Youth work is in fact a social practice, work with young people and the societies in which young people live. Such work promotes the active participation and engagement of young people in communities and decision-making processes.

Recommendation CM/Rec(2017)4 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on youth work is the first internationally agreed policy document focusing on youth work, its value to society and ways to further improve such work in Europe.

“This recommendation has created a very important political momentum in Europe for supporting, celebrating and promoting youth work. While many in the youth field understand youth work and the value it has for young people’s learning and development, we need to do much more to make youth work known, understood and valued in all its diversity, creativity and serious commitment to serve young people’s dreams, aspirations and needs. We need more examples of good practice and more peer learning between those willing to develop youth work. This publication is a step in this direction and it provides explanations of the measures included in the Recommendation, examples of good practice and questions for reflection for those involved in youth work,” stresses in her preface to the Guide Snežana Samardžić-Marković, Director General of Democracy at the Council of Europe.

Inter alia, the Guide provides answers to the following questions:

• How is youth work defined in different countries?
• What is youth work for?
• Who are youth workers in different countries?
• How are youth workers trained in different countries?

The Guide can be downloaded here: https://rm.coe.int/ukr-youth-work-in-the-spotlight/1680a4bd04

Translation and publishing in Ukrainian were carried out within the framework of the Council of Europe Project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine” implemented under the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine 2018–2022.