The European Youth Work Convention 2015 is one of the flagship initiatives of the Belgian Chairmanship of the Council of Europe. It took place in Brussels from 27 to 30 April 2015, five years after the 1st Convention organized in Ghent on 7-10 July 2010 in the framework of the Belgian EU Presidency.
The Convention brought together over 400 policymakers, researchers and practitioners who debated challenges facing youth work at local, national and European level.
The Convention resulted in a Declaration aimed at giving a new impetus to youth work policy in Europe. The Declaration touched upon the social situation of young people in Europe, challenges that the youth work currently faces, and offered recommendations how to improve its quality.
“Youth work is a central component of a social Europe,” the Declaration reads. “Youth work is not a luxury but an existential necessity if a precarious Europe is to effectively address its concerns about social inclusion, cohesion and equal opportunities, and commitment to values and human rights.”
“A failure to invest in youth work has three consequences. It is an abdication of responsibility to the next generation. It is a loss of opportunity to strengthen contemporary civil society throughout Europe. And finally, it weakens the potential for dealing effectively with some of the major social challenges, such as unemployment and extremism, of our time.”
- Full text of the Final Declaration of the European Youth Work Convention
- Other documents / information materials from the Convention
- For more information about the Convention, please check our website: www.eywc2015.eu
- Video on "What is youth work today?"