In this section, you can find some basic information about what youth work is, about its main characteristics and approaches, as well as about its role in society, and how it has impacted and can impact public policy. 

We encourage Portfolio users to read this information in detail before beginning work with the Portfolio. This information frames and provides context for many of the possible uses outlined, and for the content of both the Portfolio standard and competence framework.

What is youth work?

Youth work is a broad term covering a wide variety of activities of a social, cultural, educational, environmental and/or political nature by, with and for young people, in groups or individually. Youth work is delivered by paid and volunteer youth workers and is based on non-formal and informal learning processes by, with and for young people, and on their voluntary participation. Youth work is a social practice, working with young people and the societies in which they live, facilitating young people’s active participation and inclusion in their communities and in decision-making. The main objective of youth work is to support young people in their development, and in their understanding of and engagement with the world around them, as well as to create opportunities for them to shape their own futures. In practical terms, youth work is a journey undertaken with groups of young people who change and evolve; it can take place in a variety of locations, can focus on a variety of issues and can use different methods.

The range of forms that youth work can take is just as diverse as the types of people and organisations involved in it. Youth work happens where young people are, and on their terms. Participation is voluntary. The content or thematic orientation of youth work is highly diverse. It takes place in more or less structured settings – ranging from youth clubs, cafes, or one-stop shops to the street, juvenile prison, or refugee camps. Ever increasingly, it is taking place online. Youth work can take place at any level, in any space or interactive environment through direct face-to-face and in-presence contact (as it has traditionally), as well as virtually in the digital space. It can be a single, one-off activity or a regular programme of activities in which young people interact with each other over a longer period of time. It can take place in the context of membership of a youth or other form of organisation, and it can take place on a drop-in basis without the ties of membership. Political activism, street work, sports activities, social enterprise, online meet-ups, video content-making, and even certain kinds of leisure-time activities, can all be termed ‘youth work’.

More information about the diversity of youth work across Europe is available in  ‘Youth Work Essentials’, published by the Partnership between the Council of Europe and European Commission in the field of Youth, henceforth referred to as the Youth Partnership.  

Have a look at some youth work examples:

Youth work characteristics

Youth work usually has the following characteristics

• Value-driven: youth work tries to serve the higher purpose of human dignity, respect, peace and democracy.
• Youth-centric: youth work serves key needs and aspirations of youth, identified by young people themselves
• Voluntary: youth work is not obligatory, and relies on the voluntary participation of young people
• Developmental: youth work aims at the personal, social and value development of young people
• Self-reflective and critical: youth work tries to make sure it is doing its best to live up to its mission
• Relational: youth work seeks authentic interaction and communication with young people, as a basis for sustaining viable communities.
• Inclusive: youth work creates opportunities for social cohesion and youth inclusion.
• Adaptable: youth work attempts to assess implications of societal changes, trends and developments on young people and to adapt to be able to support young people accordingly

Youth work is diverse around Europe

Public authorities, at all levels – local, national, regional and European – put in place policy, funding and other resources for youth work across Europe. Furthermore, and often in co-operation with such authorities, the voluntary youth sector is a key provider of youth work in Europe. The voluntary youth sector comprises non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society organisations, informal youth groups, faith-based organisations, youth wings of political parties and political organisations, associations and networks of youth workers and national umbrella structures such as youth councils, as well as transnational movements. While many receive state funding, youth NGOs often depend on European funding (Erasmus+ Programme, the European Social Fund, the European Solidarity Corps, the European Youth Foundation), and European accreditation (Youthpass). In some contexts, national and/or international (private) foundations also support youth work initiatives. This is especially the case where no state funding or accreditation is available.

Most countries have a youth policy that also includes a legal and/or strategic framework for youth work, financial and other support services. Many countries also provide the formal education and training that underpin youth work as a discipline. Few countries include formal or legal definitions of ‘youth work’ or ‘youth worker’ in their youth policy documents. In national policy, youth work is often reflected as an important means of delivering youth policy or as part of services to young people. Youth work is sometimes part of a wider field of intervention, for example that of social pedagogy, socio-cultural education, hobby or leisure time.

More information is available in ‘Youth Work Essentials’, published by the Partnership between the Council of Europe and European Commission in the field of Youth.

To further develop your reflection on youth work in your country or context, you could explore the youth work system in which you are working and engage in conversations about it with other youth workers or other members of the wider youth work community of practice in your context.

The following thinking box is a good way to start:

Youth work and non-formal education

Youth work often has a strong educational purpose or dimension. According to Compass: Manual for Human Rights Education with Young People, the education or learning that takes place in youth work is typically ‘non-formal’ – not ‘formal’, but also not ‘informal’. Non-formal education refers to planned, structured programmes and processes of personal and social education for young people designed to improve a range of skills and competences, outside the formal educational curriculum.

Youth work and non-formal education have many characteristics in common. Nevertheless, they are not the same. Non-formal education refers to planned, structured programmes and processes of personal and social education for young people designed to improve a range of skills and competences, outside the formal educational curriculum.

So, what are the characteristics of ‘non-formal’ education or learning?
 

In brief …

• learning takes place outside the structures of the formal education system and differs from this in the way it is organised and in the type of recognition this learning confers
• learning is intentional and voluntary
• learning aims above all to convey and practise the values and skills of democratic life.

Methodological features

• balanced co-existence and interaction between cognitive, affective and practical dimensions of learning
• linking individual and social learning
• partnership-orientated solidarity and symmetrical teaching / learning relations
• participatory and learner-centred approaches
• close to real-life concerns, experimental and orientated towards learning by doing, using intercultural exchanges and encounters as learning devices.

Values

• Values linked to personal development: autonomy; critical thinking; openness and curiosity; creativity
• Values linked to social development: communication; participation and democratic citizenship; solidarity and social justice; responsibility; transformative power of conflict
• Ethical values: human rights; respect for others; intercultural learning and dialogue; peace / non-violence; gender equality; inter- generational dialogue.

Non-formal educators ...

• use participatory methods
• use diversity as a positive learning tool
• make critically reflective links between the concrete and the abstract, in order both to facilitate the learning process and continuously to improve their quality
• have knowledge about young people’s lives and cultures in Europe.

Youth work and youth policies

Youth work is also about the place of young people and their concerns in society and the public sphere. It is also about influencing society, politics and power relations, especially if those position young people at a disadvantage, marginalise them or exclude them.