This report is part of a series of international reviews of national youth policies carried out by the Council of Europe in collaboration and consultation with government agencies and ministries responsible for the development and implementation of youth policy, as well as with non-governmental youth organisations. The reviews are carried out by an international team which outlines the strengths and challenges of the countries' youth policies in a constructive manner, drawing where appropriate upon broader international evidence and debate. The international review process was established to fulfil three distinct objectives: - to advise on national youth policy; - to identify components which might combine to form an approach to youth policy across Europe; - to contribute to a learning process in relation to the development and implementation of youth policy.

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 Today, we know much more about national and European youth policy, the role of research, participation of young people and monitoring and evaluation of youth policy than we did when the first Youth policy manual was published in 2009 by the EU–Council of Europe youth partnership. The concept of youth policy can be very narrowly or very broadly constructed. This volume positions youth policy in the context of public policy and reflects on the complex, cyclical nature of policy making, bringing together the results of knowledge gathering and debates central to the European agenda in the field over the last 15 years. Thematically, the manual 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. We hope that the five parts of the manual, from the conceptual to the practical, and through a range of examples and questions for reflection, will help you to explore, understand and engage with the youth policy framework in your context, from your own perspective, and will provide you with a sense of all the stages of youth policy making. Most importantly, the manual includes a wide range of standards, tools and resources developed by and for the benefit of youth policy makers, youth work practitioners, youth researchers and young people across Europe. It is About Time! we strengthen the youth sector further to develop a new generation of positive and purposeful youth policies in Europe!

Why do we need evidence based youth policies? International in scope, this book presents a systematic and interdisciplinary reflection on what has been termed the “magic triangle”, i.e., the relationship between youth policies, youth research and practical youth work, based on the necessity of organising knowledge exchange between different actors in the youth field. On this basis, researchers from across the globe analyse and discuss youth policy development, the theories that underlie youth policy, as well as the models and impact of youth policy in different societies. They respond by: - Analysing the impact of economic, social and cultural change on young people in different world regions, locations and social contexts; - Presenting and explaining theories of youth; - Discussing strategies for the development and implementation of youth policies in different world regions; - Evaluating the impact of current youth policies at regional, national and international levels; - Analysing and discussing applied models of cross sectional policy and practice in the youth sector; - Discussing contributions of youth research to the development of evidence based youth policies in areas such as values, employment, participation, citizenship, migration, social exclusion and vulnerability.

If we consider the 50 states having ratified the European Cultural Convention of the Council of Europe or the member states of the European Union, the multiple and divergent nature of the realities, theories, concepts and strategies underlying the expression “youth work” becomes evident. Across Europe, youth work takes place in circumstances presenting enormous differences with regard to opportunities, support, structures, recognition and realities, and how it performs reflects the social, cultural, political and economic context, and the value systems in which it is undertaken. By analysing theories and concepts of youth work and by providing insight from various perspectives and geographical and professional backgrounds, the authors hope to further contribute to finding common ground for – and thus assure the quality of – youth work in general. Presenting its purified and essential concept is not the objective here. The focus rather is on describing how to “provide opportunities for all young people to shape their own futures”, as Peter Lauritzen described the fundamental mission of youth work. The best way to do this remains an open question. This Youth Knowledge book tries to find some answers and strives to communicate the strengths, capacities and impact of youth work to those within the youth sector and those beyond, to those familiar with its concepts and those new to this field, all the while sharing practices and insights and encouraging further reflection.

The EU-CoE youth partnership stems from the close relations that the Council of Europe and the European Commission have developed in the youth field over the years since 1998. The overall goal is to foster synergies between the youth-oriented activities of the two institutions. The specific themes are participation/citizenship, social inclusion, recognition and quality of youth work. What is youth policy, and what major elements should a national youth policy strategy include? How can young people be consulted and otherwise involved in developing youth policy? How do institutions such as the European Union, the Council of Europe and the United Nations address youth policy, and how can this work be concretely linked to the efforts of a national government to develop a youth policy agenda? How is youth policy organised in specific countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region? These are some of the essential questions addressed in this publication. The Youth policy manual should be considered a source work, a tool and a helpful guide both for policy makers in the youth field and for non-governmental organisations and other stakeholder groups who advocate improved youth policy at the national level. This manual proposes one possible model for how a national youth policy strategy can be developed. It is a revised version of the Youth policy manual (2009) and takes into account relevant specificities of the MENA region.

Youth Policy explains how the Council of Europe and the EC have developed their policies for youth, guides the reader through current programmes and discusses proposals affecting the immediate future.

This volume contains three studies that address important and complementary aspects of youth work as it is developing in the Member States of the European Union. Chapter 1, Youth Structures and Policies at National Level, has two parts. The first describes the specific nature of youth policies carried out by the various governments and the underlying concepts and the terminology used. The second part is an overview of the type and direction of youth policies in the Member States, stressing some aspects of convergence and divergence. Chapter 2, Youth Structures and Policies at Regional and Local Level, analyzes the regional and local dimension of youth policies. Part 1 describes regional and local structures and the corresponding youth policies implemented by the Member States. It pinpoints the particular features of each Member State and highlights common features, convergences, and areas suitable for the development of cooperation at European level. Part 2 highlights the objectives of youth policies and the social problems they attempt to resolve. Chapter 3, Youth Worker Training, is divided into two parts. The first consists of tables and brief commentaries that present the training systems for youth workers set up by the different Member States. The second describes those aspects in common and identifies converging trends that are determining the current situation in youth work. (YLB)

Since 2008, the European Union–Council of Europe youth partnership has regularly organised debates and discussions on the history of youth work policy and practice in various countries in Europe, in co-operation with its partners. The results have been published in three volumes of the Youth Knowledge Series. Volume 4 of the History of youth work in Europe, edited by Marti Taru, Filip Coussée and Howard Williamson, covers the 2011 workshop in Tallinn, which was co-organised by the European Union–Council of Europe youth partnership and the Estonian authorities with the support of Finnish and Flemish partners, and sums up the discussions in the previous three volumes.

Ukraine is the 19th country overall, and the third of the Commonwealth of independent States (following Armenia and Moldova) to have its youth policy reviewed by the Council of Europe's international review team. Ukraine presented a range of new challenges: it was by far the largest country geographically and it embodied geo-political characteristics (from North to South, and East to West) that are reflected in its philosophy and approach to youth policy development. This international review explores three issues of particular interest to the Ukrainian authorities: health and healthy lifestyles, employment and employability, and patriotic education and citizenship, in addition, the international review pays special attention to questions of youth participation and engagement, and to those groups of "vulnerable" young people who are at most risk of social exclusion. The review argues for the establishment of a more open development model for youth policy in Ukraine, supported by a clear strategic vision and the strengthening of its commitment to local capacity and autonomy in shaping relevant programmes and projects, in particular, it also advocates the promotion of more diverse methodologies in the implementation of youth policy, based on non-formal learning and skills-development principles.