6 Country Reports on Youth Work - Jugendpolitik in Europa

Many youth work activities are carried out by youngsters themselves or with their help.
According to the Estonian non-profit associations register, there are approximately 150 youth
associations and a dozen youth workers' associations in Estonia. Youth associations are
engaged in one or several fields of youth work, depending on the decisions of their members,
because the objectives and activities of youth associations are established by joint decisions
of members. Youth associations may operate a separate office, a youth work agency (e.g. a
youth centre, youth camp, etc.) or a youth club.
In recent years growing attention has been paid to developments at local level, for instance
structures and programmes to support youth participation and open youth centres. Several
Estonian traditional forms of youth work such as youth summer camps and hobby education
schools (concentrating on music, art, dance etc.) are currently undergoing a renewal process
in order to better fulfill the changing needs of young people.
6.3 Germany
Youth work in Germany is widely understood as a sector of non-formal education and
support focussed on autonomy, participation and integration. Political responsibility for this
lies primarily with the local authorities. Responsibility is assumed by larger political entities
(state or federal government) only when the work extends beyond local or state level 20 . Youth
work at local level reflects different values and a wide range of content, methods and forms
of work. There is thus no uniform type of local youth work. Rather, this pluralism is the result
of the varying needs of young people in individual places. Suitable services are offered by
voluntary youth associations or welfare and religious associations. However, the public youth
welfare departments also offer services in the field of leisure activities for young people and
run youth centres for young people.
The main focuses of youth work include various aspects distinguished by their individual
services 21 . These are in particular:
20
21
� Out-of-school youth education supplementing the family, school and labour market
with: general education, political education, social education, cultural education and
natural history, ecological and technical education
� Youth work in sports, play and social life
� Youth work related to the labour market, school and the family
� International youth work
� Children and youth recreation and
� Youth counselling
� Job insertion related training, support and counselling
Münder 2006
Thole 2000
33