In our previous blog post, we announced that the second edition of EAYW is confirmed. In order to help us think about the direction the Academy could take in the coming years and support us in its conceptual, pedagogical and methodological preparation, the EAYW partnership invited a group of external stakeholders – experts from youth policy, research and youth work practice – to join the EAYW Advisory Board.

At its first meeting from 12 – 14 October 2020, the Advisory Board discussed in particular the place of the Academy in the European youth work field and how it should develop further to be most useful for the European youth work community of practice. Three days full of reflective, inspiring and exciting discussions! Even though we communicated online, the good spirit remained and fruitful ideas emerged. We created numerous Padlets, Miro boards and other materials which will help us to shape the further development of the Academy.

Some of the questions discussed were: What is the up to now unused potential in the Academy? What does it serve at the moment, and what should it serve in the future? What are the open questions? What do we really need to understand about trends and innovation in order to learn how to more effectively address the challenges and developments that youth work is facing?


Rather than a series of biennial events, the Advisory Board envisioned the EAYW as a permanent process and space:


“We see Academy as a platform, an ongoing space for learning about innovation and current trends. It should become a European support structure for innovation in youth work”

The suggestions developed by the Advisory Board will be shared with the EAYW Steering Group. Further meetings of the Advisory Board are planned in 2020 and 2021, leading up to the next EAYW event in autumn 2021.

You can find the list of our Advisory Board members here.

Stay tuned with us in the following period to find out more!