Scouts took firm hold of the leadership of the European Youth Forum (YFJ), the representative platform of European youth organisations at European level - towards EU, the Council of Europe and the United Nations System. Tine Radinja, from Slovenia, the representative of the European Scout Region, was elected as the President of the YFJ in the YFJ General Assembly, held in Rotterdam, The Netherlands on 13-15 November.

“At the time of financial crisis, the youth sector cannot stay inactive, but we must advocate for stronger recognition and sustainability of youth organisations. Building the Europe of our dreams needs young people, strong youth organisations and vision for future” Tine stated in his closing speech for the General Assembly.
The position of Scouting in the leadership of the European Youth Forum was further strengthened through the election of Johan Ekman (Finnish Scouting) and Luca Scarpiello (Italian Scouting) as members of the 11-member Bureau (Board) of the Forum.

In addition, the membership of the European Youth Forum renewed the mandate of WOSM members Loreta Senkute from Lithuania and Etienne Genet from France in the Advisory Council for Youth Affairs of the Council of Europe.The Advisory Council is a statutory body of the Council of Europe and it defines the priorities and policies of this intergovernmental institution in the field of youth. The campaign was coordinated closely with the Europe Region WAGGGS.The two Movements have now historically strong representation in the leadership of the cooperation between European youth organisations.

The General Assembly of the European Youth Forum gathered representatives of 70 youth organisations across Europe.
In addition to the election of the new leadership of the organisation, delegates debated a wide range of issues from health and well being to policies addressing early education of young people. The European youth organisations adopted their key demands and political stances towards the European Parliament elections in June 2009.