The YES Campaign was launched at the Alexandria Youth Employment Summit, in Egypt in September, 2002. This important meeting marked the beginning of the decade-long ‘Global Campaign for Youth Employment’. Its key focus was the concern to more efficiently tackle the increasing problem of youth unemployment occurring in almost all regions of the world. To this end, the Alexandria Summit identified six key issues which were felt to be closely linked with this priority: Employability, Employment creation, Equity, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability and Empowerment.

This paper argues that education and training is a priority area to promote youth employment in contemporary societies. The Campaign therefore needs to be explicitly include ‘education’ in its priorities by outlining its importance as a tool for young people’s participation in society. The paper advocates for an increased recognition of the vital linking role between education and young people’s empowerment and demonstrate that ‘education’ merits its own place as the supporting platform for the essential E’s of the YES Campaign. Of crucial importance is hereby also the question which kind of education we need in order to increase young people’s capacities to create and enter employment, but also in view of fostering their potential to participate in all societal processes as equal and valued partners