Development must always start from where you are and be guided by a reflective awareness of where you want to go, what kind of development you want to achieve. Youth work has a great potential to stimulate young people’s reflection on both where they are and where they want to go. It is when the young person feels that he/she owns the process and that it is for his/her own good, and not mainly in the interest of others, that real and sustainable development is most likely to take place. Therefore, youth work, also when dealing with problems, should always build its actions on the will, resources and strength of those young people concerned.
Youth work is often labelled as a preventive practice, but the heart and soul of youth work is promotion. It is through supporting young people’s ideas and actions that youth work creates added value for both young people and society. This will surely have a preventive effect.
