Bridges for Recognition

Leuven19-23 January 2005

Presentation: Pierre MairesseEuropean Commission, DG EAC: Acting Director

Youth, Civil Society, Communication

Relevance of youth work and non-formal education (NFE)

The situation (see White Paper on youth)- Personal pathways become individualised- Longer orientation phases- Risk of marginalisation

Youth work and NFE- Contribute to personal development- Bridge gap between school and employment- Foster inclusion and participation in public life- Are frequently linked to international mobility (YOUTH programme: 150.000 participants/year)

Need for recognition of youth work and non–formal education (NFE)

- To ensure improvement of the quality of youth work and NFE by setting standards

- To increase feedback to young people on their achievements in the context of NFE- To have an impact on the labour market - To increase competitiveness in an international context (European Council of Lisbon)

Key policy elements (1)

- European Council of Lisbon

- “Lifelong learning” strategy

- “Non-formal learning” and “Non-formal education”

Key policy elements (2)

White Paper “A new impetus for European youth”suggests:

- A clearer definition of concepts, of skills acquired and of quality standards;- Higher regard for the people who become involved in these (youth work) activities;- Greater recognition of these activities;- Greater complementarity with formal education and training

What is being done in YOUTH?

- Policy dimension and project dimension

- Social and formal recognition e.g. plan to certify/validate participation in YOUTH Actions (already exists for Action 2);e.g. development of a validation instrument for the Actions of the YOUTH programme and its integration into EUROPASS;e.g. cooperation with the Council of Europe in establishing a European portfolio for youth workers and youth leaders

Bridges for Recognition - Aims

- To bring together youth workers and policy makers

- To gather policy makers from different fields

- To inform each other about core topics

- To develop a common understanding

- To exchange examples of good practice

- To better know each other’s needs

- To increase synergies between the people involved

- To increase the visibility of youth work and non- formal education

Main challenges

- Greater coherence between the diverse key players, policies and instruments involved- Active participation of young people in the process- Better comparability of methods and approaches- Enhanced complementarity of formal, non-formal and informal learning- Simplicity and effectiveness, accessibility and visibility of validation and recognition procedures and instruments- Focus on the European added value