UNDER 30'

T-kit on project management

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 13:01:26 +0200

This episode of the Under 30 podcast of the EU–Council of Europe Youth Partnership focuses on the brand-new edition of T-Kit 3 on project management, a key resource for everyone leading or dreaming up youth projects. Together with Mara Georgescu from the European Youth Foundation, editor and co-author Sebastian Schweitzer, and Tanya Basarab from the EU-Council of Europe youth partnership, the conversation explores what has changed since the first edition in 2000 and why this fully renewed T-Kit matters so much for today’s youth work.

Host: Dariusz Grzemny

Link to the T-kit: https://go.coe.int/NLvaV

Youth civic space

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 10:56:19 +0100

This episode of UNDER 30 explores what recent research says about youth participation and civic space in Europe and beyond, and why the conditions created by laws, policies and funding matter so much for young people’s democratic rights.
You will also learn about tools and initiatives that can help youth organisations, activists and youth workers better understand these trends and strengthen their work in challenging contexts.

UNDER 30 is a podcast by the EU–Council of Europe Youth Partnership, connecting research, policy and practice around issues that shape young people’s lives.

Guests: Ana Mosiashvili, Carlotta Magoga, Gilda Isernia
Hosts: Dariusz Grzemny and Lana Pasic

Links:
Global Youth Participation Index - https://gypi.epd.eu/
EU-Council of Europe youth partnership website on participation - https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/youth-partnership/participation

After the 4th European Youth Work Convention

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 09:29:59 +0100

This episode of Under 30 dives into the results and reflections from the 4th European Youth Work Convention (EYWC), which took place in May in Valletta, Malta, under the theme "Youth Work Xcelerate". Guests Alice Bergholtz and Jim O'Donovan (co-rapporteurs) and Laszlo Milutinovits (EU-Council of Europe youth partnership) discuss the convention's energy and momentum. They unpack the "noise" (perennial issues like funding and quality) and the "silence" (overlooked discussions, such as the struggle for recognition and the stark divide in support across Europe) in the youth work community. Finally, they touch on the convention's conclusions—including the new European code of ethics for youth workers—and the future roadmap for European youth work.

Check out all the resources and outcomes from the Convention here (including the graphic recordings)
Link to Coyote Youth Work Magazine Issue #38 on the Convention

Rural youth transitions

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 13:21:45 +0100

This episode of UNDER 30 reviews the EU-Council of Europe youth partnership’s new study on rural youth transitions before and after COVID-19. The guests - Francisco Simões, co-author of the study and Ketrin Kastehein from Rural Youth Europe - highlight data on changing opportunities, challenges, and transitions to adulthood for rural youth. They discuss slower progress and persistent gaps in education, jobs, and infrastructure, especially for young women and remote regions. Informal networks—family, friends, and youth organizations—emerge as critical support systems. The conversation addresses improvements needed in national and EU policies, such as access to digital tools, funding, and program outreach. Recommendations include creating multi-functional community spaces and ensuring Erasmus+ and youth programs reach rural youth more effectively.

Links:

Research on rural youth - https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/youth-partnership/research-on-rural-youth

Youth brain drain

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 04 Sep 2025 08:46:06 +0200

In this episode of UNDER 30, we explore the challenge of youth brain drain from the Western Balkans, the Eastern Partnership, and Türkiye. Our guests Gökay Özerim and Samir Beharić explain why so many young, educated people are leaving, what this means for societies and youth work, and the hidden drivers behind the trend. We also discuss the demographic and social consequences across these regions, and look at the policy responses needed to address the issue.

Host: Dariusz Grzemny

*All references to Kosovo, whether the territory, institutions or population, in this episode shall be understood in full compliance with United Nations' Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.

Link:
Youth brain drain from the Western Balkans, the Eastern Partnership and Türkiye

Youth mainstreaming and youth perspective(s)

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 10:34:28 +0200

This episode explores the evolving concepts of youth mainstreaming and youth perspective(s). Researchers Marco Kovačič and Tomaž Deželan emphasize that youth are not a homogeneous group, so it's essential to consider plural perspectives. The podcast contrasts these terms with traditional ones like youth participation, showing how the new concepts better address policy integration. Case studies from Austria, Germany, and Croatia highlight varied national and local approaches. International organizations like the UN, OECD, and OSCE are also engaging in youth mainstreaming, though coordination among them remains limited. The episode concludes with the following recommendations: ensure political mandates, build coordination infrastructure, and create meaningful mechanisms for youth input in policy processes.
Hosts: Dariusz Grzemny and Tanya Basarab (EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership)

Links:
Youth Mainstreaming: the international perspective, by Tomaž Deželan, Slađana Petković and Marti Taru (2025)
Learning from national and local approaches to youth mainstreaming and the use of youth perspective in policy making across Europe by Dan Moxon, Marko Kovačić and Veronica Ștefan (2025)

Quality youth work

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 16:40:33 +0200

In this episode, we explore findings from a new study on quality tools in youth work across 15 European countries. The discussion reveals that most national frameworks focus on structural policies and funding, with few practical tools for local youth workers. Notably, young people's voices are rarely included in defining quality, despite being central to youth work. Our guest highlights the need for more youth participation and practical, locally relevant approaches.

Guests: Tomi Kiilakovski, Tanya Basarab
Host: Dariusz Grzemny

Link to the study: https://go.coe.int/GASb5

Young people's mental health and well-being

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 15:07:56 +0200

This episode of UNDER 30, the podcast of the European Union - Council of Europe youth partnership, delves into the topic of youth mental health and wellbeing. The discussion features Aagje Rottiers from Ambrassade in Belgium and Paavo Pyykkönen from the Finnish National Agency for Erasmus Plus and the European Solidarity Corps. We explore the increased importance of youth mental health post-pandemic, the role of youth work in supporting mental health, and specific initiatives like training modules for youth workers. Lana Pasic from the EU-Council of Europe youth partnership highlights the findings from ongoing studies and the role of youth organizations in providing mental health services. The episode also emphasizes the need for youth workers to understand their limits, recognize when to engage professional mental health services, and develop essential competencies to support youth mental health effectively.

Host: Dariusz Grzemny

Links:
Seminar on youth mental health and well-being

4th European Youth Work Convention

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 13:46:47 +0100

The government of Malta - Aġenzija Żgħażagħ (Malta's national youth agency) and the European Union Program Agency (EUPA) for Malta together with the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership, will host the 4th European Youth Work Convention (EYWC) in Valletta, Malta, from 27 to 30 May 2025, under the Maltese Chairpersonship of the Council of Europe.
In this episode, we are discussing the content, the expected outcomes and expectations from the Convention.
Guests:
Miriam Teuma - the CEO of Aġenzija Żgħażagħ
Raphael Scerri - National Coordinator – Chief Executive Officer in the European Union Program Agency
László Milutinovics - the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership

Host: Dariusz Grzemny

Links:
The web page on the Convention (EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership)

Youth research

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Mon, 17 Feb 2025 11:49:18 +0100

In this episode, we are talking with Howard Williamson, a youth worker, academic youth researcher and lecturer, and youth policy adviser, Professor of European Youth Policy at the University of South Wales on what is youth research, who are youth researchers, what are the trends in youth research. This episode is a part of MOOC on Youth Research Essentials.

Hosts: Dariusz Grzemny and Lana Pasic.

Links:
MOOC info page: https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/youth-partnership/mooc-on-youth-research
Pool of European Youth Researchers (PEYR): https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/youth-partnership/peyr
Youth Research Essentials: https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/youth-partnership/essentials

Youth action for climate justice

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 16:10:41 +0100

In September 2024 the European Union - Council of Europe Youth Partnership organised a symposium on Young people, democracy and climate action to discuss how young people are engaging with climate crisis, what are the main emerging priorities, challenges, and how youth research, youth policy and youth work are responding to this issue. Climate justice was one of the main topics tackled during the seminar.

In this episode, we are hosting: Eimear Manning from the National Youth Council Ireland and Agnes Gkoutziamani from Youth and Environment Europe.

Hosts: Dariusz Grzemny and Lana Pasic.

Links:
Symposium: Young people, democracy and climate action: https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/youth-partnership/symposium-2024
Youth and democracy in the climate crisis: https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/youth-partnership/youth-and-democracy-in-the-climate-crisis
T-kit 13: Sustainability and youth work: https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/youth-partnership/t-kit-13-sustainability-and-youth-work

Advocacy for youth work in Eastern and South-East Europe

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Mon, 02 Dec 2024 13:04:28 +0100

In October 2024 the EU-Council of Europe organised the Seminar on Advocating for youth work in Eastern and South-East Europe (Skopje, North Macedonia).

The seminar highlighted the critical importance of recognizing youth work as a formal profession, encouraging youth involvement in policy-making, and tackling pressing issues such as brain drain, inequality, and mental health. Representatives from the Council of Europe and the European Commission emphasized that youth participation is fundamental to fostering democracy and transparency.

Participants shared insights on country-specific achievements and ongoing challenges, with North Macedonia standing out as a model for progress in formally recognizing youth work. The discussions underscored the need for sustained investment in youth work, particularly in rural areas, and the further development of tools to amplify the influence of youth organizations at both national and international levels.

Additionally, a collection of good practices was shared, focusing on fostering dialogue with decision-makers and public authorities at various levels to advocate for the advancement of youth work development.

Finally, the seminar set the stage for the upcoming 4th European Youth Work Convention, where youth workers from all Council of Europe member states will convene to discuss renewed commitments and strategic advancements to strengthen youth work across Europe.

Together with László MILUTINOVITS (EU-Council of Europe youth partnership) are talking about the seminar and its outcomes with: Ana YEGHOYAN and Dragan ATANASOV, who were the facilitators of the Seminar.

Host: Dariusz GRZEMNY

The transcript can be found HERE.

Resources:
Advocating for youth work in Eastern and South-East Europe - website
Visible Value handbook
Youth work in South-East Europe - a study
Youth brain drain from the Western Balkans, the Eastern Partnership and Türkiye - a study

Training participatory youth policy

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 16:34:57 +0100

In this episode, we are introducing the Youth Partnership's new training kit (T-kit) on participatory youth policy - what is it for, what's inside and how it can be used.

Host: Dariusz Grzemny

Contributors:

Tanya Basarab, research and youth policy officer, Youth Partnership
Ajša Hadžibegović, author
Miriam Teuma, bureau member and former chairperson of the Council of Europe's European Steering Committee for Youth, one of the contributors of the T-kit.

The transcript can be found HERE.

How to be more sustainable in mobility projects?

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 14:27:07 +0200

Sustain-Mobility was the fourth conference of the European Platform on Learning Mobility (EPLM) in the youth field that took place near Munich at the end of March 2023. It was hosted by Jugend für Europa, the German National Agency for the EU programmes Erasmus+ Youth and European Solidarity Corps , in co-operation with the Youth Partnership and other EPLM members. In this episode, we are discussing the results of the conference and reflect on issues related to sustainability in youth learning mobility projects.

Guests:
Manfred von Hebel - Jugend für Europa, the German National Agency for the EU programmes Erasmus+ Youth and European Solidarity Corps
Georgia Verna - a young journalist from Italy

Hosts: Lana Pasic and Dariusz Grzemny

Transcript: https://eu-coe-youth-partnership.transistor.fm/episodes/how-to-be-more-sustainable-in-mobility-projects/transcript

Links:
Event website: https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/youth-partnership/conference-2023
The Youth Partnership's resources on sustainability, climate change and environment: https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/youth-partnership/sustainability-environment-and-climate-change
How sustainability saved my life? - an article by Georgia Verna: https://youth.europa.eu/year-of-youth/young-journalists/how-sustainability-saved-my-life_en

Growing youth work in Europe: before the symposium

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 25 May 2023 11:54:54 +0200

On 31 May-1 June 2023, the Youth Partnership's symposium “Visible Value: Growing youth work in Europe” will gather over 100 participants in the European Youth Centre Budapest,at mid-point between two European Youth Work Conventions.

This event takes stock of the steps forward on youth work development and in the implementation of the European Youth Work Agenda (EYWA), and to streamline and promote a continuous constructive dialogue with the community of practice.

In this episode we are talking to Zara Lavchyan - a youth work practitioner and trainer and Howard Williamson - a youth researcher about their expectations from the symposium and thoughts on where are we with youth work at the moment.

Hosts: László Milutinovits and Dariusz Grzemny

Young women's political participation

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Wed, 08 Mar 2023 16:48:57 +0100

As we celebrate International Women's Day, we know that young women's participation in political life remains a challenge.

How are young women engaging with political processes at European, national and local levels? What are the main barriers and support mechanism for their participation? Who can be an ally in building a fairer and more inclusive society?

Guest: Caterina Bolognese (the Head of the Gender Equality Division at the Council of Europe) and Anna Lavizzari (a researcher at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, a member of the Pool of European Youth Researchers).

Hosts: Lana Pasic and Dariusz Grzemny

Links:
Gender Equality Division website
Council of Europe Gender Equality Strategy
EU Gender Equality Strategy
General Recommendation - Istanbul Convention Action against violence against women and domestic violence
Sexism, harassment and violence against women in parliaments in Europe

Access to youth services during Covid-19

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 14:20:23 +0100

The pandemic has redefined youth services and has reshaped the way they are delivered. What were the most impacted areas? Listen to the podcast episode exploring this topic and read our study.

Guests: Ruzanna Ivanian (PEYR member and co-author) and Rares Craiut (Secretary General, ECYC)

Hosts: Ismael Páez Civico and Tanya Basarab

Would you like to know more?
Read the study: Youth services during the Covid-19 pandemic – a patchy net in need of investment, by Dunja Potočnik and Ruzanna Ivanian and check out the infographic

Visible Value

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 22 Dec 2022 11:46:15 +0100

We have organised the “Visible Value – strengthening the implementation of the European Youth Work Agenda in Eastern and Southeast Europe” seminar in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina in November 2022.

The event brought together 60 participants to reflect on the way the youth work sector and community of practice had fared since the 3rd European Youth Work Convention and what structures and mechanisms had been put in place to deliver on the commitments made during the Convention and in the European Youth Work Agenda framework document. It also aimed to strengthen the connection within the triangle of governance (youth research, youth policy and youth work) in the regions.

In this episode of Under30' we are discussing the content and the outcomes of the seminar with our guests: Zara Lavchayan and Dragan Atanasov, rapporteurs of the seminar.

Hosts: Dariusz Grzemny and László Milutinovits

Link:

Visible Value – strengthening the implementation of the European Youth Work Agenda in Eastern and Southeast Europe

Media and information literacy

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 20 Oct 2022 14:10:16 +0200

Media and information literacy is crucial for a fully-fledged democracy to work. Young people need to understand how to navigate the web and differentiate between truthful and misleading or false information.

In this episode, we discuss the threat misinformation can pose to young people and how to counter it through critical thinking translated to the digital sphere, that being MIL.

Guests: Evaldas Rupkus and Meelika Hirmo

Hosts: Ismael Páez Civico and Lana Pasic

Would you like to know more? SALTO Participation & Information Resource Centre has hundreds of resources on Youth Participation, MIL, Digital Transformation and Communication. Dive into the Participation Resource Pool to find what interests you: www.participationpool.eu

Value-based learning in mobility projects

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 06 Oct 2022 16:16:15 +0200

The training kit (T-kit) on value-based learning in mobility projects has recently been published by the Youth Partnership. Should youth work and learning mobility be value-based? Which values should guide us in design and implementation of youth work activities?

We are discussing value-based learning and the new T-kit with:
- Snežana Bačlija Knoch - a trainer and facilitator, editor of T-kit 14
- Romina Matei from SALTO European Solidarity Corps Resource Centre, contributors

Hosts: Marietta Balázs and Dariusz Grzemny

Transcript is here

Link:
T-kit 14: Value-based learning in mobility projects

Young European Ambassadors

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 05:00:00 +0200

More than a thousand young people have been involved in the European Union's YEAs initiative. Who are the Young European Ambassadors? Listen to this episode and meet three of them, Joanna Bagadzińska (Poland), Anna Bazarna (Ukraine) and Valentin Josan (Republic of Moldova) who tell us more about this initiative and their experiences.

Hosts:
Marietta Balázs and Dariusz Grzemny

Links:
Young European Ambassadors initiative
EU Neighbours East
Council of Europe's Youth Action Week
Meaningful political participation of young people - Live from the Youth Action Week
Solidarity with Ukraine

The state of youth civil society

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 18 Aug 2022 16:26:22 +0200

Youth civil society was quick to respond to the recent challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. What is the state of youth civil society nowadays? How does it need to be supported? We are discussing these questions with Alex Kent from Restless Development that has published the report on the state of youth civil society and Lucas Stede from the Advisory Council on Youth in the Council of Europe.

Hosts: Lana Pasic and Dariusz Grzemny

The transcript is available HERE

Links:
The State of Youth Civil Society - Youth Power in a Pandemic

After Navigating Transitions

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 04 Aug 2022 12:00:00 +0200

The symposium on "Navigating Transitions: Adapting Policies to young People's changing realities" was organised by the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership in Tirana on 21-23 June 2023. It brought together more than 100 participants to reflect on what paradigm shift is needed in youth research, youth policy and youth work to support young people’s aspirations in the realities changed by the Covid-19 pandemic and related measures. In this episode, we are reflecting on lessons learned and the outcomes of the symposium, as well as discussing the future perspectives.

Guests:

Katrin Olt a policy maker, a member of the European Steering Committee for Youth of the Council of Europe from Estonia
Marie-Claire McAleer a researcher from Ireland
Zara Lavchyan, a trainer and youth work practitioner from Armenia
Clotilde Talleu, a manager of the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership

Host: Dariusz Grzemny

Navigating Transitions: adapting policy to young people’s changing realities

Transitions and the war in Ukraine

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 16:37:50 +0200

During the symposium: Navigating Transitions organised by the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership in Tirana on 21-23 June 2022, we talked to three youth workers from Kremenchuk in Ukraine: Svitlana Ivanova, Anna Kovalenko and Alina Shevela. They decided to share their stories and reflected on young people's transitions in the times of war.

Hosts: Marietta Balázs and Dariusz Grzemny

The transcript of this episode is HERE.

Types of learning mobility

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 15:48:51 +0200

Learning mobility activities in the youth field are restarting following the two years of break due to COVID-19 pandemic. How are youth workers, young people, trainers, facilitators and youth organisations experiencing the return to in-person activities? How are blended, online and hybrid activities taking place?

In this episode we discuss the experiences of learning mobility during and post pandemic, and the use of online, hybrid and blended activities. What types of learning environments are best fitted for learning mobility activities? What are the benefits and challenges of each?

Guests: Snezana Baclija Knoch and Sandra Zoomers van de Kraak

Hosts: Ismael Páez Civico and Lana Pasic

Would you like to know more? Have a look at our resources and quality tools!

Young People Revitalising Democracy

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Sat, 25 Jun 2022 11:59:00 +0200

How does revitalising democracy actually look on the ground and in practice? How can youth organisations contribute to democratic revival on the local and on the international level? How does the European Youth Foundation support local and international projects in the framework of the Democracy Here, Democracy Now campaign?

We speak to Gabriella from Fantapolitica and Sophie from the World Organisation of the Scout Movement (WOSM) about the tokenisation of young people, the relationship between climate change and human rights education, the role of dialogue in conflict and the possibility of democratic revival through genuine youth participation. And what are our guests' expectations of the upcoming Youth Action Week?

Guests: Gabriella Sesti Osseo and Sophie Spickenbom

Hosts: Ismael Páez Civico and Mara Georgescu

Would you like to know more? Have a look at the pilot and international activities funded by the European Youth Foundation and learn more about the Youth Action Week.

Youth Action Week

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 23 Jun 2022 10:54:43 +0200

In this podcast, we discuss the Council of Europe's youth campaign "Democracy Here, Democracy Now" and its flagship event the Youth Action Week taking place in Strasbourg between 28 June and 1 July. What is the campaign, why was it launched and what are the issues in its focus? What is the purpose of the Youth Action Week and what are the expectations for bringing together over 400 young people from across Europe for a week?

Guests: Alice Bergholtz, vice-chair of the Advisory Council on Youth and Ruxandra Pandea, campaign co-ordinator
Hosts: Ismael Páez Civico and Marietta Balázs

Would you like to know more? Have a look at the Youth Action Week's page!

Defining youth transitions

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 11:06:13 +0200

Youth transitions to autonomy could be defined through many lenses. How did these definitions evolve in time? How have they been used to understand young people's lives and societal changes? How were policies developed to support young people?

This episode was made as a preparation for our symposium Navigating Transitions, which will take place in Tirana on 21-23 June 2022.

Guests: Ewa Krzaklewska, Maria-Carmen Pantea and Howard Williamson

Host: Tanya Basarab

Would you like to know more? Have a look at symposium's website and watch the video version of this conversation!

Restarting youth learning mobility – quality tools in practice

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 02 Jun 2022 14:35:50 +0200

In this episode we discuss the experiences of learning mobility during and post pandemic, and the changing needs of all actors. What should be done to ensure the quality of learning mobility activities in the current context? How can the EPLM quality tools, Handbook and the Q!App, be useful in the current context?

Guests: Marta Brzezińska-Hubert and Darko Mitevski

Hosts: Ismael Páez Civico and Lana Pasic

Would you like to know more? Have a look at our resources and quality tools!

Youth work and the war in Ukraine

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Wed, 25 May 2022 16:46:54 +0200

Youth work has been very fast in responding to the situation caused by the war in Ukraine, providing humanitarian aid and youth services for internally displaced young people within Ukraine and also to young refugees outside Ukraine. How do youth work competences help youth workers in dealing with the situation? How can young refugees from Ukraine benefit from youth work? What support is needed for youth workers who work with internally displaced young people and Ukrainian refugees?

Guests:

Olena Glazkova - a youth worker in the youth centre in Kremenchuk in Ukraine
Deimantė Venckutė - a youth worker and leader of the Gargždai Open Youth Centre in Klaipėda (Lithuania)
Raluca Iordăchianu - a vice-president of the Federation of Youth NGOs in Iași (FONTIS) in Romania

Hosts: Tanya Basarab and Dariusz Grzemny

The transcript is available

Links:

Solidarity with Ukraine - a special web page of the EU- Council of Europe youth partnership

Making the value of youth work visible

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 05 May 2022 16:12:31 +0200

How far has youth work gained formal, social and political recognition? Bit by bit resources and actions are having an impact on how we perceive the valuable contribution it has to young people and society as a whole and an ongoing objective.

In this episode we introduce the Visible Value library of resources and inspiring stories on youth work recognition developed by the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership. With Nik, Darko and Tanya we are discussing recognition from grass-root to international level, how recognition is an important layer of youth work processes and an important pre-condition for making youth work a viable career pathway.

Guests: Nik Paddison and Darko Markovic

Hosts: Ismael Páez Civico and Tanya Basarab

Would you like to know more? Have a look at our resources on recognition of youth work.

Meet the EU Youth Coordinator

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 17:21:38 +0200

Meet Biliana Sirakova, the newly appointed EU Youth Coordinator.
What is the role of EU Youth Coordinator? How does she work on connecting and coordinating different youth initiatives, aimed at achieving EU Youth Goals? What are her daily tasks and challenges? Listen to the podcast to learn more about how EU Youth Coordinator supports co-creation of the European Year of Youth with other stakeholders and inclusion of young people's voices in policy making.
What are her impressions of the European youth sector?
For more information, visit the European Youth Portal: https://europa.eu/youth/home_en

Guest: Biliana Sirakova

Hosts: Ismael Páez Civico and Clotilde Talleu

Improving youth participation in Europe

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 07 Apr 2022 16:18:05 +0200

Participatory democracy does not rely only on elections, but also on a range of other tools and mechanisms which facilitate citizens' participation in decision-making. These tools can help young people to organise, engage with policy-makers at all governance levels and demand policy changes.

In this episode we discuss the contemporary youth participation trends, what different tools and methods are used by the Council of Europe and its member states, the European Youth Forum, and youth organisations across Europe, and what is needed to achieve meaningful participation and impact on policy.

Guests: Cornelia Perle and Christiana Xenofontos

Hosts: Ismael Páez Civico and Lana Pasic

Would you like to know more? Have a look at our resources on youth political participation.

Young people and the war in Ukraine: stories from Lviv and Moldova

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 11:47:19 +0200

It’s been more than a month since Ukraine was attacked by the troops of the Russian Federation. Many people fled Ukraine and found shelter in the neighbouring countries, many also moved to other regions of Ukraine, which are not suffering from heavy bombing. How is the youth sector in Ukraine involved in supporting both civilians and the armed forces? How are young people involved in organising and delivering support to the refugees from Ukraine in Moldova?

Guests:

Mariana Țurcan - Adviser to Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova on Education and Youth, Coordinator of the Moldova for Peace platform, Member of EKCYP
Vasyl Shatruk - former director and currently a volunteer of the Lviv Regional Youth Centre, head of NGO “Centre of Initiative Youth”, Ukraine.

Hosts: Dariusz Grzemny and Tanya Basarab

The transcript is available HERE

Links:

Background information on the situation of young people and youth sector in Ukraine before and after 24 February

Lviv Regional Youth Center is a public institution, run by the Lviv Regional State Administration. Its mission is to promote socialization and self-fulfillment of young people, including intellectual development and healthy lifestyles, and facilitation of non-formal education. It serves as a platform for communication, cooperation, and development of competencies of active young people and youth organizations in the Lviv region. Currently, the Youth Center has turned into a center of volunteers and humanitarian aid to help and support refugees, armed forces and those who remained in the areas under the war in Ukraine. They collect and distribute medicine, food, clothes, and equipment for the army. Recently, they collected money to buy a vehicle for the armed forces and now proceed with collecting money for drones.

dopomoga.gov.md - Moldovan platform run by the government offering services to refugees from Ukraine

dopomoha.md - an information and support platform for refugees from Ukraine run by Moldova for Peace

Do we need Radical Citizenship Education?

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 15:28:08 +0100

Citizenship education remains a contested term, lacking a universally accepted definition. Both, the understanding and practice of citizenship education have been discussed by educational institutions, the youth sector, political parties, ideologies, cultures and society as a whole. While citizenship education is often understood in relation to democracy, human rights and young people's participation in decision-making processes, some researchers and practitioners argue that we need to go beyond the current practice and consider a radical reform in the way citizenship education is taught.

Guests: Nika Bakhsoliani and Sérgio Xavier
Hosts: Ismael Páez Civico and Lana Pasic

Link to the research paper: Radical Education - A pathway for new utopias and reimagining European democracies

The limits of digital youth work

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 11:16:26 +0100

Digital youth work comes, undoubtedly, with many benefits. It was even perceived as a beautiful, pink balloon, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic when all youth work had to be done online. However, very quickly it turned out, it also comes with many costs. In this episode, we are discussing the limits of digital youth work based on the research paper published by the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership on "Technology and the new power dynamics: limitations of digital youth work" by Alicja Pawluczuk and Adina Marina Serban. We are looking at five areas of these limitations:

Digital technologies, mental health, and feelings of disconnectedness
Big tech and AI v. meaningful communication and youth empowerment
Digital inequalities in youth work
Strategic digitalisation of youth work
Space in digital youth work

Guests: Alicja Pawluczuk and Andrei Dobre
Hosts: Dariusz Grzemny and Tanya Basarab

The transcript of this episode is available HERE

Link to the research paper: Technology and the new power dynamics: limitations of digital youth work

Youth sector in 2022

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 15:32:42 +0100

The year 2022 is full of new initiatives in the youth sector: the European Year of Youth, announced by the European Commission, the Council of Europe's campaign Democracy Here, Democracy Now and the 50th anniversary of the youth sector in the Council of Europe. In this episode, we are discussing these initiatives with Antje Rothemund, the Head of the Youth Department in the Council of Europe and Ioannis Malekos, the Head of Unit for Youth, Volunteer Solidarity and Traineeships Office at the Directorate General of Education, Youth, Sport and Culture at the European Commission. We are also trying to see what role the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership will play within these initiatives.

Hosts: Dariusz Grzemny and Clotilde Talleu

Links:
European Youth Portal - European Year of Youth
Council of Europe - Democracy here. Democracy now. Youth campaign for revitalising democracy

A Thinking & Action Kit for the Future of Youth Work

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 10 Feb 2022 10:16:30 +0100

All of us can contribute to the development of the youth work environment! What needs to change? Do I need to be a superhero and do everything on my own? Where do I start? The EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership's upcoming publication can support you in starting a change.

In this episode, we are talking with Ajša Hadžibegović and Bastian Küntzel, the two authors of Thinking Together and Levelling Up: a thinking and action kit for the continuous development, improvement and strengthening of the youth work field. Youth work development can start with a dream, followed by a reality check and a plan of where you want to go. The Thinking kit invites you to check the reality of youth work, to think what aspects of it need improvement and seeing how others did it, develop a step-by-step action plan. The Thinking kit will be available soon.

Hosts: Ismael Paez Civico and Marietta Balázs

Link:
The Thinking kit draws on an extensive body of research on education and career pathways of youth workers carried out between 2018-2020, mapping realities and delving into specific aspects of youth work in Europe. The research was published in Youth worker education in Europe: policies, structures, practices by Marti Taru, Ewa Krzaklewska, Tanya Basarab (eds)
Visual translations: youth work environment and youth work practice architectures

Youth work policy goals

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 16:07:50 +0100

The EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership has recently published a research paper “European youth work policy goals analysed” written by Ilona-Evelyn Rannala, Jelena Stojanovic and Marko Kovacic. The goal of this analysis is to showcase, examine and compare youth work policy goals/objectives of the European Union and the Council of Europe. Where do they meet? What is different? What tools do they propose to reach the youth work policy goals?

In this episode, we are discussing these questions with Babis Papaioannou from the European Commission and Ilona-Evelyn Rannala, a youth researcher from Estonia. We also look into the European Youth Work Agenda and the response it got from the member states and the European Year of Youth.

Hosts: Dariusz Grzemny and Tanya Basarab

The transcript of the podcast is available HERE

Link:

European youth work policy goals analysed: The role of the EU-CoE Youth Partnership in the interplay between the European Union and the Council of Europe by Ilona Evelyn-Rannala, Jelena Stojanovic, Marko Kovacic

Community impact of learning mobility projects

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 16:37:47 +0100

The impact of learning mobility projects is quite well known, it is well researched, mainly when it comes to the impact on the individual level. We think about it when we develop project ideas - what impact will the project have on the participants. But the impact does not end with the individuals, it also extends to a community - people who are sometimes intentionally or unintentionally affected by the project actions. Recent developments in European youth policies and programmes show that more emphasis is put on understanding the impact not only on the individual level, but also on the local community or wider society.

What do we mean when we talk about community? What impact do learning mobility projects have on the community? How to measure it? Why is it important? These are some of the questions we are discussing in this episode with our guests:

Alexandra Severino, one of the authors of the research paper on Community Impact Indicators for Learning Mobility done by the youth partnership
Susie Nicodemi, one of the authors of the Practical Guide on Community Impact of Learning Mobility Projects, and
Romina Matei, for Salto European Solidarity Corps Resource Centre that developed the practical guide.

Link to more materials: European Platform on Learning Mobility

The transcript of this episode is available HERE

About time... for a new youth policy manual

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 11:12:53 +0100

About time! is a new reference manual for youth policy from a European perspective published by the Youth Partnership. The manual is a reference tool for initiating youth policy and learning about the diversity of national and international governance and about the infrastructure available for youth policy, its implementation, review and evaluation. Thematically, it focuses very specifically on those areas of youth policy that have been formulated and developed through European consensus-building – participation, information, volunteering, social inclusion, access to rights, youth work, mobility and digitalisation.

In this episode, we are talking with the authors of the manual - Howard Williamson, Zara Lavchyan and Max Fras - about who the manual is for, how it was developed and what can be found there. We are also trying to reflect on the state of youth policy nowadays.

Hosts: Dariusz Grzemny and Tanya Basarab

The transcript of the podcast is available here:
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Link:

ABOUT TIME! A reference manual for youth policy from a European perspective, by Howard Williamson, Max Fras and Zara Lavchyan. Edited by Tanya Basarab and Howard Williamson, ISBN 978-92-871-8663-8 © Council of Europe and European Commission, May 2021. Printed at the Council of Europe: https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/youth-partnership/youth-policy-manual-2021

What's new on the Covid-19 Knowledge Hub?

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 16:36:43 +0100

In this podcast series, we have discussed many times the impact of the pandemic and all related restrictions on the lives of young people. Some time ago, we also had an episode on the Covid-19 Knowledge Hub developed by the Youth Partnership. The Hub has been there for a year now, and since it was officially launched at the Youth Knowledge Forum in October 2021 it has been filled with new information, research papers and other relevant materials.

In this episode, we take a closer look at how the Hub functions today, what are the new findings from surveys and briefings, and what are the key priority themes.

Our guests today, Irina Lonean and James O'Donnovan, researchers involved in the development of briefings and surveys, will provide us with some insights into what’s new on the Covid-19 Knowledge Hub.

Hosts: Dariusz Grzemny and Lana Pasic.

The transcript is available here: https://share.transistor.fm/s/9177776b/transcript

Links:
The Knowledge Hub: COVID-19 impact on the youth sector - https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/youth-partnership/covid-19

European Youth Strategies

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 20:16:26 +0200

In today’s episode we are discussing two European Youth Strategies, the EU youth Strategy and the Council of Europe youth sector strategy, looking at what they have in common and where they differ but also how relevant they are now in the COVID or post-COVID period. Both strategies are institutional reactions to the situation of young people in Europe.

The reason for our discussion is the paper written by Frederike Hofmann-van de Poll and Howard Williamson who are reflecting on and analysing both strategies.

Today we are discussing this paper and both strategies together with Frederike Hofmann-van de Poll, a Senior Researcher at German Youth Institute and Miriam Teuma, Chief Executive of Malta’s national youth agency and also the chair of European Steering Committee for Youth in the Council of Europe.

Hosts: Dariusz Grzemny and Tanya Basarab

The transcript of this episode can be found here: https://eu-coe-youth-partnership.transistor.fm/episodes/european-youth-strategies/transcript

Links:
Frederike Hofmann-van de Poll and Howard Williamson, European Youth Strategies - A reflection and analysis: https://pjp-eu.coe.int/documents/42128013/101043895/European+Youth+Strategies+-+reflection+paper.pdf/ba2cb002-9705-620d-3ddb-bc4939c6d3b4

Rural youth: diverse, ignored and unfulfilled

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 16:47:26 +0200

The EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership has recently published a study “Young people in rural areas: diverse, ignored and unfulfilled” co-authored by Adina Marina Șerban and Rūta Brazienė.

One of the most striking findings is that rural policies ignore young people and youth policies ignore rural youth. Generally, there is little understanding and acceptance in policy that young people in rural areas represent a diversity of groups, interests, needs and aspirations.

Hosts: Dariusz Grzemny and Tanya Basarab
Guests: Adina Marina Șerban, one of the authors of the publication, and Karen Ayvazyan from the Advisory Council on Youth of the Council of Europe.

Enjoy listening!

The transcript of the episode is available here: https://eu-coe-youth-partnership.transistor.fm/episodes/rural-youth-diverse-ignored-and-unfulfilled/transcript

Links:
Young people in rural areas: diverse, ignored and unfulfilled, by Adina Marina Șerban and Rūta Brazienė: https://pjp-eu.coe.int/documents/42128013/106317733/Rural-youth-study.pdf/1fde9ee6-48ce-a2f7-2985-124b44ae46e7

Greening the youth sector

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 02 Sep 2021 09:56:49 +0200

The issue of climate change and its impact on all of us has been discussed in many activities implemented both by the European Union and the Council of Europe. It also appears in many policy papers issued by both institutions. It is also present in many initiatives undertaken by youth organisations and youth movements. How can we, in the youth sector, be more environmentally conscious? How can we mainstream environmentally responsible practices? How can we make the youth sector greener?

Recently, the EU-CoE youth partnership, in cooperation with the Task Force on greening the youth sector, and in consultation with youth organisations has developed the sustainability checklist, which will serve as guidelines for youth initiatives across Europe.

In this episode, we are talking to two people this time: Pegah MOULANA and Neringa TUMĖNAITĖ.

Pegah is a human rights activist based in Europe, mostly focusing on mainstreaming and recognition of the impact that climate change will and already plays on young people. She started her lobbying work from the age of 11 and since then, has worked towards voicing the concerns of young people to decision-making bodies, including governmental authorities and institutions. She is the current Chairperson of the Climate Change task force at the Youth Department of Council of Europe. Her recent work focuses on the role the environment plays towards maintenance of peace and establishment of democracy; especially on introducing a sustainability framework which can be used by all sections of the institution. At the moment she is Chairperson of the Programming Committee on Youth, a section that is in charge of funding activities organised by youth organisations across Europe who have the aim of mobilising and educating young people on their access to rights.

Neringa is a Lithuanian Human Rights & Environmental activist, researcher and academic interested in development justice, youth empowerment and civic society cooperation. She is a member of the Pool of European Youth Researchers at the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership, an MPhil/PhD candidate at SOAS, University of London and the Director of Humanity Consulting. Neringa has led several forums in Asia, MENA and Eastern Africa, bringing together CSOs, entrepreneurs, activists and institutions (EU, AUC, UfM, ASEAN, Ministries) to facilitate youth-led policy recommendations (e.g. “Building Youth Partnership Opportunities to Advance UN Sustainable Development Goals for Education, Peace & Innovation.”) She has also collaborated with the World Social Forum, where she co-facilitated discussions on Environmental action and global civic society cooperation. Neringa's most recent research paper "Greening the youth sector: checklist for youth activities" focuses on the role youth organisations can play in mitigating the Climate Change.

Hosts: Dariusz GRZEMNY and Lana PASIC.

The transcript of this episode is available HERE (https://eu-coe-youth-partnership.transistor.fm/episodes/greening-the-youth-sector/transcript)

Links:

Webinar: "Greening the youth sector: sustainability checklist"

Digitalisation and young people with disabilities

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 14:37:04 +0200

In previous episodes of our podcast, we have explored different topics covered in the latest Youth Knowledge Book on Young People, social inclusion and digitalisation. With this episode, we would like to focus on another topic you can find in the Knowledge book - digitalisation and social inclusion of youth people with disabilities.

This topic is explored in two articles, which you can find in chapter 3 and 4 of the book. Today we are having two authors of these chapters:

Roman Banari who wrote an article in which he presents the challenges for youth with disabilities related to accessible technology and provides an insight into how they can benefit from ICT in order to be included in participatory processes, education and the labour market.

and Judit Gombás, who is a co-author of the article on digitalisation for the empowerment of individuals with visual impairment or blindness.

Hosts: Dariusz Grzemny, and Lana Pasic from the EU-Council of Europe youth partnership.

The transcript of this episode is available HERE.

You can find Roman's and Judit's articles in the Youth Knowledge Book on Young people, social inclusion and digitalisation.

Digitalisation, young people's mental health and well-being

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Tue, 20 Jul 2021 14:27:57 +0200

This is another episode, in which we do deeper into different topics explored in the Youth Knowledge Book on Young People, social inclusion and digitalisation. This time we look into two chapters that discuss how digitalisation is affecting young people’s mental health and well-being.

Our guest, Cathy Street wrote a chapter, in which she looks into young people’s digital well-being outlining current research findings about both positive and negative effects of digitalisation, including problematic or excessive use of technology and some theories behind these findings.

Ursula Curven, our second guest, wrote an article, in which she explores how young people who are marginalised and isolated can feel supported through the use of peer chat media such as Yik Yak, social media app that enabled people to post anonymously in short message format, similar to a text or Twitter.

My name is Dariusz Grzemny and together with Lana Pasic from the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership, we will be discussing the topic of young people’s mental health and well-being with our guests.

Enjoy listening!

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Transcript of this episode is available HERE.
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You can find Ursula's and Cathy's articles in the Youth Knowledge Book on Young people, social inclusion and digitalisation.

Young migrants and refugees, social inclusion and digitalisation

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 01 Jul 2021 15:20:36 +0200

This time we are talking with two guests - Daniel Briggs, who wrote an article on the use of WhatsApp by newly arrived refugees in Europe and Antía Pérez-Caramés, who reflected on the virtual communities created and used by young Spanish migrants in Europe. Both articles were published in the Youth Knowledge Book on Young people, social inclusion and digitalisation [LINK].

Hosts: Dariusz Grzemny and Lana Pasic.

The transcript is available HERE

Power, participation and geographical isolation

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 15:02:27 +0200

This episode is one of the few ones, in which we will talk with different authors who contributed to the latest Youth Knowledge Book on Young people, social inclusion and digitalisation.

Dariusz Grzemny and Lana Pasic are talking with two guests who wrote the chapter on Power, participation and geographical isolation exploring the impact of a digital project run with young people in the Scottish Highlands:

John Taylor - Area Youth Officer from High Life Highland and Anja Johnston - an assistant youth worker in the far North of Scotland, who took part in the co-design and development of the Highland project as a young person.

Young people who were involved in the project live mainly in rural areas, located sometimes tens or hundreds kilometres from the nearest town. They often do not have access to a broadband internet. Many of the villages and small settlements are not served by public transport and the only access is by car or, in some cases, by boat. Young people who live outside the main residential areas and attend school have long journey times to get there. Until summer 2018, John had never understood the term digitalisation, nor the concept of digital youth work. However, together with young people they managed to develop and run an interesting digital project.

Enjoy this episode!

The transcript is available here [LINK]

Young people, social inclusion and digitalisation. Emerging knowledge for practice and policy [LINK]

MOOC on Essentials of Youth Work

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Mon, 17 May 2021 08:56:23 +0200

Guests: Adina Serban, Ekaterina Sherer, Snezana Baclija Knoch and Dariusz Grzemny

Host: Marietta Balazs, project officer, EU-Council of Europe youth partnership

Join the MOOC on Essentials of Youth Work here: [LINK]
More information about the course: [LINK]

The transcript of this episode [LINK]

Young people, social inclusion and digitalisation

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Fri, 07 May 2021 18:03:55 +0200

The EU-Council of Europe youth partnership has done research on the topic of young people, social inclusion and digitalisation in 2019 and has recently published the youth knowledge book on “Young people, social inclusion and digitalisation”.

In 16 chapters, the authors critically examine if and how digitalisation can support the quest for social inclusion, ranging from the exploration of policies, tools and platforms available to young people and youth workers in Europe, supporting young people’s access to education and employment opportunities, opening up avenues for digital youth work, providing opportunities for participation for young people with disabilities, channels of integration for migrant communities and young refugees across Europe and support networks for young LGBTI persons. The book will be officially presented online on 11 May at 11:00 CEST and you can still join the presentation. You can find the link to the event in the notes of this episode.

Hosts: Dariusz Grzemny and Lana Pasic

Guests: Dan Moxon and Veronica Ștefan

The transcript is available here [LINK]

Links:

Facebook event on 11 May at 11:00 CET [LINK]

Young people, social inclusion and digitalisation [LINK]

About our guests:

Veronica Ștefan - Founder of the Digital Citizens think tank. Veronica is a professional focused on policy, education, digital citizenship and innovation in both national and international contexts. She has been working with various stakeholders for more than 14 years, at all levels. Veronica has extensive experience in advocacy campaigns, youth initiatives and public policies connected to education, participation, the labour market, technology literacy and the digital sector. Starting in 2015, Veronica has worked intensively at the intersection of new technologies, human rights and digital governance, as Member of the Media Literacy Task Force of the North-South Centre, General rapporteur for the first Council of Europe seminar on artificial intelligence and its impact on young people, and Trainer and expert in various Internet Governance Forum initiatives (including IGF Berlin 2019 and SEEDIG 2020), among other positions. Veronica is also the founder of the first Romanian digital think tank, Digital Citizens, with a genuine interest in shaping the digital society. In this framework, she combines her passion for digital education, research and policy analysis.

Dan Moxon - Director, People Dialogue and Change (UK). Dan is a Member of the Pool of European Youth Researchers co-ordinated by the partnership between the Council of Europe and the European Commission in the field of Youth. He is a researcher and practitioner in the field of inclusive youth participation, with nearly 20 years’ experience in the public voluntary and aca[1]demic sectors. In his current role at People Dialogue and Change he specialises in providing consultancy and capacity-building services for organisations that wish to develop their approach to youth participation or involve young people in policy making. He has undertaken work for a variety of local, national and international bodies, and developed participatory youth programmes for young people from a range of backgrounds, including disabled young people, young people with chronic health conditions, young people in social care, homeless young people and young Muslims. In 2018, his research supported the Estonian–Bulgarian–Austrian Trio Presidencies of the EU to enable nearly 50 000 young people to develop the EU Youth Goals.

COVID-19 and young people’s mental health

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 17:33:05 +0200

Welcome to Under 30, the podcast series by the youth partnership that brings the research results, explores trends in young people's lives and themes relevant for youth policy and practice.

The issue of young people’s mental health and psychological well-being appeared in some of the previous episodes of our podcast when we were discussing the impact of COVID-19 on the lives of young people and on the youth services. It was also discussed during the 3rd European Youth Work Convention and the final declaration from the Convention highlights the importance of mental health promotion in youth work.

What is the impact of the pandemic and all the restrictive measures implemented all over the world on young people’s mental health and psychological well-being? How can youth work and youth policy support young people whose mental health suffered?

We are discussing these issues with Stefanos Mastrotheodoros, whose research paper on the effects of COVID-19 on young people’s mental health and psychological well-being has recently been published by the youth partnership. There are two more people with us in this episode: Nikita Sanaullah from the European Youth Forum and Sean Ellul from the Advisory Council on Youth in the Youth Department of the Council of Europe.

My name is Dariusz Grzemny and together with Lana Pasic from the youth partnership we will be hosting this discussion.

Enjoy listening!

The transcript of this episode can be found HERE

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LINKS

The effects of COVID-19 on young people’s mental health and psychological well-being, by Stefanos Mastrotheodoros [LINK]

The final declaration for the 3rd European Youth Work Convention [LINK]

Young people's access to rights

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 25 Mar 2021 16:21:22 +0100

Welcome to Under 30, the podcast series by the Youth Partnership that brings the research results, explores trends in young people's lives and themes relevant for youth policy and practice.

Young people across Europe are increasingly experiencing challenges to accessing their rights. Even more so nowadays in times of COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode we are discussing some of these challenges, related with accessing the right to free and peaceful assembly and association and freedom from discrimination. Our discussion is based on two research papers recently published by the EU-Council of Europe youth partnership and developed by Maria-Carmen Pantea and Dunja Potočnik. You can find the links to these documents in the episode notes. Both papers were developed in preparation of the first review of the Committee of Ministers Recommendation on young people’s access to rights.

Hosts: Dariusz Grzemny and Tanya Basarab

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The transcript of the episode is HERE

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Links:

Young people’s right to assemble peacefully. A mapping study, in preparation of the first review of the recommendation CM/Rec (2016)7, by Maria-Carmen Pantea

Review of the documents on young people’s access to rights and non-discrimination: A Desk Research Study, by Dunja Potočnik

Young People’s Access to Rights - Recommendation CM/Rec(2016)7 and explanatory memorandum

COVID-19 and learning mobility

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 16:02:32 +0100

The transcript of this podcast is available HERE

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COVID-19 had an impact on practically all aspects of young people’s lives. Learning mobility of young people is one of them. Borders were closed, people were not able to move freely, students’ dormitories were turned into places for people in quarantine, students were losing their jobs, youth exchanges were cancelled, youth work moved online.

How big was the impact of COVID-19 on learning mobility of young people? How did the youth organisations deal with international projects being cancelled? What support was offered to young people who were in mobility projects when the pandemic started? What is the future of learning mobility of young people? What should be the policy responses? These are just a few questions we are discussing in this episode.

The EU-Council of Europe youth partnership runs the Knowledge Hub on the impact of COVID-19 on the youth sector [LINK] collecting youth research and practice that look at the two sides of the pandemic impact: challenges for the youth sector and positive initiatives.

In this episode, we are discussing the results of the desk research study on COVID-19 and Learning Mobility [LINK] developed by Ewa Krzaklewska and Özgehan Şenyuva.

We are exploring this topic together with our guests:

Ewa Krzaklewska - a sociologist and a researcher working as an assistant professor at the Institute of Sociology of the Jagiellonian University in Cracow, in Poland. Her research interests relate to youth sociology, including transitions to adulthood, youth mobility, youth work and policy, as well as family studies and gender equality.

Özgehan Şenyuva - an academic and a youth researcher from Ankara, Turkey. He works mainly on learning mobility and informal/non-formal learning. He comes from youth work practice, having worked many years as a trainer, project coordinator and facilitator. He is part of RAY research Network and is on the advisory board of European Academy on Youth Work; European Solidarity Corps Resource Centre and the Steering Group of European Platform on Learning Mobility-EPLM. He is a big fan of Besiktas.

Jakub Grodecki - currently serving as a Vice President of the European Students’ Union. His primary focus within the organization is Quality of Higher Education, Bologna Process implementation and Higher Education digitalisation. He is also a member of the Advisory Council on Youth in Council of Europe. Previously, he worked as a Quality Assurance expert of the Polish Accreditation Committee and ESU QA Pool of Experts. He has an academic background in Mechanical Engineering and Management and Production Engineering done at the University of Science and Technology (AGH) in Cracow (Poland).

Episode hosts: Dariusz Grzemny and Lana Pasic

Shrinking civil society space for young people

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 16:05:16 +0100

The audio file with the transcript is also available HERE

Youth organisations experience a shrinking space for civil society in a variety of ways and on many different levels. Space can start to shrink when governments see civil society as a threat. As a result, they employ tactics to discredit and weaken them, thereby shrinking the space in which they can work.

In this episode, we are discussing how the space for civil society is changing, particularly for young people. We also reflect on the most recent developments impacting this change (e.g. digitalisation, COVID-19), how young people are engaging with these changes and what can be done on different levels to address this trend.

Guests:

Andreas Hirsch is an Advisor on European Youth Policy at JUGEND für Europa, the German National Agency of Erasmus+: Youth in Action and European Solidarity Corps. He has also worked several years with a European civil society youth organisation advocating for topics ranging from gender equality to sustainability to mental health of young people.

Leonie Martin is a member of the Advisory Council on Youth at the Council of Europe, a body of 30 youth representatives who advise the Committee of Ministers on decisions relating to youth. Together with others, she works on the issue of shrinking civic youth space. She is furthermore President of the non-partisan youth NGO Young European Federalists, called JEF, which is active in more than 30 countries, organising activities and advocating on issues of European democracy and citizenship.

Hosts: Dariusz Grzemny and Lana Pasic.

Enjoy listening!

If you want to read more about the topic, visit the dedicated website of the Youth Department of the Council of Europe HERE and stay tuned for our literature review which will be available soon.

Have a look at this material on shrinking youth space: YOUTH IN EUROPE: OFFENBURG TALKS #4 : SHRINKING SPACES FOR YOUTH WORK!? – CHALLENGES FOR POST-DEMOCRATIC SOCIETIES: Videos of all talks , Programme Reader

Youth work in Eastern and Southeast Europe

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Sun, 27 Dec 2020 11:00:00 +0100

See the transcript of this episode HERE

How is youth work done? Who does it? Is it recognised? And if yes, how? How does one become a youth worker? What are the trends and developments in youth work and youth policy? How will the results of the latest European Youth Work Convention impact youth work and how youth work can contribute to the Bonn Process? These are just a few questions we are discussing in this episode, with the geographical focus on Eastern and Southeast Europe.

In order to talk about the realities of youth work in these two regions we have invited two researchers: Dunja Potočnik and Max Fras. They were both a part of teams researching youth work in Eastern and South East Europe. We are also joined by Tanya Basarab from the EU-Council of Europe youth partnership.

Host: Dariusz Grzemny

Enjoy listening!

Have a look at the publications related to the topic of our episode:

Youth Work in Eastern Europe: Realities, perspectives and inspiring initiatives, by Alena Ignatovitch, Max Fras and Tanya Basarab, available HERE

Quality Development Of Youth Work In South-east Europe - analytical paper, by Dunja Potočnik and Dragan Stanojević, available HERE

Youth Work in South East Europe: Paper on the state of play of the development of youth work, by Marko Kovacic and Lana Pasic, available HERE

The impact of COVID-19 on youth services

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Tue, 22 Dec 2020 21:37:54 +0100

The transcript of this episode is available HERE
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The COVID-19 pandemic and all measures that were implemented by the European countries to control the spread of the coronavirus had a huge impact on young people's lives and the youth services.

The youth partnership developed a Knowledge HUB to highlight the research and knowledge gathering initiatives that look at the two sides of the pandemic impact: challenges for the youth sector and positive initiatives. In this episode, we are talking with two researchers involved in the HUB - Anna Lavizzari and Manfred Zentner about the impact of the pandemic on youth services, and we explore the actions to be taken by youth work, youth research and youth policy to best deal with the consequences of the pandemic related to youth services.

Hosts: Dariusz Grzemny and Lana Pasic

Visit the COVID-19 Knowledge HUB on the EU-Council of Europe youth partnership's website HERE.

Young people, digitalisation and techlash

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 12:04:36 +0100

The transcript of the podcast is available HERE
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Technology and digitalization have become an integral part of our lives, but particularly the lives of young people. What are the new challenges of digitalization for young people? What can youth work do to address these challenges? These are just a few questions we are discussing with:

Lasse Siurala - a former Director of Youth Services at the City of Helsinki (1995-1999, 2001-2012) and Director of Youth and Sports at the Council of Europe (1999-2001). An Adjunct Professor at the Aalto University, Helsinki and Lecturer of youth work at Tallinn University, Dr Siurala has written articles and publications on youth participation, youth work, youth policy and evaluation, for example, with Ord J., Carletti M., Cooper S., Dansac C., Morciano D. and Taru M. (eds) (2018), “The Impact of Youth Work in Europe: A Study of Five European Countries”, Helsinki. He has been a frequent contributor to the Youth Partnership “Youth Knowledge” books including (as chief editor) vol. 5 of “History of Youth Work in Europe” (2016) and the forthcoming book on digitalisation (Connolly and Moxon (eds)).
Daisy Kidd - works on Tactical Tech's upcoming youth and technology project
Nika Bakhsoliani - a member of the Advisory Council on Youth in the Youth Department of the Council of Europe

Hosts: Lana Pasic and Dariusz Grzemny

Link to the article discussed in the podcast: Lasse Siurala, YOUTH WORK AND TECHLASH. What are the new challenges of digitalisation for young people? HERE

Other resources:

Data Detox Kit: currently, available in English, German, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Shan, with Czech and Norwegian coming soon

SOCIAL INCLUSION, DIGITALISATION AND YOUNG PEOPLE - Research study, by the Youth Partnership

Bridle, James (2018) New Dark Age: Technology and the End of the Future, Verso

Zuboff, Shoshana (2019), The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, The fight for a human future at the new frontier of power, Profile Books, London

Couldry, Nick & Mejias, Ulyses (2019) The Costs of Connection. How Data Is Colonizing Human Life and Appropriating it for Capitalism, Stanford University Press.

Education and career paths of youth workers in Europe

EU-Council of Europe youth partnership — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 11:38:56 +0100

The transcript of the podcast is available HERE

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In 2017, the youth partnership initiated the research project on educational and career paths of youth workers in Europe. After three years, a lot of materials were collected and recently the youth partnership has published a book within its Youth Knowledge Book series called "Youth worker education in Europe".

In this podcast, we are talking about the research and the book together with Tanya Basarab from the youth partnership and Ewa Krzaklewska - a sociologist and a researcher working as an assistant professor at the Institute of Sociology of the Jagiellonian University in Cracow, in Poland. Both Tanya and Ewa are the editors of the book, together with Marti Taru.

We are also joined by Ajša Hadžibegović, a youth worker and a trainer who is one of the people responsible to translate the material collected throughout the project into a more accessible format.

Host: Dariusz Grzemny

Resources:

The web page of the research project
Youth worker education in Europe. Policies, structures, practices - by Ewa Krzaklewska, Marti Taru and Tanya Basarab