“When high-quality youth work supports young people, civil society grows stronger and active citizenship is promoted. An active civil society is essential in building democracy”, stated Sampo Terho, Minister for European Affairs, Culture and Sports of Finland. Snežana Samardžić-Marković, Council of Europe Director General of Democracy said “Youth work is essential if we want to keep a sense of civic engagement alive in the young people of today and tomorrow. Europe needs its young people more than ever, so as to make sure our democratic values live on”.
This seminar on education and training pathways of youth workers is tackling one of the major challenges facing youth workers and that is the huge discrepancy between training and education provisions for both volunteer and paid youth workers. Minister Terho underlined “If we seek to improve the standards of youth work, we must invest in developing the youth workers’ education and training in Europe.” Youth work and youth policy enjoy a strong position in public policy in Finland.
The Council of Europe’s recommendation on youth work is the first, and so far the only international document offering standards for youth work.
