Youth work practice needs to be guided by a youth work policy that …

is developed in cooperation between all relevant stakeholders, including young people, having clear roles and mandates and being engaged in all stages of the process.

The policy development process is set up in different ways in different municipalities and is often strictly regulated. However, if young people are to be engaged, they also have to be invited to a dialogue on how the process as such should be designed and how their voices should be heard and taken into account.

In this dialogue, it is crucial to make clear the roles and mandates of young people and how the views of different groups of young people, e.g. organised and not organised young people, are to be considered.

The engagement of young people, as well as of other stakeholders, relies on that they know in advance what to expect regarding the process as such and in terms of influence. It is through meeting all stakeholders, their ideas and experiences, as resources that the best possible result will be obtained. This will also secure that the policy is well grounded and understood among all stakeholders concerned.

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

“Recognising that all young people are a resource to society, all policies and activities concerning young people should uphold young people’s right to participate in the development, implementation and follow-up of policies affecting them by means of meaningful participation of young people and youth organisations.” European Youth Strategy 2019 – 2027, Engage, Connect, Empower
One example of young people can be involved in the policy making process is the Council of Europe co-management system.
Another example is the EU Structured dialogue.
Democracy Reloading is a strategic Erasmus+ Youth/European Solidarity Corps National Agency cooperation project that started in 2015 with the aim to empower municipal workers to engage young people in decision-making.
Dypall is European network of civil society organisations, municipalities and research institutions dedicated to improving democracy through youth participation.