Are you a youth worker? Then you’re at the forefront of engaging with young people directly. Your work focuses on facilitating their personal, social, and educational development through non-formal education, mentoring, and community-based programs. You play a vital role in empowering young people to become active, engaged citizens, helping them navigate life’s challenges and transition into adulthood. But have you thought about why you’re uniquely positioned to advocate for the recognition and growth of youth work? Here’s why your role matters and how the A-Kit can support you.

 Why is advocacy for youth work among your responsibilities? 

You probably focus on facilitating young people’s personal, social, and educational development. Whether through non-formal education, mentoring, or community programs, your work empowers young people to navigate challenges and transition to adulthood. However, you might be encountering obstacles in your work. Challenges like gaining recognition, securing funding, accessing professional development opportunities, or effectively communicating your impact?  A-kit  aims  to  support  you in addressing  these:

Recognition

Do you often face challenges with the recognition and valuation of your work in your country? Do you find it hard to show others—policymakers, funders, or even your community—why your work is valuable? What if you had the tools to clearly demonstrate the impact of your work?

The A-Kit equips you with strategies to gather evidence, articulate your outcomes, and join forces with others to advocate for recognition at all levels—self, social, formal, and political.

 Access to resources and funding

Are you struggling to secure adequate funding and resources, especially when project-based work feels unsustainable? Do you need more sustainable ways to finance your work? Do you often feel uninformed about legislation and developments at the European level, making it harder to navigate and utilize these frameworks effectively?

The A-Kit offers practical advocacy tools to help you secure funding and access critical resources. You’ll also gain insights into European legislation and developments that might be useful for your work.

 Professional development and career pathways

Do you see continuous professional development as essential for staying updated on best practices, new methodologies, and emerging challenges in youth work? Do you wish to enhance your skills, update your knowledge and connect with peers?

The A-Kit provides good advocacy practices and suggests networking with peers and beyond to help you enhance your impact.

 Impactful Communication

Do you ever feel like you’re not being heard? How do you share the value of your work with young people, parents, policymakers, or community leaders?

With the A-Kit, you’ll find tools and strategies to communicate your message effectively. You’ll also learn about examples of how to collaborate with other youth workers and associations to amplify your voice.

 What’s in the A-Kit for you? 

• Advocacy tools: Resources to demonstrate the value of youth work and secure the recognition and support needed from policymakers and the public.
• Case studies: Evidence-based examples that illustrate the positive impact of youth work, helping to strengthen advocacy efforts.
• Resources: Access best practices, training materials, and guidelines supporting ongoing professional growth. Access to European legislations, recommendations and documents.
• Communication strategies: Tailored messaging and communication tools to demonstrate the importance and impact of youth work to different stakeholders. A list National Associations of Youth Workers is also included to help build a stronger community and encourage   greater   involvement   from   and   for   youth   workers.

Are you part of a youth organisation (in the range from local community group to national and international NGO) that supports and coordinates youth work? Your work is crucial in amplifying the voices of young people and ensuring that their needs are met through effective programs and policies. Moreover, your organisation plays a very important role in designing programs, securing funding, advocating for youth work, and acting as an intermediary between young people and policymakers.

Here’s how you can strengthen your impact on policies and how the A-Kit can support you.

 Why is advocacy for youth work among your responsibilities?

Your role is vital in shaping programs, securing funding, and advocating for policies that benefit young people. Those policies increasingly include provisions or even separate policies regulating youth work. A-kit aims to support you addressing these:

 Policy influence

Does your organisation want to advocate for policies that address young people’s needs?

The A-Kit provides tools and strategies to help you influence decision-makers, ensuring youth work is prioritised in policy agendas and effectively improving youth participation and broader needs of young people.

 Strategic partnerships

Would building collaborations with local, national, or international organisations amplify your efforts? How about cooperation with the private sector?

The A-Kit offers resources to help you identify partners, foster collaborations, and create impactful advocacy initiatives. 

 Sustainable funding

Are funding challenges holding you back? Would diversifying funding sources and attracting donors improve your organisation’s resilience?

The A-Kit equips you with templates and strategies to advocate for adequate support and funding for youth work.

 What’s in the A-Kit for you?

• Advocacy action templates: Ready-to-use frameworks and templates for launching advocacy actions aimed at influencing youth policy and securing support for youth work.
• Guidelines for policy engagement: Strategies for engaging with policymakers, participating in consultations, and contributing to policy development.
• Partnership development resources: Tools for identifying potential partners, building collaborative  initiatives,        and       strengthening                networks          for         advocacy.

Are you a policymaker (government official, legislator, municipal or/and public officer) shaping the landscape for youth work? As a policymaker, you are responsible for creating, implementing, and evaluating policies that affect young people and youth work. Your decisions have a direct impact on the funding, regulation, and support of youth work at local, national, and European levels. You play a crucial role in shaping the environment in which youth work operates, and it's essential that you ensure youth voices are integrated into the policy-making process. Here’s how you can improve youth work policies and how the A-Kit can support you.

 Why is advocacy for youth work among your responsibilities?

Your decisions directly impact the funding, regulation, and support available for young people. But do you have the tools to make informed and impactful decisions? A-kit aims to support you addressing these:

Informed decision-making

Do you have access to accurate data and evidence about youth work’s impact?

The A-Kit offers evidence-based arguments to help understand how youth work supports young people and contributes to broader social goals.

 Youth engagement

Would you like to involve young people more effectively in developing policies that affect them? Do you have adequate (youth work) mechanisms for meaningful youth participation and for ensuring that youth perspectives are considered in policy development?

The A-Kit helps communicate and foster collaboration with youth work.

 Policy alignment

Are your youth work policies aligned with broader social, economic, and educational goals? Are they aligned with national and European youth work policy frameworks?

The A-Kit provides resources to help you advocate internally and cross-sectorally for the design of cohesive strategies that bridge youth work and broader policy frameworks.

 What’s in the A-Kit for you?

• Evidence-based research and resources from the field: Comprehensive data and research findings that highlight the impact of youth work and its contribution to broader social goals.
• Policy development resources: Best practices, policy briefs, and examples of successful youth work policies from across Europe that can inform and guide policy development.

Are you a community leader, educator, social worker, trainer in the youth work field, member of a youth council or even part of a private company? If so, you play an important role in supporting youth work, even if indirectly. Your influence can shape youth work environments in which young people can learn, develop, live! You are a valuable ally in advocating for youth work development, ensuring that is is protected, supported and integrated into your initiatives inline with your community needs. Here’s why your role matters and how the A-Kit can support you.

 Why is advocacy for youth work among your responsibilities?

Your role and your work influence the environments in which young people live, learn, and grow. But do you understand how youth work benefits your community? If yes, you are an essential ally in advocating for youth work and ensuring that it is supported and integrated into broader community initiatives. A-kit aims to support you addressing these:

Awareness and understanding

Do you want to know more about how youth work helps young people and communities thrive?

The A-Kit offers materials to increase your understanding on youth work and show you how to support it.

 Cross-sectoral cooperation and community impact

Would partnerships with youth work organisations help you address issues your community is facing? Issues like youth unemployment, social inequalities, mental health e.t.c ?

The A-Kit provides tools to build effective collaborations and joint advocacy initiatives.

 What’s in the A-Kit for you?

• Information and education resources: Materials that explain the importance of youth work and its benefits to the community, helping to raise awareness and build support.
• Collaboration tools: Strategies for building partnerships between youth organisations and other community stakeholders, fostering joint initiatives and shared goals.
• Impact case studies: Examples of how youth work has positively impacted communities, providing evidence to support further investment and collaboration.
• Advocacy support: Resources to help stakeholders advocate for youth work within their networks and communities, ensuring it receives the recognition and support it deserves.