We are "growing youth work"! Cooperation project of National Agencies

The strategic cooperation project of the network of National Agencies wants to develop and strengthen youth work across Europe.

The project is entitled “Growing Youth Work” and is run by 16 National Agencies (NA) of Erasmus+ Youth and European Solidarity Corps and SALTO Youth Resource Centres.

A strong cooperation project

16 National Agencies and SALTO Youth Resource Centres are working together to grow youth work across Europe. The "SNAC Growing Youth Work" project aims to elevate the importance of youth work, emphasizing its critical role in the lives of young people and democratic societies. We are contributing to putting the European Youth Work Agenda into action by offering support, encouraging coordinated and strategic efforts and creating opportunities for youth work professionals. Thus, we develop a network to strengthen youth work across Europe together.

Our vision

At the heart of the Strategic National Agency Cooperation Project “Growing Youth Work” lies a commitment to strengthening and developing youth work across Europe. Our mission focuses on achieving recognition for the importance of youth work, emphasizing its critical role in the lives of young people and in democratic societies throughout Europe.

A key aspect of our project is to put the European Youth Work Agenda (EYWA) into action and transform it from a strategic framework into a practical and effective support tool for youth work professionals, making it fruitful and applicable in practice. This is why we create opportunities and offer support for youth work development. Unfolding the potential of the EU youth programmes as implementation tools for youth work development plays a key role in our efforts.

By supporting the development of coordinated approaches and strategic joint actions, we strive to realize concrete improvements for youth work development. Our project seeks to make a meaningful impact by strengthening the network of youth work professionals. Empowering key actors in the field and enabling them to support young people effectively is crucial to our approach. Thus, we develop a network to strengthen youth work across Europe together.

Our methodology

The SNAC Growing Youth Work implements its vision for youth work by providing spaces, services and support:

• We set thematic impulses and support the capacity-building of youth work actors by our event series Youth Work Talks with a focus on strengthening recognition of youth work
• We enable exchange, mutual learning and cooperation by supporting the national processes within the Bonn Process. We do this by offering yearly events for key shapers of national processes, regular online exchange meetings and developing support materials.
• We raise understanding of the EYWA among the youth work community of practice. We do this by delivering communication and information services, especially a website, social media and regular news including a newsletter twice a year. Highlighting how the EYWA and the Bonn Process support the own work in a practical way is the central approach for our communications.
• We promote the EU youth programmes Erasmus+ Youth and European Solidarity Corps as the central European tools for youth work development. We do this by offering support materials, inspiring by news articles and raising awareness among NA staff as well as by communication, counselling and training among beneficiaries.

Main areas of work

The project focuses on three main areas of work:

• Thematic work on recognition of youth work.
• Community-building.
• Youth work development within the EU youth programmes.

Thematic focus on recognition of youth work

Establishment of the event series “Youth Work Talks”

• The “Youth Work Talks” want to establish a space for professional debate and reflection about pressing issues of youth work development, with a special focus on the topic recognition of youth work
• The Youth Work Talks will be held in three different formats:  
  • European conferences every two years (starting 2025 and alternating with the European Academy on Youth Work)
  • Webinars 
  • Talk sessions embedded in other existing events (if interested in a talk session for your event, please contact bonn-process@jfemail.de) 

Community-building

Information and communication

• Bonn Process website
• Newsletter
• Social media channels

Support for national processes and community-building

• Yearly "Exchange Forum on the European Youth Work Agenda. Boosting national processes for youth work development"
• Regular online meetings for contact persons for the national processes
• Supporting materials
• Information and updates about national processes on the website

Youth work development within the EU youth programmes

Mobilising the EU youth programmes for youth work development

• Developing materials on how to link funded projects with the European Youth Work Agenda
• News about project examples
• Workshop for municipalities in cooperation with the SNAC Europe Goes Local "Europe as ressource for local/municipal youth work"

Project phase 2021-2023 (SNAC EYWA)

In the first project phase, the partners have implemented a plan for 2021 to 2023 to support the Bonn Process. The project was called "strengthening youth work by supporting the implementation of the European Youth Work Agenda" (SNAC EYWA).

For me, the Bonn Process is an opportunity to enrich youth work development processes in my country, by bringing in european perspectives. 

The project pursued six objectives in six work packages:

• Supporting the active involvement of the entire network in the Bonn Process
• Promoting and mobilising the EU youth programmes as instruments for strengthening and developing youth work in the Bonn Process
• Supporting National Agencies in helping to implement the Bonn Process in their national context
• Strengthening connections and synergies among youth work related activities of the NA network
• Implementing joint activities on specific topics of the Bonn Process
• Supporting the Bonn Process in neighbouring partner countries

The special role of the EU youth programmes

The EU Council Resolution for a framework to establish a European Youth Work Agenda highlights the important role of the EU youth programmes Erasmus+ Youth and European Solidarity Corps as central implementation instruments at European level. Both programmes foresee the provision of support and funding to facilitate the implementation of the Agenda in line with the programmes’ objectives.

The network of National Agencies and SALTO Resource Centres hence plays a crucial role in making the implementing the EYWA. They are intermediate bodies that liaise between the different stakeholders of the youth work community of practice, between the European and member States’ levels, and between youth work policy and practice. The NA network has unique opportunities to mobilise means and resources, especially the EU youth programmes.

Partners

The strategic cooperation partners are the National Agencies for Erasmus + Youth and the European Solidarity Corps in Austria, Belgium (Flanders), Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Germany (coordinator), Hungary, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Portugal, Slovenia and Turkey as well as SALTO Training and Cooperation, SALTO European Solidarity Corps, and SALTO Eastern Europe and Caucasus.