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Download to PDF Call for participants: Let’s talk about the emotional and mental health of youth workers

Call for participants: Let’s talk about the emotional and mental health of youth workers

News from Europe Goes Local 09/06/2022

The Latvian National Agency organises a study visit “Youth Workers’ well-being” from August 17 to 19 2022 in Latvia. This target audience are youth specialists, youth workers, youth policy makers, NGO representatives,… involved in youth work.

Youth work is constantly developing and being assigned new roles and functions, such as building civil society, improving social inclusion, preventing health risks, etc. With this continual evolution, the focus and aim of youth work is to ensure quality systems and frameworks that guarantees its improvement and shows its impact and value. The concept of quality youth work, however, can’t only focus on the development of standards, indicators, methods and manuals. So supporting development of quality to create lasting impact on the lives of young people includes the quality of well-being and wellness of youth workers themselves.

“Youth workers’ jobs are challenging and dynamic”

Agnese Karklina, Project Coordinator at the Latvian National Agency

Youth workers are facing multiple challenges, such as burnout, municipal employee turnout, and lack of support from employers. In addition to this, they’ve carried the weight of a global health crisis. And recently, there has been the destructive consequences of a war nearby, which all of these bring the urgent necessity to light to address all issues around the emotional and mental well-being of youth workers.

The Agency for International Programs for Youth in Latvia is organising a study visit within Europe Goes Local to bring awareness to and spotlight the importance of the psycho-emotional well-being of youth workers.

We talked to Agnese Karklina, Project Coordinator at the Latvian National Agency. She told us about the significance of this study visit and why the well-being of youth workers is an essential precondition for developing quality youth work.

Why is it important to focus on the emotional well-being of youth workers?

Agnese: “Youth workers’ jobs are challenging and dynamic. It takes a lot of energy and resources to work directly with young people; by creating individual plans, consultations, mentoring, creating group activities, trying to find funding for everything, writing projects, and implementing new services.  Sometimes youth workers forget about themselves in this process, or they put their needs on the last place. At the same time balancing the workload and private life raises questions: Am I being appreciated in my work? Is anyone thanking me? Am I being paid enough? Is it worth it?”

Q: How will addressing the wellness and well-being of youth workers impact the quality of their work?

Agnese: “Youth workers’ health and emotional well-being directly affects productivity and motivation at work. Having good emotional health for youth workers is a fundamental aspect of fostering resilience, self-awareness, and overall contentment. And it goes together with the capability to be more productive in their work hours, staying motivated, raising their problem-solving skills and helping to be more solution-oriented.”

More information

For who: youth specialists, youth workers, youth policy makers, NGO representatives, etc. involved in youth work

When: 17 – 19 August 2022 in Latvia

Arrival: expected on 16 August 2022

Departure: 20 August 2022

Application Deadline: 26 June 2022

Where to apply: http://trainings.salto-youth.net/10298

Furthermore, you can find more information about the Latvian National Agency on their website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, or TikTok.