Are we really ready for the recognition of youth
work and non-formal education?
During the last years, I have attended quite a few congresses and
seminars. In many cases, although the setting is different, the challenges
faced by young people are common. Among others, a very common answer
that miraculously emerges as the remedy to all adversities is “the
recognition of youth work”.
I can’t help thinking how much the economic crisis has influenced the way
young people view youth work. Unemployment has taken its toll on all of
us and in times of challenge, people tend to search for solutions. Turning
youth work into an established profession or recognizing non-formal
education (by formal procedures, of course) illustrates as the answer to
most problems. But is this truly the case?
The more I travel and interact with people who are active in the youth
field in different capacities, the more I realize that “youth work” is a
notion that varies from person to person, from country to country. In
Greece and Turkey, the countries I am most experienced in, “youthwork”
does not exist as a word, however, I can say with confidence that we have
many good practices and success stories to share with the rest of the
world.
To try to confine “youthwork” into a strict definition would be pointless
and vain and perhaps would even take some of its magic away.
Nevertheless, given the rapid and often dramatic changes in our lives
caused by international developments, it would be useful to ask ourselves
every now and when: why do we do youthwork?
Youthwork aims at personal and social development. Tools and
methodology may vary in each context, but the purpose is the same: to
empower young people, so as to create autonomous and active citizens,
with a critical mind and personal point of view, who will be productive
members of their societies. Developing this kind of competences inevitably
makes people very competitive in the professional field, nevertheless,
getting a job should not be an end itself for young people engaging into
youthwork.
Now that the recognition of youthwork is so high in the European agenda,
we should think about the implications of “professionalizing” youthwork
and linking it directly to employability. I have seen young people
participating in training courses with the sole purpose of getting a