OPEN YOUTHWORK FOR OPEN SOCIETY
Give a chance to Informal Youth Centres
Results
Tools to Strengthen and Support Open Youth Work
This section offers a set of practical tools, reflections, and resources to help implement, recognise, and sustain open youth work across different contexts.
The materials explore key dimensions such as the role of space and time, the importance of skilled youth workers, and the social impact of youth centres.
Whether you’re a practitioner, policymaker, or advocate, you’ll find insights, recommendations, and examples to support your efforts in making youth work more inclusive, visible, and effective.
Downloadable resources — including a booklet and a handout — offer deeper analysis, real-life cases, and tested methodologies from the project Open Youth Work for Open Society.
Space, time and conditions
A youth centre is more than just a physical space — it must be a place that welcomes, connects, and has a clear identity. Yet, space alone is not enough.
To truly work, it must align with the right timing: from public concessions and recognition to the rhythms of youth participation and evolving needs. The real challenge is balancing institutional timelines with those of young people. Here, public policy and administration can make a decisive difference.
Youth Workers for Open Youth Work
Youth workers are the key to successful youth work. Young people can shape and take ownership of a space — but only if guided by professionals who encourage, support and challenge them.
This role requires a mix of skills, attitudes and personal qualities: some can be trained, others depend on the individual’s character.
A more detailed list of these qualities is available in the downloadable document on this page.
Benefits of supporting Open Youth Work
Open Youth Centres bring concrete value to society — not only for young people, but for communities as a whole. They generate social, economic and personal benefits, and contribute to active citizenship and social cohesion.
A summary of the key advantages of Open Youth Work is available in the downloadable document on this page.
Download the Booklet
The downloadable booklet on this page presents the results of the project “Open Youth Work for Open Society – Give a Chance to Informal Youth Centres”. It offers an overview of the process, methodologies used, and key outcomes. The findings show how open youth work strengthens young people’s skills, encouraging them to take initiative and play an active role in their communities.
Download the Handout
The downloadable handout on this page provides a practical summary of the project’s key recommendations and tools for implementing, supporting, and recognising open youth work.
It is designed as a quick and accessible resource for youth workers, policy makers, and anyone interested in strengthening informal youth centres.