This Mapping of best practices for the recognition of youth work was produced as the first result
of the Strategic Partnership project “European youth workers unite to empower youth and youth
field – Youth worker is a lifestyle”.
The mapping study conducted within the project was aimed at mapping the state of youth work
recognition in the 9 countries involved in the project, as well as wider in Europe. It focused on
the four dimensions of recognition as defined by the Youth Partnership between the European
Union and the Council of Europe: self-recognition, social, formal and political recognition. As a
subtopic, the study also explored the status and working conditions of youth workers in the project
countries. Additionally, the study also aimed to collect good practices of youth work recognition
from the 9 project countries, which could serve as good examples and inspiration for further work
on recognition in the other European countries.
The primary use of the study is to provide the newly established Alliance of Youth Workers
Associations (AYWA) information about youth work recognition relevant for its advocacy and other
activities on a national and European levels. However, we believe that the document is also a
valuable contribution to the youth work sector in general, as it provides an insight into less explored
aspects of recognition, such as employment rights and benefits of youth workers. We hope that
the study will point out to some of the key areas in which further intervention is needed, while also
providing examples of how real progress can be achieved.
Countries participating in the project: Noth Macedonia (lead partner), Estonia, Czech Republic,
Greece, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia. Researchers who helped to collect and analyse
the data:
Dr. Ilona-Evelyn Rannala, Reelika Ojakivi, Estonia
Petra Kutálková, Czech Republic
Manos Pavlakis, Greece
Amber Hulsken, Niko de Groot, the Nethelands
Jelena Stojanovich, Serbia
Dragana Mitrovikj, Dragan Atanasov, North Macedonia
Silvia Crocitta, Italy
Marta Reis, Hilário Matos, Portugal
Margaret White, Christian Mizzi, Malta
Read the research here:
Mapping-of-best-practices-for-the-recognition-of-youth-work
