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 organ...
Jul 30, 2025•33 min•Ep. 54
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, Ta...
Jun 30, 2025•26 min•Ep. 53
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 modul...
Apr 28, 2025•34 min•Ep. 52
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 ...
Mar 17, 2025•25 min•Ep. 51
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 ...
Feb 17, 2025•32 min•Ep. 50
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...
Jan 16, 2025•32 min•Ep. 49
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...
Dec 02, 2024•29 min•Ep. 48
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 ....
Nov 10, 2023•30 min•Ep. 47
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 ...
Sep 21, 2023•26 min•Ep. 46
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 t...
May 25, 2023•36 min•Ep. 45
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 Univers...
Mar 08, 2023•28 min•Ep. 44
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 a...
Jan 19, 2023•30 min•Ep. 43
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 Europe...
Dec 22, 2022•34 min•Ep. 42
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? SAL...
Oct 20, 2022•31 min•Ep. 41
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 B...
Oct 06, 2022•29 min•Ep. 40
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 politica...
Sep 01, 2022•24 min•Ep. 39
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...
Aug 18, 2022•28 min•Ep. 38
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 o...
Aug 04, 2022•24 min•Ep. 37
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....
Jul 22, 2022•17 min•Ep. 36
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 b...
Jul 07, 2022•31 min•Ep. 35
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...
Jun 25, 2022•30 min•Ep. 34
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 a...
Jun 23, 2022•30 min•Ep. 33
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 ...
Jun 10, 2022•42 min•Ep. 32
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? 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 qu...
Jun 02, 2022•29 min•Ep. 31
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: Olen...
May 25, 2022•34 min•Ep. 30
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 internati...
May 05, 2022•28 min•Ep. 29
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...
Apr 21, 2022•31 min•Ep. 28
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 organisat...
Apr 07, 2022•32 min•Ep. 27
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 Pr...
Mar 31, 2022•33 min•Ep. 26
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...
Mar 24, 2022•32 min•Ep. 25
