In 2022-2023, the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership is enhancing its role in supporting the implementation of the European Youth Work Agenda (EYWA), notably by:
- Facilitating the dialogue within the youth work community of practice
- Supporting better recognition of youth work
- Supporting CoE and EU initiatives on youth work
- Organising activities in the priority regions with a focus on Youth Work Development
- Strengthening the Learning and Development opportunities for the members of the youth work community of practice, notably through thematic and broad knowledge development on youth work (Youth Knowledge Books (Youth Work Strategy Manual planned), European youth work policy goals analysed), educational materials (T-Kits), Coyote magazine for youth work practitioners, Visible Value library on recognition of youth work, and online courses (MOOC on Essentials of Youth Work and related MOOCs on essentials of youth policy and youth research).
The aim of the Steering Group is to guide the research, policy, training, capacity building and communication work of the Youth Partnership in this area and to ensure complementarity and coordination of various initiatives by the partner institutions and their actors, the Youth Partnership is setting up a Steering Group with broad representation of the youth work community of practice in Europe.
The Steering Group is to meet regularly (twice per year) to map, monitor and steer developments of various initiatives and actors and guide the Youth Partnership on implementation of its work plan activities on EYWA implementation.
The first meeting of the Steering Group
The meeting took place online (29-30 March 2022) and mapped out all European and national initiatives related to the implementation of the EYWA and identified where they can complement and strengthen each other as well as potential areas not covered by any actor. It was also an opportunity to discuss the expected outcomes from the Youth Partnership in this field.
The second meeting of the Steering Group
Following its 1st online meeting in March, members of the Steering Group gathered on 5-6 July 2022, in Brussels. The meeting gave space for partners to inform each other about ongoing activities related to the European Youth Work Agenda. Participants discussed research findings about the implementation of the Agenda, including a Mapping study on European youth work ecosystems. They also had exchange about next steps in carrying out a research project on recognition, other processes foreseen in the workplan, such as publications and the setting up the new European Pool of Youth Work development experts.
The 3rd meeting of the Steering Group
The third meeting took place on 25-26 January 2023. Following up on the results of its previous meeting in July 2022, this occasion gave space to further strategic discussions about the coordination of the implementation of the EYWA. Updates about the progress of ongoing research projects, including mapping studies on youth work ecosystems and models of recognition, as well as the review process of the Council of Europe’s Youth Work Recommendation were also to be presented and discussed. With several ongoing initiatives around the EYWA, the meeting remains essential to ensure complementarity and coordination of various initiatives by the partner institutions and actors. Regarding practical preparations of upcoming activities, the Youth Partnership’s Symposium dedicated to the European meeting of the youth work community of practice (31 May-2 June 2023) also started, and first ideas about the foreseen 4th European Youth Work Convention in 2025 were exchanged.
The 4th meeting of the Steering Group
The 4th meeting of the Steering Group took place in Brussels on 19-20 September, 2023. At the meeting, as in previous occasions, representatives of the partner institutions and the European youth work community of practice shared about their organisations’ activities, achievements and the latest developments related to the European Youth Work Agenda. They also further discussed research outcomes, such as the final results of the mapping studies on European youth work ecosystems and on Models of recognition. Recent and ongoing activities of the Youth Partnership were also presented, including the outcomes of the Symposium Visible Value: Growing youth work in Europe. The members also evaluated the Steering Group’s past meetings and learnt about the main directions of the Youth Partnership’s workplan regarding youth work development in 2024-25.
Members of the Steering Group
The Steering Group involves representatives of the partner institutions of the Youth Partnership, namely the European Union and the Council of Europe, the European Youth Forum, the statutory bodies of the Council of Europe (Steering Committee on Youth-CDEJ and the Advisory Council on Youth – CCJ), National Agencies of the Erasmus+ Programme and the European Solidarity Corps, SALTO Resource Centres, the European Service Centre for the Bonn Process, EURODESK and ERYICA, youth researchers, youth policy experts and the community of practice.