The Europe Goes Local National Conference brought together a vibrant cross-section of Ireland’s youth work community to explore how European collaboration enhances local practice. With 87 attendees spanning youth workers, service managers, ETB youth officers, and policy makers, the conference showcased the breadth of activity and ambition within the sector. The programme combined keynote insights, hands-on workshops, peer networking, and a cultural performance, creating a holistic experience that addressed both strategic frameworks, such as the European Youth Work Agenda, and practical considerations, like funding pathways under Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps. Director of the Irish National Agency, Céline Martin’s welcome emphasized Léargas’s role as a national agency and the strategic importance of European links for the youth sector.
The event’s design reflected a commitment to balancing policy-level orientation with grounded practice. The opening video address by Minister of State Thomas Byrne, TD, set a tone of national support for European engagement in youth work. Keynote speaker Miriam Teuma, CEO of Malta’s National Youth Agency, brought an international perspective, drawing on extensive leadership and policy experience to illuminate how national strategies translate into local realities. Contribution from Judit Balogh, project coordinator of Europe Goes Local, coupled with facilitation from NYCI as the national contact point for EYWA, ensured that participants could link European initiatives to Irish contexts in concrete ways.
Judit Balogh’s presentation on Europe Goes Local highlighted the project’s mission to strengthen youth work at the local level across Europe. For Irish participants, this provided context for using EGL online tools and networks to benchmark practice, access resources, and join collaborative initiatives. The subsequent session on the National European Youth Support Capacity Building Project explained how targeted outreach and hands-on support will be offered to organizations in 2025 and beyond, providing an operational bridge from information to implementation.
Three thematic workshops—Opportunity, Connection, Impact—and a fourth, Integration, offered structured learning journeys. Participants examined the mechanics of Erasmus+ and ESC applications, engaged with EGL’s online tools and the EYWA, reflected on the impact of European dimensions across rural and urban services, and learned practical approaches to embedding European Youth Work across organizational systems. The Walking World Café created space for peer-to-peer exchange, enabling participants to surface shared challenges, solutions, and new partnerships.
Immediate outcomes included heightened awareness of available European opportunities, increased confidence in pursuing funding and collaboration, and clarity on how to align local strategies with the EYWA. Medium-term impacts, as discussed in plenary wrap-up and informal conversations, are expected
to include new project proposals, strengthened inter-organizational networks, and more systematic use of EGL tools within Irish services. The conference served as both an information hub and a catalyst, supporting practitioners and leaders to move from interest to implementation.
Read and download the full report from this event here
Watch the video here.
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