Youth Policy in the Context of Smart Socialization

Abstract

Youth policy can be defined as the entirety of systems and measures, aspiring for the most favourable terms for personal maturity of a young person and successful integration into society. The main principle and main tool for reaching goals in the field of youth policy is youth work. Youth work covers a broad scope of activities of a social, cultural, educational or political nature by, with, and for young people. Increasingly, such activities also include sport and services for young people. Youth work is based on non-formal and informal learning processes, and has a unique role as a provider of non-formal learning opportunities to all young people. Youth worker is a very important figure in youth work (youth worker in Lithuania is seen as a specialist who implements public policy rather than a representative of a certain profession). Youth worker is an adult who works with young people in their leisure time and encourages their personal and social development through work with individuals, groups or communities. Lithuania has developed a good institutional model of youth policy that creates space and good conditions for the formation of youth social competencies and successful integration into active public life as well as integration or reintegration into the educational system or the labor market. Youth work is well-developed too, but some challenges are still on the road. The proper infrastructure (open youth centers and spaces) has been developed and youth work is carried out by employees with the appropriate expertise. But at the same time it is identified that still not all Lithuanian regions have established youth centers and open spaces that can provide young people with quality education and self-expression. None of Lithuanian higher education institutions prepare youth workers; this fact is deepening the future problem that there will be no suitable professionals capable of providing those services. Municipalities are suggested to actively establish youth centers and open spaces in the missing areas. It is considered as an example that social workers, social pedagogues could be retrained to youth workers qualifications, thereby increasing their competencies and developing the ability to provide quality services to youth centers and open spaces. At the state level, it is necessary to ensure the dissemination of the youth work outcomes in order to form a positive image of the youth work system and show the results of what is accomplished through the youth work as a tool in the context of other policies, e.g. social policy and employment policy. Based on the analysis of young people involvement in youth programs and activities as well as monitoring the unemployment development trends and forecasts of young people (under 25 years), it is presumed that an active youth participation in social life, like youth work and youth organizations, has a positive influence on more successful integration of young people into the labor market. Keywords: youth policy, youth work, integration, social inclusion, smart socialization. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15823/su.2015.31