ID 9554 T he history of youth work in Europe – Volume 2 – Volume – in Europe work he history of youth Youth The history of youth work in Europe – Volume 2 Relevance for today’s youth work policy outh work starts where young people are. It is perhaps # 11 Y this general principle that seems to create a certain ‘myopic view’ in youth work practice, policy and research. We tend to concentrate on the questions of today and take them as a starting point for our future plans. This sometimes makes youth work an uncertain and fragile practice. The lack of historical consciousness makes youth work vulnerable to instrumentali- sation, whether by policymakers or even by young people themselves, claiming youth work should fulfil the needs they define to be urgent and relevant. Relevance for today’s youth work policy work youth today’s for Relevance Youth work is a contingent practice and history will not reveal us its one and only real identity. Knowing where we come from, however, is an important step in establishing a confident, though not arrogant, identity. Youth work is a social and peda- gogical practice that must be adapted to very diverse historical, geographic and social contexts, but there are still some under- lying, basic assumptions that have structured practices and policies to date and continue to do so. In this light, a cross-cultural and transnational perspective can be most enlightening. This second volume of The history of youth work in Europe, presents the youth work histories of some very different countries: Belgium and its three communities, the Netherlands, Ireland, Wales and Hungary. The reader is also introduced in the history of the relatively young European youth policies, and is even given a glimpse beyond European borders with a history of youth work in South Africa. www.youth-partnership.eu.coe.int [email protected] www.coe.int The Council of Europe has 47 member states, covering virtually the entire continent of Europe. It seeks to develop common democratic and legal principles based on the European Convention on Human Rights and other reference texts on the protection of individuals. Ever since it was founded in 1949, in the aftermath of the Second World War, the Council of Europe has symbolised reconciliation. The European Union is a unique economic and political partnership between 27 democratic European countries. Its aims are peace, prosperity and freedom for its 500 million citizens – in a fairer, safer world. To make things happen, EU countries set up bodies to run the EU and adopt its legislation. The main ones are the European Parliament (representing the people of Europe), the Council of the European Union (representing national governments) and the European Commission (representing the common EU interest). The history of youth Council of Europe Publishing of Europe Council work in Europe ISBN 978-92-871-6824-5 Volume 2 http://book.coe.int Relevance for today’s €29 / US$58 Council of Europe Publishing youth work policy The history of youth work in Europe Relevance for youth policy today Volume 2 Edited by Filip Coussée, Griet Verschelden, Tineke Van de Walle, Marta Mędlińska and Howard Williamson Council of Europe Publishing 0001-153-Youth01-153-Youth WorkWork vol.2.inddvol.2.indd 1 224/08/104/08/10 110:54:050:54:05 The opinions expressed in this work are the responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily refl ect the offi cial policy of the European Commission or the Council of Europe, their member states or the organisations co-operating with the institutions. 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 Public Information and Publications Division, 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 fi eld of youth, please visit our website at http://www.youth-partnership.net or contact us by e-mail at [email protected]. Cover design: Documents and Publications Production Department (SPDP), Council of Europe Layout: Facompo Council of Europe Publishing F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex http://book.coe.int ISBN 978-92-871-6824-5 © Council of Europe and the European Commission, September 2010 Printed at the Council of Europe 0001-153-Youth01-153-Youth WorkWork vol.2.inddvol.2.indd 2 224/08/104/08/10 110:54:060:54:06 1 3 Contents Introduction In search of the sources of youth work and youth policy in Europe Hanjo Schild and Jan Vanhee 5 Key points of the opening address 1 Ulrich Bunjes 7 The history of youth work – Re-socialising the youth question? 2 Filip Coussée 9 The relevance of history in youth work 3 Tony Jeffs 15 The evolution of public policies for youth work in the French-speaking community of Belgium 4 Gauthier Simon 25 The history of youth work and its infl uence on youth policy – The perspective of the German-speaking community of Belgium 5 Xavier Hurlet 41 Youth policy in the Dutch-speaking community of Belgium 6 Johan Van Gaens 57 Youth work in the Netherlands – History and future direction 7 Hans van Ewijk 69 For God’s sake, tie your ropes together: the (recent) history of youth work in Wales – Political betrayal, professional infi ghting and practice inertia 8 Howard Williamson 83 Youth work in Ireland – Some historical refl ections 9 Maurice Devlin 93 Zigzagging in a labyrinth – Towards “good” Hungarian youth work 10 Péter Wootsch 105 The history of youth work – The South African perspective 11 Lwazi Mboyi 111 The history of European youth policy 12 Bjørn Jaaberg Hansen 119 The history of European youth work and its relevance for youth policy today – Conclusions 13 Filip Coussée, Griet Verschelden, Tineke Van de Walle, Marta Me˛dlinska ´ and Howard Williamson 125 0001-153-Youth01-153-Youth WorkWork vol.2.inddvol.2.indd 3 224/08/104/08/10 110:54:060:54:06 4 The social and pedagogical identity of youth work – Learning from two history workshops 14 Filip Coussée, Griet Verschelden, Tineke Van de Walle, Marta Me˛dlinska ´ and Howard Williamson 137 The contributors 149 Contents 0001-153-Youth01-153-Youth WorkWork vol.2.inddvol.2.indd 4 224/08/104/08/10 110:54:060:54:06 1 5 Introduction In search of the sources of youth work and youth policy in Europe Hanjo Schild and Jan Vanhee Those responsible today for giving form and content to youth work and a policy in support of youth work can hardly avoid the questions: What is youth work? and What is a policy in support of youth work? Another question is: Which policies were pursued yesterday and are they being pursued concretely today with regard to young people in the member states and – increasingly – at supranational level, that is at the level of the European Union and the Council of Europe? What do we know about these issues today and how can we use our relevant knowledge and insight to further develop youth work and youth work policy? The Blankenberge exercises – two workshops with approximately 40 participants each – invited experts to refl ect on the history of youth work policy in their country and to look for its origins and roots. The point of these exercises was to exchange fi ndings and experiences, and then confront and compare them with each other. The fi rst workshop on youth work history took place from 26 to 29 May 2008 and brought together a number of experts who gave their views on youth work evolu- tion in their country. They represented a wide range of European countries. In line with the logic that we need to situate youth work histories in their socio-econom- ical and political context, the workshop aimed to highlight youth work evolutions linked to different “welfare systems”, ranging from so-called social-democratic systems (Finland) through to countries typifi ed as liberal (United Kingdom) to more conservative welfare regimes (Germany, France and Flanders). Poland gave us input from a post-communist country (as did Germany) and Malta exemplifi ed a more southern-European welfare type, although one strongly infl uenced by the United Kingdom. In the second workshop on youth work history, held from 25 to 28 May 2009, there was a need to complement this landscape and pay explicit attention to eastern Europe. After the introductory session on the role of historical research in youth work policy, research and practice, a more general presentation from outside Europe (South Africa) and on the history of youth work policy at European level opened the scope of refl ections. The following sessions focused on seven different presentations on the history of youth work in the Flemish-, French- and German- speaking communities of Belgium; the Netherlands; Hungary; Wales (United King- dom); and Ireland. These mainly dealt with the relationship between youth work and youth policy. In a last session, special attention was paid to a preliminary summary of the most important fi ndings and conclusions. Key questions such as: • What is youth work? • What does youth work mean for young people? • What does youth work mean for society? • What is youth policy? • What does youth policy mean for young people and society? came up regularly for discussion. Searching for the answers to these questions by exploring the origins and traditions of youth work also challenges us to acquire Introduction – In search of the sources of youth work and youth policy in Europe 0001-153-Youth01-153-Youth WorkWork vol.2.inddvol.2.indd 5 224/08/104/08/10 110:54:060:54:06 6 historically relevant knowledge and, if desirable and necessary, integrate it into the policies we are formulating today.