The History of Youth Work in Europe Relevance for Today's Youth Work

The history of youth work in Europe Relevance for today’s youth work policy Volume 4 Edited by Marti Taru, Filip Coussée and Howard Williamson Council of Europe Publishing The opinions expressed in this work are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the Council of Europe. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be translated, reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic (CD-Rom, Internet, etc.) or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the Directorate of Communication (F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex or [email protected]). To receive further information about the Partnership between the European Commission and the Council of Europe in the field of youth, please visit our website at http://youth-partnership-eu.coe.int or contact us by e-mail at [email protected]. Cover design: Documents and Publications Production Department (SPDP), Council of Europe Layout: Jouve, Paris Council of Europe Publishing F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex http://book.coe.int ISBN 978-92-871-7736-0 © Council of Europe and the European Commission, January 2014 Printed at the Council of Europe 1 3 Contents Preface 1 by Hanjo Schild and Jan Vanhee 5 Introduction: looking around and moving forward 2 by Edgar Schlümmer 7 Third sector trends 3 by Kristina Mänd 11 The history of youth work in Estonia 4 by Marti Taru, Eli Pilve and Peeter Kaasik 15 The history of youth work as a profession in Finland 5 by Juha Nieminen 35 Youth policy and participation in Sweden: a historical perspective 6 by Torbjörn Forkby 45 An overview of the history of youth work in Luxembourg 7 by Ralph Schroeder 61 History of youth work and youth policies in Portugal 8 by Jorge Orlando Queirós 71 The history of youth work in Romania 9 by Sorin Mitulescu 81 Youth work in Greece: a historical overview 10 by Dora Giannaki 91 A story of youth work in Lithuania 11 by Artu¯ras Deltuva 107 A history of youth work in Armenia 12 by Areg Tadevosyan and Howard Williamson 117 Youth work in connection to policies and politics 13 by Marti Taru, Filip Coussée and Howard Williamson 125 About the authors 137 1 by Hanjo Schild and Jan Vanhee Preface n 2008 and 2009, the Flemish ICommunity of Belgium and the EU-CoE youth partnership co-organised two workshops on the history of youth work policy and practice in selected countries (Blankenberge I and II). In a bigger con- ference under the Belgian EU-presidency (held in Ghent in 2010) the discussion was enlarged by focusing on recurrent themes in youth work history in different European countries. In 2011, the Estonian authorities responsible for youth – in co-operation with Finland – offered to host a third workshop in Tallinn, on the history of youth work in countries that have not yet been the focus of discussion in the youth work sector, broadening knowledge of developments in Europe. The histories of the following countries were presented during these workshops: Belgium (including its three commu- nities), the Netherlands, England and Wales, Ireland, Germany, the Russian Federation, Finland, Hungary, Malta, France, Poland, Austria, Serbia and now – documented in this volume on the history of youth work – Estonia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Sweden, Armenia, Romania, Greece, Portugal and, once more, Finland. The event in Estonia was organised by the EU-CoE youth partnership and 1the Estonian Ministry of Education and 6 Research and Estonian Youth Work Centre in co-operation with the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture, Finnish Youth Research Network, City of Helsinki and the Division for Youth in the Agency for Socio-Cultural Work for Youth and Adults in Flanders (Belgium). All seminars on the history of youth work focused not only on individual stories in different countries but through comparison aimed at revealing the social, pedagogical and political nature of youth work. In doing so the seminars broadened the current debate, wherein youth work is usually discussed in methodological terms that focus on questions of “reach” (how to reach young people, how to reach results with young people) or impact and efficiency. These are important questions, indeed, but if they are discussed separately from social, pedagogical and political contexts, we risk reinforcing paradoxes and dilemmas in youth work practice. Discussing the history of youth work and youth policy in diverse countries also introduced new perspectives, and focused on regional differences in terms of methodology and themes (for example, professionalisation, specific target groups, urban-rural). Relevant documentation may be accessed on the thematic youth policy webpage of the EU-CoE youth partnership at http://youth-partnership-eu.coe.int/youth- partnership/ekcyp/YP_YW.html. Country-specific histories are documented in the three previous volumes of the Youth Knowledge Series of the EU-CoE youth partnership: • The history of youth work in Europe. Relevance for today’s youth work policy (2009), edited by Filip Coussée, Howard Williamson and Griet Verschelden; • The history of youth work in Europe – Volume 2. Relevance for today’s youth work policy (2010), edited by Filip Coussée, Griet Verschelden, Tineke Van de Walle, Marta Mędlin´ska and Howard Williamson; • The history of youth work in Europe – Volume 3. Relevance for today’s youth work policy (2012), edited by Filip Coussée, Howard Williamson and Griet Verschelden. These volumes can be downloaded at http://youth-partnership-eu.coe.int/ youth-partnership/publications/Research/Publications. This publication, Volume 4 of the history of youth work, is edited by Marti Taru, Filip Coussée and Howard Williamson. It complements the earlier volumes and also provides a synthesis of what has been discussed in the past with regards to youth work policies and politics. Discussions on the history of youth work will continue, and will thematically build on the earlier events and findings: what is the identity of youth work? Where is youth work placed between private and public spaces? Where is the balance between autonomy and dependencies? Where is youth work going? Important in this ongoing analysis is to bring on board the history of different youth organisations and their support structures in Europe. For example, what is the history of the European Youth Forum, or of Fimcap, Waggs, Mijarc, United or Dynamo? Do their histories fit with or enrich our findings? Readers are invited to actively contribute to these reflections. Hanjo Schild and Jan Vanhee 2 Introduction: looking around and moving by Edgar Schlümmer forward he fourth seminar on the history Tof youth work in Europe and its relevance for today’s youth work policy took place in the autumn of 2011 in Tallinn, Estonia. The seminar was hosted by the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research and the Estonian Youth Work Centre (the national youth work agency of the ministry). It was prepared in co-operation with the youth partnership between the European Union (EU) and the Council of Europe. The event followed a series of seminars held first in Blankenberge, Belgium (in 2008 and 2009) and then in Ghent (in 2010) during the Belgian presidency of the EU. The continuity of this work, bringing together at a European-level policy makers, researchers and practitioners in the youth field, is crucial. There is no doubt that effective youth policy and youth work have to be based on better knowledge of young people and historical experiences of policy and practice directed towards them. Grasping the unfolding of events within broader political contexts, and understanding the different situations, perspectives and challenges faced by young people provide a platform and an anchor for contemporary development in the 2 youth field. Bringing the actors together 8 and learning from the different trends and realities all over Europe is a good basis for engaging in this kind of exercise. Estonia is a meaningful place to speak about history, because it has been in the middle of socio-cultural and political changes in both relatively recent times and across a broader sweep of time (the past 100 years and well before). Its different histories are equally relevant for the discussion of youth work and policy development in general. Estonia is at the crossroads between East and West. It shows, almost in miniature, developments in society and the youth field from the Middle Ages, starting from parish schools and the first university, continuing with independence, democracy and youth participation, then totalitarianism under the Soviet Union and, most recently, “re-independence” and re-integration with Europe. Since then, development in the youth field in Estonia has been continuous and rapid. Estonia is also, therefore, a meaningful place to consider contemporary developments – to introduce knowledge about the roots of youth work and youth work policy and to discuss the meaning and purpose of youth work in the 21st century. Knowledge and quality are top priorities in current developments in Estonian youth work and youth policy. Examples of relevant recent work include implementing the youth monitoring and youth work quality assurance system; training and professionalisation of youth workers (for example implementing occupational standards); recognition of youth work’s role in supporting youth employability; combating exclusion and poverty; and the development of youth parliaments in all municipalities to empower

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