What should be the role of the EAYW in the youth work field? What are needs and trends that the Academy should respond to? What are the limits of the Academy’s role? How can the Academy best support quality youth work?
These questions were discussed at the joint meeting of the EAYW Steering Group and Advisory Board which took place in Frankfurt from 3rd to 5th of April 2023. With more than 20 colleagues coming from the European community of youth work, we discussed how the Academy could best serve the youth work sector in the coming years. During the two fruitful days in Frankfurt, we concluded that the EAYW should continue to provide support for strong and sustainable youth work.
When it comes to the role of the Academy, it was concluded that the EAYW should celebrate the whole youth work community and continue to be a (peer-)learning environment. The Academy will focus on knowledge building for quality youth work as a part of competence development. In particular, the EAYW should be forward looking, explore what can support future-fit youth work and build knowledge about the unknown future.
Furthermore, while the Academy should further be a space where we can learn from successful practices, it could also be a place for looking at what we learn from our failures, as this is an important part of the innovation process.
The conclusions of the meeting will shape the next activities that will happen within the EAYW up to and including the residential event in May 2024. So, stay with us, and follow us to find out more about quality youth work, innovation and current trends!
As an integral part of the EAYW, it was recommended to keep the students’ event, which was piloted last year and where students from four universities participated online in a part of the EAYW and together with their professors discussed important elements of youth work, current trends and innovation.