following criteria: age --‐ 18--‐30 years, knowledge of English, knowledge of youth issues in the region and interest in theinternational cooperation [8].

The main mechanism for fundraising is to provide grants for the youth projects through the Norwegian Barents Secretariat. Projects within the Barents region have their own feature: as a rule, the implementation of the projects based on bilateral agreements between municipalities, as well as through twinning. It should be noted that co--‐operation is carried out not only by the inter--‐ action between the municipalities, but also between non--‐profit organizations working with young people (Red Cross, the environmental organization "Aetas," etc.). Youth projects have a different focus: youth initiatives, student exchanges, research projects, etc.

Every year the Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides funding (about 20--‐23 million crowns) the Tromse, Nordland and Finnmark to cooperate with other provinces of the Barents region [9, p. 154--‐165]. Allocation of the financial resources has been the Norwegian Barents Secretariat, con--‐ sisting of the representatives of the administrations of the three northern provinces of Norway, the Ministry of Regional Development and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Thus, a financing youth cooperation in the Barents region.

Regional Youth Council organizes an annual major event in the Barents Region, the venue which changes every year. BRIC attracts hundreds of active youth representatives from the regions BEAR to participate in the projects that have a broad scope and variety of the activities.

A landmark event in the field of youth policy and youth cooperation in the Barents Region in 2011 was the merger of the two working groups on youth: the Working Group on Youth Policy Council of the Barents Euro--‐Arctic Council (Working Group on Youth Policy) and the Regiona Working Group on Youth Affairs (Regional Working Group on Youth Issues). As a result, currently operates in the Barents Region Joint Working Group on Youth Affairs (Joint Working Group on Youth Issues), which is headed by Bjarne Hansen --‐ Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Policy in Norway [10]. The first big meeting of the Joint Working Group on Youth held in еру conjunction with the Barents Regional Youth Council in April 2012 in the Norwe--‐ gian city of Tromso. During a meeting of young people presented the situation in the region, was discussed topical issues, directions, as well as problems in the field of youth cooperation in the Barents region. Participants of the meeting agreed on the need for closer cooperation and mutua assistance in the activities of the Barents Region.

We can assume that the reason for the decision to become a union cooperation at the re--‐ gional and ministerial levels more fruitful and intense, because before the merger the number of participants in each group does not exceed five. Moreover, the BRIC have more opportunities for cooperation with the new combined group. Also it should be noted that the union of two groups on youth policy cooperation and harmonize with the process of integration of other groups in the structure of the Barents Region: Joint Working Group on Tourism (JWGT), Joint Working Group on Culture (JWGC), Joint Working Group on Energy (JEWG), Joint Working Group on Education and Research (JWGER), Joint Working Group on Health and Related Social Issues (JWGHS)[11].

One of the main problems of the Barents Youth Cooperation is that young people in the North, as a rule, has a limited knowledge of the Barents region, and along with it is slightly possible that conceals international cooperation [6, p. 75--‐85]. In this regard, one of the problems is the striving to spread knowledge and information within the Barents youth about these opportunities. Another problem affecting the process of the formation of youth cooperation in the region, is de--‐ population in the north of the BEAR. That is why one of the priorities of the representation be--‐ comes Barents region as friendship, cooperation, in which they live open, kind, tolerant, educated and talented people.

In the XXI century, young people are an important target group in the Barents region, which affects many aspects of the cooperation. That's why we developed a number of regiona programs: "Program for children and youth at risk" for the period 2008--‐2012. [10], as well as the Barents Regional Youth Program for 2011--‐2014. [8].

An important event was the meeting of Heads of Government of the BEAC countries in June 2013 in Kirkenes, the results of which signed a new Kirkenes Declaration [12]. In the new document, the focus is on issues such as global warming, transportation, environment, etc. It is noteworthy that the document highlights the important "role of the Barents Regional Youth Coun--‐ cil and the Bureau of the Barents Youth Cooperation" [13].

Conclusion

Thus, the process of the institutionalization of the youth cooperation in the Barents region, which began in 2002, is the result of developed initiatives launched during the 1998 Youth cooper--‐ ation in the Barents Region is a special focus today, as the main areas affected by the interaction between the countries of the region. Increased attention paid to youth cooperation is no accident: it is active youth shapes the character of future relations within BEAR created thanks to the struc--‐ ture and functioning of youth participation in the life of the region. Example institutionalize youth cooperation in the structure of the BEAR shows the flexibility of the established system of the in--‐ ternational cooperation, the ability to change in response to the current challenges and needs in the region.