Youth work/ youth education

The task of youth work is to support young people in their development into independent and socially responsible individuals. Youth work also gives young people the opportunity to play an active role in shaping our society and thus remain or become a youth-oriented and future-oriented society. Youth work supports young people in mastering the core challenges of the youth phase of life, qualification, independence and self-positioning. The services offered by youth work should be based on the needs and interests of young people, be co-determined by them, enable them to make their own decisions and encourage and guide them towards social participation, shared responsibility and social commitment.

Youth work is a mandatory service of the public youth welfare organization and an independent part of youth welfare. Among other things, youth welfare performs educational tasks and represents the concerns and interests of young people in public.

In concrete terms, youth work can be understood as a wide range of educational, non-commercial, experiential and experience-related activities in the leisure time of children and young people. These activities are characterized by a high degree of self-determination on the part of children and young people. The services offered by youth work also reflect the fact that youth work is characterized to a particularly high degree by the voluntary commitment of young people. In addition, youth work must ensure that a suitable social infrastructure is provided for children and young people in the various communities.

Youth work services are provided by independent youth welfare organizations, in particular youth associations, but also clubs, initiatives, etc. and public agencies, in particular the youth welfare offices, but also municipal associations, local communities and cities.