Making youth work visible: how?

The Youth Partnership of the Council of Europe and the European Union (CoE-EU) has been working actively for the recognition of youth work and non-formal learning/education in Europe, since the endorsement of the White Paper "A new impetus for European youth", adopted by the European Commission in November 2001, and the achievements of the Council of Europe in the field, among which is the recent launch of the European Portfolio for Youth Leaders and Youth Workers.

All relevant information about previous, current and forthcoming developments in the field of recognition of youth work and non-formal learning at European and where possible, at national level, is summarized in the website of CoE-EU Youth Partnership, where the Expert Group on Recognition is also introduced.

The objectives of the Recognition Group are to observe and monitor the implementation of agreed statements and plans of action on the topic, and to support the different initiatives in the EU and of the Council of Europe in the field of quality development / assurance and contributing to recognition and validation of youth work and non-formal learning in general. Basically, this group acts a coordinating body for all initiatives implemented and promoted by the EU and the CoE. The Alliance had the pleasure to host a representative of the CoE-EU partnership, Ms. Tanya Basarab, at I'VE conference on September 2016.

One of the many useful initiatives undertaken by the Youth Partnership is a mapping of tools and good practices for better recognition of youth work and non-formal learning/education at European and national levels: this is a clear compendium of existing tools/practices developed by either institutions or civil society organisations, that can be consulted and used by youth organisations, youth workers and trainers.