This recommendation encourages member states to develop and strengthen youth work policies and practice. The recommendation also includes proposals for the youth sector of the Council of Europe to support member states in this task, maximising the positive contribution that youth work can make to Europe’s future through co-operation, peer learning and collaboration. Youth work is defined in the document as “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 focused on young people and on voluntary participation. Youth work is quintessentially 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 document consists of a preamble, nine recommendations and an appendix that sets out the scope and purpose of the recommendation, the definition and scope of youth work, the underpinning principles and a range of measures for member states to consider when reviewing the situation in their country and deciding on new measures to adopt. The recommendation draws special attention to the fact that youth work needs legal and political support, sustainable funding and structures, improved co-ordination across sectors and between the local and the national levels, a competency-based framework for the education and training of youth workers and appropriate forms of review and evaluation of the impact and outcomes of youth work. The explanatory memorandum that is part of the document explains in detail the rationale for it, its content and includes a glossary of terms related to the topic of youth work.
Youth specific: Yes
