Although youth work has been practiced in the country for several decades, the profession of  youth worker has not yet been recognized, unlike other European countries. Precisely because the formal process of the recognition of the profession of youth worker has not yet been completed, and due to the fact that the state has not formulated yet an official outline of the qualifications required to become a professional youth worker, the educational and other paths that one can follow to become a youth worker are varied.  Currently, most youth workers have either been trained through seminars organized by the National Agency for the Erasmus+ programme – Youth or by other agencies abroad (e.g. the EU-CoE Youth Partnership, the SALTO-Youth, etc.) or have obtained higher education qualifications (usually, in social sciences, humanities and pedagogy) in subjects that are somehow related to youth/youth work, such as childhood education, special education, social pedagogy, social work, etc. Training in youth work-related subjects is also – to some extent – provided by local authorities, NGOs and voluntary organisations, but without any overall coordination in terms of administration, theory or approach (Bohn & Stallmann, 2007; Giannaki, 2014).

Despite the fact that youth workers and organisations providing services to youth have always been included in the plans and programmes of the state (these initiatives were usually put forward by the Ministry of Education, mainly the ex- General Secretariat for Youth, the Youth and Lifelong Learning Foundation, the National Agency for the Erasmus+ programme – Youth, etc.), the political recognition of the value of youth work and, by extension, the formal recognition of the profession have been unduly delayed. A characteristic example of this lack of formal political recognition is the fact that there is no available official (state) translation of the terms ‘youth work’ and ‘youth worker’ into the Greek language. Although, since 2017 there is a proper translation of the two terms, proposed by the Hellenic Youth Workers’ Association, the state (namely, the Ministry of Education) has not adopted this proposal yet. 

However, over the last few years there have been some positive developments, which indicate that the recognition of the profession of youth worker is now – to some extent –  part of the political agenda. More specifically, in 2018, for the first time, the recognition of the profession of youth worker was included in a governmental document and, in particular, in the national strategy Youth ’17-’27: Strategic Framework for the Empowerment of Youth (Antoniou et al, 2018). Indeed, one of the main priorities under the first objective of the national strategy was to support ‘the profession and work of youth workers through targeted initiatives such as creating an integrated institutional framework for the profession of youth worker in our country (e.g. recognition and certification), ensuring appropriate education and training for youth workers, etc.’ (Antoniou et al, 2018: 22). In this respect, another important development was the foundation of the Hellenic Youth Workers Association in 2017 (https://youthwork.gr/), which brought to the fore the demands of the Greek youth workers in a more organized manner enhancing thus the visibility of the whole field. Indeed, the Association is now considered as an official stakeholder and partner, not only by the Greek Ministry of Education but also by the European Commission.

Although the work provided by youth workers is socially valued, especially at the local community level, the lack of formal recognition of the profession often leads to a confusion as far as the nature of the profession is concerned. In other words, it is not always clear to local actors and other stakeholders that the services provided are 'youth work' and that the people providing them are 'youth workers'. It is therefore common for the job of youth worker to be confused with other (recognised) professions, such as social worker, counsellor, teacher, animator, etc. For precisely the same reason, the attitudes of other professionals (providing services to young people) towards youth workers are not homogeneous. Some of them, who are used to collaborating with youth workers seem to understand and appreciate their distinct role while others, who do not know what exactly youth workers do, may have a more skeptical or even antagonistic attitude towards them.    

The foundations for the operation of non-formal learning (and lifelong learning in general) in Greece were laid in 2010 by Law 3879/2010 (‘Development of lifelong learning and other provisions’). In addition to Law 3879/2010, part of which is still in force, new policy priorities were determined by the more recent Law 4763/2020. Despite these developments, no specialized mechanisms and tools for the recognition of qualifications acquired through youth work activities have yet been developed at local, regional or national level.  A first attempt is taking place by some organisations through the Badge tool but, still, this development does not enjoy wide promotion and thus many young people are not aware of the tool and the possibilities that the tool is providing for their personal development. Usually, simple attendance/participation certificates are issued by the organisations implementing youth programmes and actions, but these are not part of the National Qualification System and, therefore, do not have the validity of certificates issued by other bodies. 

European recognition instruments are being used mainly – if not exclusively – in the context of European projects and international youth work. Youthpass is being used by youth workers and youth consultants in Greece to support young people and other youth workers when they are engaging in a youth activity abroad. Whether in voluntary service, in youth exchanges or mobility for youth workers, even in an online format, nowadays most youth organisations are supporting young people towards their self-assement and the fulfilling of their Youthpass. Due to the high unemployment rates affecting young people in Greece, certificates with a European prestige, such as Youthpass, are highly valued by young people, and partly constitute an incentive (although not exclusive) for their participation in non-formal and informal learning programmes. However, as mentioned earlier, a similar tool has not yet been developed at national level.

European Youth Work Portfolio is not often followed by youth organisations in Greece, while the ETS Youth Workers competence is mainly used from youth workers working at international level. However, the ETS Competence model and the European Youth Work Portfolio could be also used at national level (placing the standards of youth work – especially, when it comes to ethics, attitudes and behaviors – but also as a validation instrument) if they are promoted more decisively and in coordination by youth organizations and the Hellenic Youth Workers’ Association. Nevertheless, as a first step, it is quite important to understand who is a youth worker and the context within which a youth worker is working. This is a big struggle since, as mentioned earlier, youth work is not officially recognized in Greece with various implications following from that.

(From the contribution for the the Visible Value, written by Dora GIANNAKI in consultation with the Hellenic Youth Workers’ Association)