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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12 Recommendati<strong>on</strong>s<br />
The present study <strong>on</strong> ‘the socio-ec<strong>on</strong>omic scope of youth work <strong>in</strong> Europe’ represents a first,<br />
crucial step <strong>in</strong> an effort to systematise and dissem<strong>in</strong>ate data <strong>on</strong> youth work and youth work<br />
structures, youth workers and youth work participants across Europe.<br />
The central result of the present study can be summarised as follows: whereas it is possible<br />
to represent large sectors of local-level youth work <strong>in</strong> quantitative terms, generat<strong>in</strong>g this data<br />
at nati<strong>on</strong>al level is possible <strong>on</strong>ly <strong>in</strong> a few of the European countries surveyed. The ma<strong>in</strong><br />
reas<strong>on</strong> for this situati<strong>on</strong> is the applicati<strong>on</strong> of the subsidiarity pr<strong>in</strong>ciple and the subord<strong>in</strong>ate<br />
positi<strong>on</strong> of youth work with<strong>in</strong> the scope of political acti<strong>on</strong>. This means that nati<strong>on</strong>al<br />
management of this field is perceived as largely unnecessary, and as a results most of the<br />
countries surveyed see little need for nati<strong>on</strong>al documentati<strong>on</strong> and analysis of youth work<br />
data.<br />
Bey<strong>on</strong>d this ma<strong>in</strong> result, the study has led to a number of further discoveries at various levels<br />
of the issue:<br />
� The ma<strong>in</strong> fields of acti<strong>on</strong> of youth work have been identified and def<strong>in</strong>ed;<br />
� A first set of basic <strong>in</strong>dicators have been established for comparative nati<strong>on</strong>al<br />
report<strong>in</strong>g;<br />
� Light has been shed <strong>on</strong> the reas<strong>on</strong>s for the absence of data at nati<strong>on</strong>al level; and<br />
� Indicators have been developed and applied to reflect youth work at local level.<br />
An expert meet<strong>in</strong>g to discuss the central po<strong>in</strong>ts and results of the present study was held <strong>in</strong><br />
Strasbourg <strong>on</strong> 18 June; it yielded valuable ideas and proposals for recommendati<strong>on</strong>s.<br />
Because of the different nati<strong>on</strong>al historical c<strong>on</strong>texts and as a result of its orientati<strong>on</strong> to the<br />
various life situati<strong>on</strong>s of its target groups, youth work is a complex and diverse field suffer<strong>in</strong>g<br />
from a lack of basic def<strong>in</strong>iti<strong>on</strong>s and <strong>in</strong>dicators that could serve as a basis for comm<strong>on</strong><br />
report<strong>in</strong>g. There is therefore a need for<br />
� work<strong>in</strong>g more <strong>in</strong>tensely <strong>on</strong> def<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g and systematis<strong>in</strong>g the relevant c<strong>on</strong>cepts,<br />
� establish<strong>in</strong>g central <strong>in</strong>dicators<br />
� clarify<strong>in</strong>g the basis for systematis<strong>in</strong>g the documentati<strong>on</strong> of youth work from a<br />
European perspective, and<br />
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