Trends & Innovations in youth Work: What we have learned so far

A voice from the Academy: Dr Theo Gavrielides Founder & Director of the IARS International Institute and Restorative Justice for All T.Gavrielides@iars.org.uk

What is this session for? Introduce the Academy, its central theme and objectives from a research perspective Present the work that the research team has carried out including The current state of the art (literature review) Emerging findings (fieldwork) To structure our thinking, discuss next steps and how the Academy will turn into a living lab Hopefully … inspire, energise our minds, but above all …challenge!

Current trends, challenges and … innovation in youth work in Europe! What is our focus? Current trends, challenges and … innovation in youth work in Europe!

Why are we asking this question? To understand where we are with youth work in Europe To promote innovation and enhance its quality To learn from each other and the challenges that we are facing locally nationally and internationally To increase the awareness of others (policy makers, researchers, practitioners, young people) who don’t know about youth work in Europe.

The Academy works on the demands of the 2nd European Youth Work Convention (2015) to: “Further develop the concepts and practice of youth work, to find strategies to work on the current and emerging challenges faced by young people and to renew its practice and strategies according to the changes and trends in society and politics”.

What have we done so far? Literature review (academic, policy, press etc) An open Call was published and disseminated by the EAYW partnership collecting 100 proposals for contributions. 36 were selected for the workshops. A qualitative questionnaire was then emailed to the selected 36 contributors. The results of this questionnaire were inputted as a csv file into a qualitative research software package (Nvivo) and analysed using a content analysis method. 22 countries in the 36 contributions, 34 countries in the 100 submissions

What have we done so far?

… and the result …. We hope you have read it! 

What now? Living lab! Plenaries, Q&A, panel discussions Workshops Rules: Research Ethics Chatham House rules (source will not be identified) With human rights, dignity and respect All views are welcomed – free from intimidation

Getting a few things out of the way! In searching for current trends and “innovative” practices in youth work, it is easy to assume that “youth work” itself has been established as a static concept in European societies. Youth work is NOT static! It is an evolving and living concept Youth policy is a relatively new field for many European governments. It wasn’t until 2001 that the EU took its first steps towards recognising it with the White Paper “New Impetus for European Youth”

Youth work is innovative in itself! What is innovation?! Youth work is innovative in itself!

Youth work & innovation “Definitional challenges” – not by coincidence! One of the reasons behind the concept’s fluidity is its inherent need for being adaptive and relevant to the current and local needs of young people. “Despite different traditions and definitions, there is a common understanding that the primary function of youth work is to motivate and support young people to find and pursue constructive pathways in life, thus contributing to their personal and social development and to society at large” (Council of Europe, Committee of Ministers, 2017).

What is innovation?!

What is innovation?! An ”innovative idea, practice, policy ….” is meant to respond to a need that is Current Unknown Challenging Innovation is defined not through the given action, but the nature, scale and scope of the need it aims to address…. But where? The local – the national and the European!

Current needs & challenges Political – Examples: lack of genuine dialogue, the rise of nationalism and extremism, and the gulf between citizens and decision makers (Gavrielides, 2016b), youth radicalisation, youth policy without youth, hijacking of the youth-led sector, funding the elites and the usual suspects. Economic: Examples: precarious labour market, insecurity caused by fiscal policies and business, and the growing rich- poor divide (Gavrielides, 2018; ABC of Youth Work, 2015), high unemployment rates especially among young people, increasing costs of education, financing youth work at the community level

Current needs & challenges Social – Examples: “accessible youth”, impact of migrant and refuge populations, overprotection of young people, the growth of individualism and consumerism, managing risks vs nurturing talents. Technological –Examples: the accessibility of vast amounts of data, the digital divide, the emergence of new tools of communication and virtual connection (ABC of Youth Work, 2015), new forms of high tech crimes, no geography, hidden identities, digitalisation of the person – the youth worker

EU Youth Strategy “The attention given to the needs of specific youth groups at risk and younger age groups has been insufficient”. The evaluation continues to point out that “Young people with fewer opportunities’ and ‘children’ are mentioned only twice in the 2009 Council Resolution on renewing the EU cooperation in the youth field, with no objective set in relation to those at-risk groups” (Eid et al, 2016: 95).

Emerging trends in European youth work and policy Professionalisation (legitimisation – credibility) Standardisation (funding – occupational standards) The blurring of sectorial lines (the role of civil society) Transparency and accountability (evaluations, monitoring reports)

Working hypothesis and some critical thinking Positive: We are living in opportune times to form partnerships and work together for youth work and youth policy Negative: Issues like financial hardship, nationalism, violent radicalisation and immigration may take priority over youth work and policy. The data also point out the need to compete and to professionalise. This often leads youth work to divert energy into research, evaluation and often “ticking boxes” for funders. There is also evidence to suggest that this diversion not only impacts on the quality of youth work, but also who gets to access it.

Expectations from the EAYW

… And now a chance for you to reflect! What drives innovation in youth work in your country? What issues do you think are in need of greater attention in European youth work agenda?

Check the link on the reflection Padlet in your event application or scan this QR code!

Zoom out questions For various reasons, youth workers from across sectors often find themselves with no option but to partner with public and profit-making organisations. This trend creates both challenges and opportunities for youth work. Has this impacted on your own work? Explain.

Zoom out questions 2. National and European bodies with a youth work agenda are gradually becoming more demanding in terms of evidencing the impact of youth work including its alignment with professional standards. Is this a trend that has impacted on your work negatively or positively? Explain why.

Zoom out questions 3. Do you think that setting a larger European framework for a youth work agenda help the development of youth work in your context? What should be part of that agenda?