The SNAC European Academy on Youth Work commissioned a piece of research in 2023 to look to the future and to explore the potential role and function of youth work in the years and decades to come. Additionally, practical tools such as a game and a toolbox are available to support you in reflecting about possible futures and bringing innovation to your youth work practice. This is our reading tip for the turn of the year!
Written by Nik Paddison
The Strategic National Agency Cooperation (SNAC) European Academy on Youth Work is a project hosted by the National Agency of Slovenia with 14 other National Agencies for the EU youth programmes and SALTO Resource Centres. The Academy has a focus on youth work development and innovation. This current cycle, which is ending at the end of 2024, is about new trends and future thinking which has culminated in the research report on future foresight, titled “Futures of Youth Work”.
We are living in times that are experiencing almost constant change, our societies are evolving on an almost daily basis. The European Academy on Youth Work asked the question about the role and identity of youth work in these times and where it is going or needs to go in the future.
A team consisting of Gisèle Evrard, Darko Markovic, Özgehan Şenyuva and Aleksandra Szymczyk, began the process of researching both the concept of futures work and the topic of youth work in the future. It quickly became clear that it is not about predicting the future but of understanding there are many possible futures and the role of youth work is to at the least be aware of them.
The research consisted of engaging with theories and methodologies such as future foresight, horizon scanning, future thinking, and signal spotters (the community of practice from across Europe providing information on the things that people around them are saying and indicating about the future). Topic areas within the research include technological advancements, climate change, shifting demographics and changing societal values.
The ‘Futures of Youth Work’ research report is now published and available and we want to encourage you to explore it. The European landscape of youth work is changing, and we need to be proactive in being ready for it and this report provides the perfect resource for that.
The European Academy on Youth Work also has two other resources. One is very much linked to future thinking. The game Window to the Future, which was created by Anita Silva, is a reflection tool for starting conversations about what the future might hold for our communities from different perspectives. It also encourages the conversation to explore how we can co-create a better future.
The other resource is the Innovation+ Toolbox! This resource has been created to support you in bringing more innovation to your Erasmus+ projects – and elsewhere in your work.