In 2024–2025, the Youth Partnership has developed a set of practical advocacy tools to support youth work development, tailored to the needs of the youth work community of practice.

These tools provide guidance on why advocating for youth work recognition and development is important, who can and need to do advocacy work, what topics can be addressed and to whom advocacy is addressed to. It aims to strengthen the relevant capacities of youth workers, practitioners, youth organisations, and policymakers, and to support both national and local efforts to enhance the recognition and structural support of youth work.

The Advocacy Kit on Youth Work Development, finalised in 2025, has been promoted at major events such as the European Youth Event and the 4th European Youth Work Convention. A key recommendation from the Convention was the need to raise broader visibility and awareness of youth work through targeted communication campaigns. Visibility and recognition are seen as key components of quality development in the youth work sector.
 

 Objectives

Building on this momentum, the Youth Partnership will design and implement a communication action to promote the importance and value of youth work, building on the outcomes of the 4th European Youth Work Convention, using the key messages from the Advocacy kit and other materials from the Visible Value library of resources on youth work recognition, in particular. This initiative will be developed and delivered in collaboration with stakeholders in the youth field – including the European Youth Forum, ERYICA, AYWA, SALTO Resource Centres, and National Agencies implementing the EU youth programmes – who will play a key role in co-creating and disseminating communication content, through the EU-Council of Europe reference group.
 

The communication action aims to:
  • Raise awareness among the broader public about what youth work is and its positive contribution to young people and to society, particularly in relation to democracy, inclusion, well-being, and participation.
  • Promote consistent, coherent, and harmonised messaging across Europe, aligned with the youth work policy frameworks of the European Union and the Council of Europe.
  • Contribute to enhancing the visibility and recognition of youth work at European, national, and local levels.
  • Showcase the relevance, diversity, and impact of youth work in different contexts.
  • Promote, focus on, and emphasise good practices in quality youth work, especially in countries where youth work is not recognised.

As a follow-up, national-level seminars (online or in-person) will be organised within the framework of the meetings of the group of national correspondents on youth work. These sessions will support countries interested in launching national or local campaigns on the importance and value of youth work and adapting the Advocacy Kit to their specific contexts. The Advocacy Kit has been designed – and the communication tools and materials will be tailored – for easy adaptation across different national settings and languages, and the Youth Partnership will provide tailored support to countries wishing to use them.
 

 Expected outcomes

  • A coordinated communication action developed and delivered with European-level stakeholders, featuring unified messaging and recognisable branding.
  • A small pack of communication materials (e.g. videos, personal stories, infographics, etc.) that are adaptable across countries and translatable into various languages.
  • Wide dissemination of campaign messages through key stakeholders and partner institutions, as well as through the Youth Partnership’s own channels (e.g. social media, website).
  • Seminars (online / in-person) – organised within the framework of the network of national correspondents on youth work –, and support mechanisms targeting member states and youth organisations to adapt and implement campaign efforts and the Advocacy Kit.
     

 Indicative timeline

2026

Development of communication materials

Communication action on the importance and value of youth work at European level

2027-2028

Seminars to support the adaptation and implementation of communication efforts and the Advocacy Kit at national level.