Youth workers need …

to be aware of and able to articulate the role and mission of the youth workers, and not to lend themselves to aims and activities that fall outside the realm of the core principles.

If youth work is to be better recognised, youth workers must be able not only to describe what they do, but also, and even more important, to articulate why they are doing it, their aims, as well as their role and the core principles that guide their actions.

This is important in relation to young people as well as in relation to the political level and other stakeholders. The surrounding society and all stakeholders concerned need to know and understand what to expect from youth work and why it is carried out in the way it is.

Being able to clearly express these things also make it easier for youth workers and youth work providers to act with integrity, not having to engage in activities that does not comply with the core principles.

Discuss & assess
Here you find the questions you need to ask yourself to know if you need to develop and the assessment function
Set objectives
Here you describe what you want to achieve.
Needs
Here you describe what you need to acquire, develop or change.
Actions to take
Here you describe the actions you plan to take.

Remember! Development is far from always a linear process! It needs to start with discussions, but the first ‘Action to take’ might be to gather more knowledge before setting aims for development and deciding on further actions to take. Dare to be both flexible and to take one step back before taking two steps forward!

References & tips

Some of the skills needed for doing this, mentioned in the Council of Europe Youth Work Portfolio are “communication, networking, co-operation, partnership building, democratic leadership, advocacy, public speaking, presentation.”