Youth Work Strategies Manual: Approaches and methods for inspiring youth work development

Youth work plays a modest part in many young people’s lives and, arguably, a much more critical part for others. Youth work is about supporting the spaces where young people can have autonomy and develop their voice, and about building bridges for young people to make positive steps to the next part of their lives.

Over the past two decades, a significant resource base for youth work has been established and this manual provides a comprehensive catalogue of accessible material to support reflection and action across the stepping stones that will need to be pursued. The manual thereby moves from theory to action: Why is youth work important? Where does it fit within wider youth policy? How do we strengthen its presence and performance in supporting young people who face an increasingly tough repertoire of challenges in contemporary Europe?

This manual considers how to advocate for youth work, at the local and national levels. It starts by outlining a conceptual understanding of youth
work “strategy” within the frameworks of youth work policy and wider policies affecting the lives of young people. It then considers the stepping stones for the development of a youth work strategy – why it is needed, where and how it should start, who to involve, how do you establish and maintain momentum and, eventually, how can you give it teeth and ensure impact and how do you make it happen. Of course, nothing is ever guaranteed, but this manual is designed to give youth work advocacy its best chance. A case study of the emergence of a more professionalised framework for youth work in Malta shows just what can be achieved. Further resources on approaches, methods, instruments and examples are shared in the last chapter.