6 Country Reports on Youth Work - Jugendpolitik in Europa

Regarding the structure of youth work the local surveys have impressively shown that in all
European Countries a wide range of youth work is available at local level. In all countries we
find extracurricular youth education. In Romania extracurricular youth education is the main
type of youth work provided at local level (45%). In Norway extracurricular youth education
(28%) is after sports the most common type of youth work activities. Recreation plays an
important role in Spain (52%) and Greece (46%), as it represents a high percentage of the
activities provided. Open youth work and youth clubs are a institutionalised component of
youth work in Austria (38% of the institutions), in Germany (11%)and the Netherlands
(12%). Participation plays an highlighted role in the provision of youth work at local level in
Germany (45%). In Ireland and Romania there is a formulated need for meeting places
especially for rural youngsters. Sports plays an extremely high role in Austria (93% of the
institutions provide sports) and the Netherlands (47%), where it is in some municipalities the
only accessible form of youth work. Also in Norway (38%) sports can be identified as one of
the most common part of youth work provided at local level. The low percentage of sports
documented for the other countries has its reason in the fact that sports is managed and
financed by other administrative bodies than the youth services. Youth information is with
26% the most frequently provided youth activity in Romania at local level. In all other
countries youth information does not represent an great percentage of the youth activities at
local level, although it was highlighted in the national statistical reports in Italy, Spain and
Greece. International youth work represents 8% of the youth work activities in Greece, in all
other countries it is at local level non-existent. Youth employment services are highly
represented within the Spanish (20%) youth work system, but are not often monitored at
local level in the other countries.
In all countries it is possible to identify at least three type of providers: public and non-public
and semi-public providers. In the Netherlands for-profit providers play an increasing role in
the provision of youth work and in the New Public Management Strategies adopted by the
municipalities. In Austria 38% and in Norway 82% of the institutions surveyed claimed to be
an voluntary institution, but as most of them are youth associations they can also be
classified as non-public institutions. In Germany the percentage of non-public associations
providing youth work at local level was identified with 89%.
In all countries the municipalities fund with special budgets parts of the youth work provided
at local level. In Austria the municipal budget covers 18% of the whole expenses for youth
work, in the Netherlands the municipal budget form 15% of the expenses. In Greece the
amount provided by the four surveyed municipalities is nearly as high as the budget of the
General Secretariat for Youth. In Romania the municipalities contribute 1/3rd of the budget
for youth work provided at local level. In Spain it is not possible to make a differentiation
between the financing sources but 70% of the budget is provided by public authorities. In
Norway it is also not possible to trace the municipal expenses for youth work as there are
different sources and no clear distinction between child and youth wo1rk on the one hand
and social services and youth work on the other hand.
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