Youth work is value based and its core principles are that it needs…

to contribute to the personal and social development of young people through non-formal and informal learning.

Personal and social development takes place through acquiring new knowledge, skills, attitudes and values, i.e. through learning. Not least, values and attitudes are acquired through adapting to the principles and values that permeate the ‘culture’ you live in. This is why it is essential that youth work meet these core principles. Solidarity, for example, might be explained and discussed in school, but it is through experiencing it in practice that you become a solidary person.

Research also shows us that “learning new things” is one of the things that young people value most in youth work. (See for example The Impact of Youth Work in Europe: A Study of European Countries.)

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

“Youth work brings unique benefits to young people in their transition to adulthood, providing a safe environment for them to gain self-confidence, and learn in a non-formal way. Youth work is known for equipping youth with key competences and skills such as teamwork, leadership, intercultural competences, project management, problem solving and critical thinking.”
European Youth Strategy 2019 – 2027, Engage, Connect, Empower
“/…/ youth organisations youth workers, education and training providers, as well as civil society organisations are all key stakeholders with an important role to play in facilitating opportunities for non-formal and informal learning and any subsequent validation processes.”
EU COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION of 20 December 2012 on the validation of non-formal and informal learning (2012/C 398/01)