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

is clearly positioned in relation to and connected with broader youth policy on all levels, from local to European.

In order to be clear, youth work policy, its aims and objectives, must also have a clear and distinct position within the framework of broader youth policy, and be clearly related to the role and mission of the youth worker. Clarifying the division of roles and responsibilities in the youth sector is crucial both for cooperation and for avoiding that youth work gets a compensatory or complementary function instead of being an actor in its own right.

Linking local youth work policy also to policy documents on national and European level will promote the readiness for cooperation and secure a long-term perspective. Linking to European policy documents, e.g. the Council of Europe recommendation on youth work, will also strengthen the recognition and credibility of local policy.

Do you agree on what this means in practice?
Do you agree on to what degree youth work meets this bullet point?
Here you find the questions you need to discuss to find out!

If you think that this is something you need to work on, click the “Add to development agenda” button below. You will then find your agenda on your personal page and be able to start a development process.

Please note!
If you start a development process related to this bullet point you will find the below questions also under the page “Discuss and assess”. There you will also be able to take notes.

Questions to discuss

Is youth work policy a clearly distinguishable entity within our local youth policy?
Are there references to European youth work policy in our local youth work policy?
- Can policy statements from the charter, e.g. the core principles, be used to strengthen local youth work policy?
What are the risks of not having a distinct local youth work policy?
What are the risks of not linking youth work policy to other youth policy areas?

References & tips

“It is important that EU youth policy be implemented with the interlinkages with regional and local levels in mind and that activities are conducted to support policies at grass-roots level.“
European Youth Strategy 2019 – 2027, Engage, Connect, Empower
In the EU resolution on a European Youth Work Agenda (2020/C 415/01), member states are invited to “Integrate youth work into existing and future youth policy strategies and their implementation at all administrative levels in order to facilitate greater innovation, improve quality and increase recognition of the field, with a particular emphasis on action at local level /…/”