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.)

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

Does local youth work see and promote itself as an arena for learning?
Is local youth work providing non-formal learning activities that meet the needs and interests of young people?
Is local youth work analysing its activities in order to see which values they promote?
- What are the risks of not doing so?
- Does local youth work, for example, have a “winner takes it all” or a “solidarity” culture?
Is local youth work sometimes doing things that young people could do and learn from if they had received some non-formal education?

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)