Committente: Comitato Europeo delle Regioni
Periodo: 2024
URL: Implementing the European youth work agenda and the Bonn Process at the local and regional level in the EU
Descrizione:
This study aims to analyse the state of play of the implementation of the European Youth Work Agenda1 (EYWA) and the Bonn Process at the local and regional level within European Union (EU) Member States. It also provides an overview of the current challenges that the main stakeholders, namely Local and Regional Authorities (LRAs), Non-Governmental Organisations working with young people (NGOs), and Youth Workers (YWs) are facing at the local level to implement these European youth work frameworks, and makes proposals to overcome them. The European Committee of the Regions requested this study with a view to reply to a referral from the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council on this matter, titled ‘Fostering youth work in the EU: How to implement the European youth work agenda and make the best use of the Bonn Process?’. For the purpose of this study, youth work is defined according to EYWA: ‘Youth work is a broad term covering a wide variety of activities of a social, cultural, educational, environmental and/or political nature by, with and for young people, in groups or individually. Youth work is delivered by paid and volunteer youth workers and is based on non-formal and informal learning processes focused on young people and on voluntary participation. Youth work is quintessentially a social practice, working with young people and the societies in which they live, facilitating young people’s active participation and inclusion in their communities and in decisionmaking.’ (Council of the European Union, 2020) After several years of discussion on youth work development at the local, regional, national and European levels, the EYWA (2020) has become the main European policy framework on youth work. The partnership established between the European Union and the Council of Europe has brought youth work to the forefront of EU policies, and highlighted the need for a well-established common implementation process. The implementation process, the so-called Bonn Process, is EYWA’s functional element, in line with the Final Declaration of the third European Youth Work Convention held in Bonn in 2020. The Bonn Process intends to uphold and further develop the principles enshrined in the EYWA and strengthen youth work, improve its provision, quality and recognition in Europe and make it a high priority for the Member States. It includes eight priority areas for youth work: developing and expanding youth work services, quality development, a common direction for the youth work community of practice, promotion and recognition, innovation and emerging challenges, policy frameworks, beyond the community of practice and a strategic framework for youth work development.
In this context, the role of the local youth work community of practice is central. This community of practice is defined in the EYWA as follows: In the field of youth work, the youth work community of practice should be understood as a group of people, professional or non-professional, who share the same interests in resolving an issue, improving their skills, and learning from each other’s experiences. It comprises stakeholders at all levels from local to European level, such as: youth workers and youth leaders; youth work managers; project carriers; accredited and independent youth work organisations; trainers; researchers; educators of youth workers; local communities and municipalities; National Agencies for Erasmus+ Youth and the European Solidarity Corps; youth representations and young people and policymakers for youth.’ In 2023, JUGEND für Europa conducted a survey at the national level to take stock of the process of translating the EYWA into national practice. It provides insights into the current state of implementation of the EYWA at national level and highlighted various challenges, such as a lack of resources, recognition, political interest and cooperation. Inspired by this survey, this current study is based on the following methodological approaches: • Data collection through an online survey, to gather information on the EYWA and the Bonn Process awareness and implementation at the local and regional level, in line with the eight priority areas identified by the Bonn Process. The survey was carried out in all 27 EU Member States targeting LRAs, NGOs and YWs. • Quantitative and qualitative analysis of findings for each priority areas, including an assessment of challenges and proposals for potential measures to overcome them. • Foresight based on visioning and backcasting techniques. • Drafting of political and operational recommendations to the European Union, the Member States and the local and regional authorities. Following the report’s methodology, the study is divided into nine parts. Part 1 clarifies the methodology used in this study and its achievements. Part 2 analyses the key challenges related to the implementation of the EYWA and the Bonn Process. It identifies the number of initiatives implemented, a selection of best practices, and the main challenges encountered for each of the eight priority areas of the Bonn Process. Part 3 describes the target groups’ proposals to overcome the challenges identified for each priority area. Part 4 explains the foresight analysis methodology and provides foresight considerations regarding the implementation of the Bonn Process. Parts 5 includes recommendations for the recognition of youth work, the simplification of the EYWA and the Bonn Process, and the improvement of youth workers’ training. Finally, parts 6 and 7 contain the conclusions in view of political and operational recommendations, so as to provide guidance for a more effective implementation of the EYWA and the Bonn Process, in the light of the challenges and issues raised by the consultation. Currently, the information and promotion of both the EYWA and the Bonn Process is mainly addressed by the EU to the Member States. To date, the main information channels on the EYWA and the Bonn Process are the National Agencies, and to lesser extent through a voluntary Youth Stakeholders Group. As highlighted by this study, there is a lack of awareness of these European frameworks at the local and regional level. Such low awareness of EYWA and the Bonn Process at local level could lead to an insufficient involvement of LRAs in the policy-making process at the European level. A recurring topic stemming from the consultation is the request for improving the engagement of LRAs and other local stakeholders through national authorities and direct exchanges with European agencies. According to the study results, the awareness and knowledge about EYWA and the Bonn Process seem poor across all categories of respondents (i.e., LRAs, NGOs and YWs), who are slightly more aware of the EYWA than the Bonn Process. On the basis of the qualitative inputs received, the respondents expect to receive guidance on the EYWA and the Bonn Process from the national authorities, which are responsible for disseminating information, establishing recommendations and raising awareness on these European frameworks, including at the local level. The findings also underline that youth work initiatives in line with the priorities of the Bonn Process are actually widespread across Europe, although the EYWA and the Bonn Process as such are not very well-known: 62% of the consulted LRAs, 50% of NGOs and 88% of YWs had implemented such youth work initiatives in the last three years. This study recommends raising awareness of the EYWA and the Bonn Process at the local level through targeted actions, promoting national strategic frameworks in line with the EYWA, and ensuring local and regional authorities’ commitment to the EYWA and the Bonn Process, also by better involving local youth work communities of practice. Leaner funding mechanisms for this sector and an increased inclusion of youth in the related decision-making process are also needed. Moreover, the quality of youth work should be improved through the establishment of a quality assurance mechanism, for a better alignment with the emerging social challenges, and the implementation of more systematic training of and for youth workers. All these actions would contribute to an enhanced implementation of the EYWA. Finally, the foresight analysis in the study suggests focusing more on prioritising young people’s needs, and to take into account their interests and motivations, as well as to ensure that youth work communities of practice are better aligned with the youth needs depending on the changing socio-economic landscape