6 Country Reports on Youth Work - Jugendpolitik in Europa
6 Country Reports on Youth Work - Jugendpolitik in Europa
6 Country Reports on Youth Work - Jugendpolitik in Europa
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Local data is basically<br />
available<br />
The sec<strong>on</strong>d issue c<strong>on</strong>cerns fund<strong>in</strong>g. To have a well established<br />
report<strong>in</strong>g system requires funds. On the <strong>on</strong>e hand, the experts<br />
noted that volunteers are not <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> documentati<strong>on</strong>. Thus<br />
data about youth work realised <strong>in</strong> youth associati<strong>on</strong>s is not<br />
particularly well surveyed. <strong>Youth</strong> work structures that rely str<strong>on</strong>gly<br />
up<strong>on</strong> volunteerism have greater difficulties <strong>in</strong> document<strong>in</strong>g their<br />
work. But m<strong>on</strong>itor<strong>in</strong>g also costs m<strong>on</strong>ey. The experts argued that<br />
additi<strong>on</strong>al documentati<strong>on</strong> tasks can <strong>on</strong>ly be realised with<br />
supplementary funds.<br />
The third issue is know-how. In general, the experts stated that<br />
there is no traditi<strong>on</strong> of m<strong>on</strong>itor<strong>in</strong>g and documentati<strong>on</strong> <strong>in</strong> youth<br />
work. There are many uncerta<strong>in</strong>ties regard<strong>in</strong>g c<strong>on</strong>cepts and<br />
<strong>in</strong>dicators, and professi<strong>on</strong>al communicati<strong>on</strong> needs to be improved.<br />
The experts also expla<strong>in</strong>ed that there is no traditi<strong>on</strong> of def<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g the<br />
processes of n<strong>on</strong>-formal learn<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> youth work. Furthermore, the<br />
great variety of youth activities offered requires <strong>in</strong>tensive work <strong>on</strong><br />
comm<strong>on</strong> categories. In all the countries of the survey, the experts<br />
called for more research <strong>on</strong> youth-related issues.<br />
The fourth issue is visibility. Visibility is a requirement for<br />
recogniti<strong>on</strong>. It means that the outcomes of youth work need to be<br />
transported <strong>in</strong>to public, professi<strong>on</strong>al and political op<strong>in</strong>i<strong>on</strong>. Experts<br />
agree that youth work is not visible enough, sometimes even for<br />
the young people and the professi<strong>on</strong>als themselves, and that lack<br />
of network<strong>in</strong>g between professi<strong>on</strong>als is <strong>on</strong>e of the ma<strong>in</strong> reas<strong>on</strong>s<br />
for the lack of data.<br />
However, the fact that the present study was able to document<br />
some local-level youth work – not all of it, but nevertheless large<br />
segments – shows that the reas<strong>on</strong> for the limited mapp<strong>in</strong>g of youth<br />
work at nati<strong>on</strong>al level is not that there is no youth work go<strong>in</strong>g <strong>on</strong> <strong>in</strong><br />
the countries c<strong>on</strong>cerned but rather that there is no report<strong>in</strong>g<br />
system (and c<strong>on</strong>sequently no know-how regard<strong>in</strong>g how to set <strong>on</strong>e<br />
up) and that policy-makers see no need for statistical management<br />
of youth work at nati<strong>on</strong>al level, partly because of the applicati<strong>on</strong> of<br />
the subsidiarity pr<strong>in</strong>ciple but also because youth work is not a<br />
priority <strong>in</strong> the country’s political agenda.<br />
The follow<strong>in</strong>g recommendati<strong>on</strong>s can be drawn from the<br />
c<strong>on</strong>clusi<strong>on</strong>s of the present study:<br />
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