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Youth work, a tentative probing into current situation Diana Ieleja, Riga, 31.03.15

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Key topics European perspective Country perspective Latvia Outside Europe Central Asia, learnings to consider Conclusion: main structural points

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What is youth work? focus on young people personal development voluntary participation Working with young people: the value of youth work in the European Union, p. 4 Prepared by ICF GHK for European Commission, Edited by European Commission, February 2014

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EU programmes for youth - since 1988, based on 3 pillars: Active citizenship of young people (participation, information, volunteering, better knowledge of young people) Social and occupational integration (employment/social inclusion, education/training, reconciliation of work and private life) Youth mainstreaming in other policies (such as anti-discrimination, health). An EU Strategy for Youth Investing and Empowering, p. 3, 2009

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An EU Strategy for Youth Investing and Empowering (2009) The long-term EU strategy consists of three overarching and interconnected aims, with several fields of action proposed under each aim.

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Aims: creating more education and employment opportunities for young people improving young peoples access and full participation in society fostering mutual solidarity between young people and society

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Aims, fields of action, objectives Aim = several fields of action Field of action = a short-term objective/specific actions to be undertaken by Member States and the Commission, based on their respective spheres of competence (to be assessed every three years) European Commission (2009) An EU Strategy for Youth Investing and Empowering A renewed open method of coordination to address youth challenges and opportunities.

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8 fields of actions Education Employment Creativity and Entrepreneurship Health and Sport Participation Social Inclusion Volunteering Youth and the World

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Eurobarometer One young person in two took part in some organised activities in 2013 (56% - yes, 44% - no) Highest participation 75: NL, IE, LU; Lowest participation 37: HU, LT, CY

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Tendencies (1) better opportunities on the labour market and in education funding support to socially excluded universal youth work increasingly struggles to get public funding

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Tendencies (2) pressure to do more with either the same or less funding than before Youth work policy developments have slowed or recently stalled in some countries primarily due to the economic downturn

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Mobile Jugendarbeit Stuttgart One of the oldest street work initiatives in Europe, founded in the 1960s. Works towards preventing social marginalisation and crime among young people. Targets at-risk youth and works on the principle of outreach, rather than expecting young people to come to them.

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Service civique (FR) a voluntary programme open to all 16-25 year olds in France. Volunteers choose to carry out a community work assignment for a period of between six months and a year, during which time they receive a monthly allowance.

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Sexuality and Health Youth Programme (ES) free sexual health information and counselling in youth-friendly centres to under 29. Easy to reach, open at times suitable for young people. Services - free, anonymous, confidential and provided by professional youth workers with experience in sexual health.

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Siemacha Association youth centres (PL) meeting places for young people of school age in shopping centres. An innovative example of combining educational and therapeutic functions. Wide range of workshops (e.g. music, cooking, social development), and psychological support.

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Latvias Civil Society Organizations Decline of social self-organization right after the velvet revolutions. Current membership in CSO is 17%. Most popular CSOs: religious (5%), artistic (6%). Mostly CSOs are non-political and elitist (Uhlin 2010). Political and media discourse cultivate an image of fragmented society and discourage collective action (jabs & Kruk 2008).

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Membership in CSOs, October 2013 Various artistic5.8 Religious4.7 Trade Unions2.9 Sports2.8 Social aid1.2 Professional1.1 Political party0.8 Youth0.8 Environment protection0.7 Womens0.4 Health0.4 Human rights0.1 Other1.7 No membership81.2 N/A1.9 Total106.5

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Membership in CSOs, October 2013

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C RISIS AND S OLIDARITY

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Acting socially Signing a petition (56%), Participating in protest actions (27%), Organizaing a protest action (6%), Collective protests are effective (34%).

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Pluralism is not valued In general there are two categories of people: those who support justice and those who not (68%). Diversity of opinions is dangerous for a group (64%). Strong leaders can do more for the state than laws and negotiations (61%).

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Diversity of opinions is dangerous for a group

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Individuals hold many contradictory opinions therefore a strong leader should take care of decision-making

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Access to the Internet 58% access the Internet every day. 28% no access during last twelve months Digital competence evaluated as high (50%).

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Passive usage of the Internet 63% of the users never wrote a blog, tweet, shared audio, video or photos, 5% share this information daily, 9% some time in a week. Commenting news 4% daily; 59% never. This and other data on Latvia taken from Crisis Management: Social and Communicative Effects, presented on March 25 at Economic Growth and Social Progress in Rural and Urban Areas. Riga, Latvia. Sergei Kruk, Riga Stradins University

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Who needs a public sphere? Habermas: Public sphere is the meeting place of subjectivities seeking a compromise on their divergent interests. Romantic cultural nationalism: Reduction of subjectivities is the precondition for accessing the public sphere where the participants are expected to express the subjectivity of cultural nation which is consensual already.

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Central Asia a gloomy example 1.Democracy is when one leader governs a country, a young woman in Nookat, Kyrgyzstan. 2. Democracy is when you can take whatever you want, for free. A young research participant in Kara-Kulja, Kyrgyzstan. 3.We dont need democracy. Kyrgyz have been ruled by aksakals [elders, literally, white beards] for ages. young focus group participants in Leilek, Kyrgyzstan said. 4.There are teachers who do nothing but yell at students, said a young man in Khorog, in Tajikistan. His fellow focus group participants went on to complain about their university professors tendency to lecture rather than explain. 5.Rural youth were much more likely to engage with news media solely through television, where their reception ranged from a single official channel to a modest range of domestic and Russian channels. 6.Youth are treated as kham in Afghan society... young people are thought to have full mental capacity only when they reach the age of 45. Another young respondent from Murghab, in Tajikistan, recounted, When my friend gave his opinion during a village meeting, one elder man told him, Instead of giving advice to me, first you need to say the word bread right! Source: Young peoples perspectives on identity, exclusion and the prospects for a peaceful future in Central Asia, Saferworld, 2012.

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Central Asia (2) 1.Some research participants, particularly in rural areas, described the participation of young women in any form of government as culturally unacceptable. 2.A factory worker in Uzbekistan hinted at something more sinister perhaps controlling in the activities of such youth organisations; I know that there are these youth organisations, but all the young people are there by force and for the sake of ticking a box. 3.We dont have democracy, we have kleptocracy, said a young man in Khorog, Tajikistan. Democracy is [used as] an excuse to justify all actions. 4.Democracy is revolution and chaos, a young man in Kyrgyzstans Leilek district told us. If there is a revolution, the Government calls it democracy. 5.Democracy should be limited, a young man in Osh city offered. It is like a loose dog that bites everyone it wants [to]. 6.This [democracy] is a thing invented by Americans in order to live better, university student in Khorog, Tajikistan. They are now trying to spread the idea to other parts of the world. 7.What I dont like is that you go around advertising your democracy and your human rights... The problem with western organisations is that they bring western values that the country isnt ready for. A teenager, Osh city. He called Kyrgyzstans unripe democracy worse than dictatorship, a vehicle for corruption and disorder. For him corruption and disorder in a country coincided with western democratisation initiatives.

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A thing to worry about: "Yet again there was a worryingly low turnout of young people at the European elections in 2014, with only 28% of young people under 25 who voted. The divide between the democratic institutions in Europe, their representatives and political parties and Europe's young citizens is growing. To ensure that young people are fully included in society, the EU and the Member States must do more. Participation is not a luxury but a basic human right. Johanna Nyman, President of the European Youth Forum. EU Youth Conference on "Empowering young people for political participation in democratic life in Europe", Riga, March 2326, 2015. https://eu2015.lv/news/media-releases/1117-conference-draws-up- recommendations-for-empowering-youth-political-participation See the full list of recommendations.

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Conclusions 1.With more financial constraints European organizations need to learn to be smarter in drafting such programs which can promote long term change in society 2.Educational systems need to teach more Habermas, i.e. critical thinking, debate, active participation. So should do NGOs. 3.We should be worried by the tendency to concentrate MOSTLY on employment, charity and nice ways to spend free time. A real change can be achieved through teaching critical thinking, promoting democratic values, active participation and belief in making the world better not only for ourselves but also for the others. 4.We need to learn to be proactive (changing legislation, preventing bad practices, amending rules and promoting democracy rather than just trying to fix the problems of the past and the present)

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Thank you for attention! Diana Ieleja e-mail:dieleja1@yahoo.co.uk FB:https://www.facebook.com/ accesslabngo Web:accesslabngo.org