The organisation and practice of local youth work needs …

to articulate, together with young people, learning objectives that they perceive as relevant for their personal and social development.

All major European policy documents state that non-formal learning is an important and part of youth work. This is also made clear in the core principles of the charter. However, this focus on learning is not only motivated by policy interests. Research shows us that “learning new things” is one of the things that young people appreciate most about their taking part in youth work. At the same time, we know that this learning often is ‘invisible’ to young people themselves. Making young people aware of their learning and giving it recognition has thus positive effects, both for the individual young person, but also for youth work as a place for learning. It is therefore important that youth workers talk to young people about what they want to learn through their participation and how they want this learning to be supported.

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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 

  • Are local youth workers talking to young people about what they want to learn through taking part?
  • Is local youth work providing the possibility for young people to co-design and take part in structured non-formal education activities?
  • Is local youth work promoting itself as a place for learning?
    • In relation to young people?
    • In relation to other actors?
  • What are the risks of not talking to young people about their learning needs/ambitions?

References & tips