4th European Youth Work Convention Preparation Webinar

On 28th April 2025 the 4th European Youth Work Convention Preparation Webinar offered an opportunity for all participants of the Convention to prepare together for this unique event.

Written by Nik Paddison  

On 28th April 2025 the 4th European Youth Work Convention Preparation Webinar offered an opportunity for all participants of the Convention to prepare together for this unique event. It gave information about the context and history of the European Youth Work Conventions and it provided an overview of the 4th Convention's context and its core themes. It was also an opportunity to get to know other participants.

The webinar provided an exciting snapshot into the upcoming Convention with inputs from the organisers in Malta, the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership, and the SNAC “Growing Youth Work”. It was attended by more than 120 people from across Europe. It gave insights into the programme, along with information on the themes, the plenary sessions, workshops and other opportunities the participants would experience. The webinar closed with the revealing of the Convention Programme and Participants’ Preparation Booklet.

The Youth Work Talks series and the SNAC

Elke Führer, coordinator of the SNAC “Growing Youth Work” opened by informing the participants about the SNAC “Growing Youth Work”, its role as co-host of the webinar and its role in supporting the Convention. She explained how the SNAC aims to develop and strengthen youth work across Europe by putting the European Youth Work Agenda (EYWA) into action. The main ways it is doing this are the Youth Work Talks series, the support of national processes of implementing the EYWA and the mobilisation of the EU youth programmes for youth work development. This way, the SNAC wants to support strategic community-building and keep the fire alive between the Conventions.

Context of the 4th European Youth Work Convention

Laszlo Milutinovits, Senior Project Officer from the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership then presented the intentions of the webinar and the role of the Partnership in the Convention. Laszlo shared a short history of the Conventions and their influence on the youth policy developments of both the EU and the Council of Europe – highlighting that the 3rd Convention was the catalyst of the European Youth Work Agenda. He went on to explain that each Convention is supported by a steering committee and this 4th Convention is no exception. It is this group – who are a broad cross-section of the youth work community of practice – who have defined the form, the aim and the programme of the Convention.

The participants

Following the introduction, the participants were asked if they had attended a previous Convention. For a substantial majority, this was to be the first Convention they would be attending. Participants were also asked about what they expected to gain from attending this webinar. The two key answers were “information” and “preparation”.

Sneak-peak into the Convention

Miriam Teuma Chief Executive Officer, Agenzija Zghazagh, introduced more details about the Convention. She began by looking back on the last decades of youth work development at European level in general, and how, through youth work developments from both the EU and the Council of Europe, the need for a Convention emerged. The first European Youth Work Convention took place in Belgium in 2010 and started a series of Conventions taking place every five years. She looked back at how the Conventions have been gathering stakeholders from across Europe, how they have been spaces for sharing experiences and assessing the state of youth work across Europe and how they have influenced youth and youth work policy developments at multiple levels.

Both the EU and the Council of Europe have been influenced by the outcomes of the previous Conventions and this 4th will not be an exception.

Miriam then revealed the name and theme of the 4th Convention, “Youth Work Xcelerate”. The name comes from the view that there is a need to capture the urgency and momentum needed to elevate youth work to new heights; that youth work needs an active push towards improving standards, promoting quality and full recognition. She went on to explain that the Convention is also a call for action, initiatives, measures and processes to achieve all of this. She also highlighted for people to understand, the Convention does not exist in a vacuum, both the EU and the Council of Europe have been influenced by the outcomes of the previous Conventions and this 4th will not be an exception.

Themes and programme

Miriam introduced an overview of the three main themes. Each of the themes has five sub-theme workshops for participants to attend, which were also briefly described.

Youth Work Core

This is about the core or essential features of youth work. It includes working on a common vision for youth work’s nature and purpose, and affirming the principles, values and ethos that underpin youth work.

Youth Work Environment

This focuses on young people, youth organisations, youth workers, trainers and leaders, programmes, initiatives and practice. It is about young people’s needs and aspirations with a view to monitoring their access, inclusion, participation and empowerment in youth work.

Youth Work Systems

This is about broader policy fields, support structures and the social context in which youth work operates. It includes policy and strategy developments at the European, Member State and local levels.

In addition, there is a transversal theme called “Noise vs Silence”. The noise part is about the space we already occupy and asks if there are issues that we talk about too much? For the silence, the question is, what are the issues we talk about too little? She explained that from this we can determine what are the most important issues we actually need to be talking about.

The Convention programme consists of 30 youth work practice workshops where participants can discover what is happening in youth work in different parts of Europe. They are divided into “Inspiring Practices from National, Regional or Local Levels” and “Projects and Initiatives at a European Level”.

Roadmap

Miriam also explained that a key proposed outcome of the 4th Convention is a “Roadmap Towards a European Strategy for youth work policy implementation, recognition and quality practice” to guide youth work for the next five years. To achieve this, the voices of the community of practice need to be heard and recorded. A team of facilitators and rapporteurs will harvest the voices of the people from all the workshops. This information, along with inputs and keynote speeches, will form the basis of the Roadmap. The intention is that the contents of the Roadmap will feed into the new EU Youth Strategy and the revision of the Council of Europe Youth Sector Strategy. 

Maltese Presidency of the Council of Europe  

Miriam went on to say that the Convention is taking place at the beginning of the Maltese Presidency of the Council of Europe. In the autumn, Malta will host a conference for member state Ministers responsible for youth. It is also intended that this conference will endorse the conclusions of the 4th Convention and that the outcomes will be a voiced commitment to youth work and a final declaration on youth work.

Miriam stated that the next five years will see some key things happening in youth work and what is done at the Convention will feed into this. She closed with a slogan for the Convention:

  • Attract
  • Take action
  • Understand the noise
  • Stir the silence

Online preparation 

The facilitator of the webinar, Snezana Baclija Knoch, introduced three online packets of information that participants should to go through before arriving at the Convention.
•    Convention Info Pack
•    Convention Programme
•    Convention Guide

She presented the Convention Guide which consists of three parts. The first part is about preparation, providing the background of the Convention and other key processes in Europe, as well as the realities and challenges in youth work today, the context, programme and aim of this 4th Convention, and what being a delegate entails.

The second part presents the themes and workshops. The third part provides more general information, links to relevant policy documents, various useful tools and many other resources.

Closing

Miriam closed the webinar with three strong statements:

  • Let us not be guests at the Convention, we are the architects of it.
  • Let’s not just focus on theoretical talking but come up with practical solutions.
  • If we are not at the table we are probably on the menu, so let’s make sure youth work sets the agenda.