The Survey Report on national processes 2025 shows how the development of national processes has contributed to putting the European Youth Work Agenda into practice since the 3rd European Youth Work Convention. This article summarises the key insights of the survey findings by highlighting the current state of play of national processes, the progress, challenges and needs. It collects recommendations and expectations towards the 4th European Youth Work Convention by the National Contact Points of the European Youth Work Agenda implementation.
Written by Nik Paddison
Since 2022, the SNAC “Growing Youth Work” has been monitoring the national implementation processes of the European Youth Work Agenda (EYWA) across Europe. This has been achieved through the development of a yearly survey, which was implemented and analysed by Frederike Hofmann-van de Poll. The 2025 Survey Report on national processes for implementing the European Youth Work Agenda (EYWA) has just been published and can be found here.
This years Survey Report, as with previous years explores the current situation regarding the eight Priority Areas of the EYWA. It details some of the many challenges facing youth work, it identifies numerous needs and provides a number of recommendations and conclusions.
Also, with the 4th European Youth Work Convention occurring in 2025, it links to this important event and proposes ways in which the current national processes can flow into the Convention and its proposed outcome – a Roadmap for youth work development for the next five years.
The 2025 Report shows that there are now 34 countries engaged in national processes. The national processes are managed or coordinated by National Contact Points, the majority of which are either the Ministry representing youth or the National Agency for Erasmus+ Youth and the European Solidarity Corps programmes.
From the answers provided in the Survey, it is clear that the EYWA is perceived as valuable. It provides direction and support for taking action, and after five years from its establishment, its implementation continues to strengthen youth work all over Europe.
Regarding the eight Priority Areas of the EYWA, the two that are felt to be the most relevant are “quality development” and “promotion and recognition”. Most of the reported activities are being carried out in these two priority areas. In addition, there has been a strong focus on the development, implementation, and monitoring of national youth strategies under the Priority Area “policy frameworks”.
The Priority Area currently with the lowest perceived relevance is “beyond the youth work community of practice” especially in relation to the concept of cross-sectoral cooperation. It is also noted in the report that there has been a decrease in significance attached to the Priority Area “develop and expand the youth work offer”.
Overall, the Survey shows that the broad scope of the Priority Areas makes it easy for many people to relate their activities and initiatives to the Areas. While the EYWA and its eight Priority Areas are perceived as a valuable reflection tool, they are also viewed as challenging to use as operational tools for planning, implementing and reporting. One reason for this is that the boundaries between the Priority Areas are fluid and they overlap. As a result, some of the national processes have reported having difficulties in categorising their measures, while others do not face this challenge.
The Survey Report reveals several challenges, some of which are recurrent, featuring in each Survey Report since 2022. The lack of recognition is one of those. Many countries still do not recognise youth work or the role of the youth worker as an official profession. In some countries, there is a lack of political interest, which is evidenced by failing institutional support and the shifting of political priorities, especially in times of crisis.
Another core challenge highlighted in the report is the lack of resources; one example of this is the lack of long-term sustainable funding. In most countries, even when there is a provision of resources, it tends to be short-term financing, meaning that projects have limited impact and do not provide the continuous support that young people need.
The Survey Report highlights a number of needs that the respondents to the Survey have pointed out. They include the need for a pan-European body coordinating the efforts of implementing the EYWA. The EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership is regarded as very suitable for this role. In addition, the SNAC Growing Youth Work supporting national processes and community-building is seen as another actor that could bring complementary strengths into a European coordination. While the work of the SNAC “Growing Youth Work” is recognised and very much appreciated, there is a fear that because the SNAC is rooted in the EU Erasmus+ Youth and European Solidarity Corps programmes, non-EU countries could be left behind. Although it is interesting to note that of the four new countries that joined the number of known processes lately, three are not EU members.
The need for a monitoring system was pointed out. Developing a monitoring system would mean the creation of much-needed indicators for the Priority Areas. It would also introduce the tracking of progress for national processes and ensure accountability. Coordination is needed between the national level and local youth work, which includes policies, activities and measures. It is felt that this link can be strengthened by the National Contact Points, and supported by the SNACs “Growing Youth Work” and “Europe Goes Local”.
There is a need for understanding the significance of the EYWA. Especially at the local level, there is little knowledge about it. Many respondents felt the EYWA needs a higher profile and that referring to it should bring added value. For effective implementation of the EYWA at the local level, there is a need for clearly defined priorities and better coordination. For the national processes to thrive and therefore raise the profile of the EYWA, there is a need for advocacy, thematic events, and forms of mutual learning - at both the European and national levels.
Overall, respondents want to see more practical materials available. This could come in the form of a starter kit on how to develop and strengthen youth work, the translation and adaptation of already existing materials for local-level youth workers. They also want more opportunities for knowledge exchange and the sharing of practices, which they can potentially replicate in their country.
In terms of cooperation at the European level, connecting countries that share similar strategic goals for advancing youth work is a necessary step. This could be supported by developing networks for mutual support, collaboration, and sharing challenges and good practices. The SNAC “Growing Youth Work” could further support the cooperation and peer-learning of national processes by developing activities for different stakeholders.
Mutual learning is a key strategy for all the levels, from local youth workers to European level policy makers. This can happen through the common development of projects, the development of political frameworks, and it can happen through the education and training of youth workers.
An important aspect that comes out of the Survey regarding the Convention series is that many see the Conventions as a process. Where the 3rd European Youth Work Convention brought the EYWA to life, people see the role of the 4th Convention as transforming the eight thematic Priority Areas into concrete steps. People want to see continuity and not the start of a new process. The role of the 4th Convention and the Roadmap that comes from it needs to connect to the EYWA and the eight Priority Areas.
The question about how the EYWA and the Roadmap relate is extremely relevant. In the Survey Report, Chapter 5 is dedicated to exploring the links between the eight Priority Areas and the three 2025 Convention themes. Frederike created a table that shows these links and how they intersect. This link needs to be made visible to show the continuous process of the Conventions.
The Survey Report shows how the creation of national processes has contributed to priority setting, structured progress of youth work development and involvement of national actors in the community-driven process of implementing the EYWA in the different countries. It also shows how this development has led to the development of a European, cross-border community-building since 2020. The National Contact Points and their community processes are motivated to move the EYWA forward and accelerate youth work development across Europe.
The entire Survey Report 2025 is available here. In addition, explore this Infographic on the Survey Report 2025 and this Visualisation of the thematic link between the EYWA and the 4th EYWC.