Truths about the impact of (local) youth work – literature review

One of the initial goals of the Europe Goes Local project was to help the recognition of youth work as an important domain of the personal development of young people and a crucial tool to build flourishing communities. Europe Goes Local created a framework in which the National Agencies of the Erasmus+ programme and the stakeholders of municipal youth work could respond to the needs of the youth work sector of the local level. MOVIT, the Slovenian National Agency for the EU programmes Erasmus+: Youth in Action and European Solidarity Corps decided to create a literature review about the impact of youth work first. The study was first published in Slovenian and now the TRUTHS ABOUT THE IMPACT OF (LOCAL) YOUTH WORK, written by Tomaž Deželan and Nina Vombergar, is also available in English.

Uroš Skrinar, the director of MOVIT describes the rationale behind the publication in the introduction of the publication:

“It was when we discussed with Europe Goes Local partners about how to approach convincing the others, the unconvinced, as well as support youth workers on the local level in their advocacy in support of youth work, that we agreed that we need a short document about what youth work is and what impact it has. This gave life to this publication, which provides a clear and rich overview of the relevant literature on the characteristics and impact of youth work. With it we wish to contribute to the added value of youth work both on the national and local level becoming better understood and more valued. It can serve as a set of arguments in advocating youth work, which really needs to be strengthened; it can serve as a guide for youth workers for higher quality of their work; and, yes, it can also serve as a source for further research into the impact of quality youth work—our work.”

The on-line version of the publication is accessible via issuu.com.