This section of the Visible Value aims to provide a quick overview of the state of the affairs about the recognition of youth work in the countries covered by EU-CoE Youth Partnership. In total it covers 53 country profiles (including 3 profiles for Belgium and 4 profiles for the UK).

The content in this section is based on several sources, including:

The sources of information are indicated at the end of each profile.

Back North Macedonia

The closest thing to a law on young people is the National Youth Strategy. In the current history of “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, two national strategies for youth have been adopted, the first for the period from 2005-2015, and the second from 2016-2025. Youth work is mentioned in both youth strategies, under the title “Local youth work” and is noted as a priority. However, if we compare the two texts it can be noted that there is an evolution in the way of processing youth work as an activity. While the first strategy largely mixes youth work with youth participation and the activities of youth associations, the 2016 strategy defines it more clearly as a separate activity, with specific goals, priorities and challenges. With this document, for the first time, the Macedonian institutions recognise youth work as an organised system of activities that has an educational function and a stake in the personal development of young people. The strategy states that youth work in “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia ”is not yet defined as one of the key components of the process of educating, protecting and encouraging the development of young people, and concludes that it is for this reason that youth work is principally carried out by the civil society organisations. The difference in the way that youth work is treated in both documents probably points to increased recognition of youth work at social and institutional levels in “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” over a period of 10 years. With the adoption of this document, the Agency for Youth and Sports recognises and supports the processes in the field of youth work initiated by civic associations active in this field. In 2017, 3 organisations submitted a joint initiative for the recognition of the profession of youth worker in the National Qualifications Framework (Coalition of youth organizations SEGA, Youth Cultural Centre and the Association for Youth Work)to the Ministry of Education and Science (Centre for Vocational Education and Training). The Agency of Youth and Sports was a partner in this initiative. In March 2018, the Government of “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” organised a thematic session on young people which was the first governmental session focused on youth issues. In this session, the government formed the Working Group for the Recognition of Youth Work, including NGOs and state institutions. This working group held meetings in order to define the standard of occupation for youth workers, based on the previously submitted initiative. In July 2018, the term “youth worker” was accepted as an occupational standard in the National Qualifications Framework, within the Ministry of Education and Science. This is by far the most significant step related to formal recognition of the profession of youth worker in the country.

(from the EKCYP Country report on youth work in North Macedonia)