Downloads for Youth Work & Youth Policy

For publications from our ongoing Cooperation Partnership “Youth Voices Rising: Empowering Through Local and EU Advocacy” see our dedicated landing page youth-voices.eu.

1. Publications of the Cooperation Partnership “Network for Active Improvement of Youth Work” (NAIYW)

Generation Europe Booklets
This is a series of five booklets for youth workers: How to set up a youth group for active citizenship? How to do strategic youth work for inclusion? How do we promote the physical and mental wellbeing of participants and youth leaders? How do we facilitate youth engagement in participatory processes at local level? How do we connect young people with their local communities? The booklets are a support and resource for the community of practice. The brochures can be downloaded here. There is also a list of useful links and references.

Take Power. Handbook to Get Started With Advocacy and Lobbying
Youth work is an essential component of functioning democracies and contributes to social equality and inclusion. However, it cannot be taken for granted that those who decide on the social framework and financial resources are aware of the specific needs that young people and youth work professionals have. This handbook is a comprehensive guide for advocacy and lobbying and is aimed at all those in the field who want to help improve the conditions for young people and the structures in which they can become active.

Discussing Civic Education. Handout on Different Understandings of the Term and Common Solutions
Civic education plays an important role in empowering young people to be active and engaged citizens. Within the Generation Europe – The Academy network, however, there were different understandings of the term civic education. This made collaboration on this topic challenging at times. This handout documents the network’s efforts to develop a common understanding by interviewing participants and analysing their responses in order to deepen the dialogue between the network partners.

2. Publications from our European Youth Work Symposiums and Roundtable Consultations

2025: Young Voices for Youth Work (Policy Paper & Roundtable)
Where do we really stand when it comes to the spaces in which young people organise participation and democracy? What needs to change to secure European youth work in the long term? The policy paper “Young Voices for Youth Work” provides answers to these questions. The document is the result of a collaborative process: young people from nine European countries have jointly outlined their vision for sustainable, well-funded, and inclusive youth work in Europe. They demand systemic changes in European youth policy.

2024: Building Bridges, Breaking Barriers
In many European countries, democracy is under pressure as authoritarian ideas gain influence. This poses major challenges for young people growing up in a changing and uncertain political environment. It makes youth work and participatory youth projects all the more important – especially for those who are particularly affected by inequality of opportunity. While the importance of youth work is growing, the field itself faces major challenges. Tight budgets combined with massively rising costs and a lack of sustainable structures make it difficult to fulfil the growing tasks. The European Youth Work Symposium 2024 brought together young people, youth work professionals and representatives from politics, administration and academia in a unique format for exchange.

2023: Youth Work in Europe – Mission (Im)possible?
Overload, underfunding and juggling from one project proposal to the next: the situation in youth work has been difficult for years. In times of war and other crises, young people need more programmes and support. At the same time, the costs are exploding. What can be done? On 13 November 2023, young people and youth work professionals from ten European countries met with representatives from politics, administration and academia in Dortmund, Germany. The results of the international symposium with concrete proposals for action can be found in the comprehensive conference documentation, which is available for download as a pdf brochure.

4. Publications of the Strategic Partnership “Network for Active Citizenship“

Generation Europe Methodbox (pdf | 14,9 MB)
Non-formal methods for political education have been developed and used for many years. But when it comes to diverse and international target groups, the list of proven and internationally available methods was not particularly long. One goal of the Generation Europe network is to change that. This method box is not only a collection of methods on the topic of Active European Citizenship, but also contains a theoretical part that explains the working process in the creation of this handbook and provides a good basis for the application of the methods.

Generation Europe Guidance Papers (pdf | 4,6 MB) 
These guidance documents describe the conditions and needs of youth work and youth policy in the participating countries of the programme. They also contain recommendations for measures that respond to the identified needs. They aim to empower youth (work) organisations and professionals to get actively involved and help shape youth policy. The results are addressed directly to political decision-makers who have already been reached during the work process.

The project also developed Digital D, a liquid democracy platform. For anyone interested, we have made the source code of Digital D available online.

5. Publications of the Cooperation Partnership Generation Europe: The Ambassadors

Online Ressource: Guide to Activism
The Guide to Activism is a resource to help young people get active! Activists from the Ambassador network within Generation Europe – The Academy have collected the experiences of more than 50 young activists and summarised them in a practical guide. You will find six categories that we consider important for successful activism. We believe that the chances of success do not depend on luck, but above all on method, system, perseverance and logic. Passion can help a wonderful idea achieve a breakthrough. If you have the desire to make a difference, if you want to work with others on something meaningful, we invite you to dive into this guide with us!

Generation Europe – The Academy brochure
Our self-portrayal:

Overview of the evaluation for the 2021–2025 funding period (pdf | 0.4 MB)

The products of the cooperation partnerships ‘Youth Voices Rising: Empowering Through Local and EU Advocacy’ and ‘Network for Active Improvement of Youth Work’ as well as the strategic partnerships ‘Network for Active Citizenship’ and ‘Generation Europe: The Ambassadors’ were co-funded by the European Union. The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union, the European Commission or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union, the European Commission nor the EACEA can be held responsible for them.