Policy on Youthwork
2014 -2018

The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture
The Icelandic Council of Youth

August 2014

Content
1. Introduction

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2. Goals

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1. Nationwide organisation regarding youth issues are coordinated in order tofacilitate cooperation between all parties engaged in issues of youth.

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2. The participation of children and adolescents in youth work is bolstered 			and the activities account for the needs of each individual.

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3. Children and adolescents should have direct impact on policy making anddecisions concerning youth work.
4. The funding of youth work is secure and equality is ensured in the allocation of funds.

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5. Information and the mediation of information concerning youth work must account 			
for the needs, expectations and situations of children and adolescents.

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6. The education and training of those who work within the field of youth issues is
professional and it facilitates increased quality in youth work.

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7. Diversity is encouraged in research within the field of youth issues and it isensured that research findings are used for the benefit of youth work.
Closing Words

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Policy on Youthwork
2014 - 20183

1. Introduction
The process of policy on youthwork here presented is a result of the Icelandic Youth Council’s labour,
whose practices are in accordance with youth law (nr. 70/2007). The role of the Youth Council is, among
other things, to draft proposals regarding “emphasises and policy making in the field of youth issues”,
and the policy making process sketched here is part of this procedure. The aim of the policy making is
to delimit important projects which parties involved with the field of youth issues have to address in thecoming years.
In policy on youthwork, an emphasis is placed on aspects that facilitate a necessary development andprogression of youth issues in Iceland. The policy making process has a long precursor and has come tobe through the work of the Youth Council over the past four years. The process and work methods are
explicated in the closing words.
In the making of the policy, a certain impasse within the field concerning definitions and concepts cameto light. It is important to call attention to these problems, given the fact that a shared understanding ofkey terms is necessary in this kind of practice. The policy also discloses an urgency to systematically workon these issues and more clearly explicate key terms.
The policy is structured as follows: First, a definition of seven central goals, aimed for in the field of youth
issues in the coming years. Second, several ways in which these goals can be achieved are enumerated.
Furthermore, parties responsible for the implementation of these goals are suggested, as well as listing
ways to measure progress.
Further steps include working on ways to execute each plan and to set them in motion. This must takeplace through collaboration between the Youth Council, the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture,
the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Welfare, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, themunicipalities, social organisations, universities and research institutions.
A list of references brought to bear in the policy making process is presented at the end of the summary.
It is moreover suggested that the policy in youth issues should take effect from 2014 to 2018.

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2. Goals
The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture’s policy in youth issues accounts for, among otherthings, the legal obligations of the government in accordance with articles regarding the YouthCouncil (Laws on Youth nr. 70/2007) and government contracts with organisations, associations andparties involved with youth issues. The policy applies specifically to organised youth activities as it isdefined in abovementioned laws, i.e. organised social and leisure work where children and adolescents
collectively work in their leisure time toward ideals, goals and interests which they consider important.

The following goals should be aimed for:1. Nationwide organisation regarding youth issues are coordinated in order to facilitate cooperation
between all parties engaged in issues of youth.
2. The participation of children and adolescents in youth work is bolstered and the activities accountfor the needs of each individual.
3. Children and adolescents should have direct impact on policy making and decisions concerning
youth work.
4. The funding of youth work is secure and equality is ensured in the allocation of funds.
5. Information and the mediation of information concerning youth work must account for the needs,expectations and situations of children and adolescents.
6. The education and training of those who work within the field of youth issues is professional and it
facilitates increased quality in youth work.
7. Diversity is encouraged in research within the field of youth issues and it is ensured that researchfindings are used for the benefit of youth work.

51. Nationwide organisation regarding youth issues are coordinated inorder to facilitate cooperation between all parties engaged in issuesof youth

One of the roles of the Youth Council is to facilitate cooperation between youth organisations, social organisations, schools and municipalities regarding issues of youth. A greater number of parties (individuals, groups,businesses) also support issues of youth for longer or shorter periods of time. One of the main flaws in theorganisation of youth issues in Iceland is therefore a lack of a single shared forum of cooperation and dialogue
for everyone concerned with youth issues. By creating shared space, an important and professional exponent
for children, adolescents and youth work would be created. It is imperative that the environment and organisation of youth work are constantly developing and that they take aim of the requirements of modernity. This iswhy changes must be made in the organisation of youth issues.

Ways:• Systematically work toward increased cooperation and dialogue between all parties engaged in youth
work and between those who deliberate regarding youth work.
• Establish a cooperative forum for everyone involved in youth work in cooperation with independentsocial organisations, the youth work of municipalities and others with the aim of, among otherthings, bolstering cooperation and collaboration between respective parties and to create a single
strengthened exponent in the field of youth issues.
• Ensure that the new shared cooperative space for youth work has an increased presence within public
policy making.
• Reconsider youth law.
• Create a securer frame around laws which stipulate what kind of services public parties should offer
children and adolescents in leisure time.
• Define quality criteria for public parties who work with youth issues, such as, concerning the activities
of community centres for teenagers and leisure centres.
• Reconsider the role of the Icelandic Youth Council.
• Ensure that young people have direct access to the management of youth issues and that their issues
are represented by a member in the Youth Council.
• A stronger budget becomes the basis of a more efficient organisation.
• Ensure that new organisations, groups and individuals who work within the field of youth issues areable to extract support from the government and municipalities.

Responsibility: The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, municipalities and independent socialorganisations.
Assessment: Review and scorecard will be made latest in 2018.
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2. The participation of children and adolescents in youth work isbolstered and the activities account for the needs of each individual.

The participation of children and adolescents in youth work must be increased and the varying needs ofindividuals and groups must be taken into account. The fact that youth work has social, preventative,
pedagogical, cultural and educational value has to be kept in mind. The government’s contribution therefore
must ensure that all children and adolescents are afforded equal opportunities with regard to the participation in youth work without discrimination of any kind, such as, based on race, skin colour, gender, sexuality,
nationality or social position, property possession, disability, descent, or other conditions which might affectthem, or their family or legal guardians.

Ways:• Systematically account for the varying needs of individuals, groups and organisations in drafting
plans for youth issues.
• Ensure that the environment and facilities for youth work are accessible for all and increase thevisibility of given facilities.
• Ensure participation of marginalized groups and minorities in youth work.
• Encourage active participation of both genders in youth work.
• Facilitate balance between participation in youth work, other leisure work, family life and education.
• Guarantee all young people easier access to governance and services, for example through increased electronic services.

Responsibility: The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, municipalities and independent socialorganisations.
Assessment: Review and scorecard will be made latest in 2018.
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3. Children and adolescents should have direct impact on policy making and decisions concerning youth work

Laws regarding youth issues claim the following: “All activities involving children and adolescents should aim
to ensure their welfare and encourage them to be innovative and to actively participate.” Youth work should
therefore increase social skills and prepare children and adolescents for participation in a democratic society.
Basing youth work on the needs of children and adolescents is important; as is their direct impact on issues thatconcern them and that they are able to assume actual responsibility.

Ways:• Bolster the democratic influence of children and adolescents in relation to the policy making of thegovernment and municipalities.
• Emphasise increased democratic practice in youth work and the participation of children and adolescents in all decisions regarding policy making.
• Respect and follow the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in all youth work and inform children
about the treaty.
• Increase the influence of youth sectors of social organisations and municipalities in policy making anddecisions.
• Found a democratic forum for children and adolescents through which young people’s perspective aremediated to the government.
• Offer direct democracy in which children and adolescents can vote on issues that concern them. This iscarried out within a space that is appropriate for children and adolescents.

Responsibility: The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, municipalities and independent socialorganisations.
Assessment: Review and scorecard will be made latest in 2018.
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4. The funding of youth work is secure and equality is ensured in
the allocation of funds

The economic foundation of the parties engaged in youth work varies. Activities organised by schools,
municipalities and larger organisations are based on securer channels of funding while various independent organisations, groups and individuals are often faced with financial uncertainties. This difference infinancial circumstances must be evened out by, among other things, ensuring equality in the allocationof funds.

Ways:• Ensure increased and securer funding of youth work.
• Ensure that the government and municipalities retain measures of equality in the allocation offunds to youth issues.
• Develop means by which the new shared cooperative forum for youth work is able to influence
decision making in relation to funding for youth issues.

Responsibility: The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, municipalities and independent socialorganisations.
Assessment: Review and scorecard will be made latest in 2018.
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5. Information and the mediation of information concerning
youth work must account for the needs, expectations and situations of children and adolescentsThe mediation of information as well as people’s pattern of communication has undergone great transformation in recent decades. Young people are generally quick to adapt to technological developments
in media and communication. The mediation of information and communication increasingly takes place
within social media. Administrators and other parties engaged in youth work must adjust the frameworkof youth work and the mediation of information to children and adolescents to these transformations.

Ways:• Utilize contemporary technology and social media to increase the flow of information andfacilitate increased participation in youth work.
• Encourage the use of social media in leisure work and youth work.
• Present the use of social media within youth work which is in accordance with the requirements of modernity.
• Ensure that children and adolescents adopt communication patterns on social media that are incompliance with the ethical values of society.

Responsibility: The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, municipalities and independentsocial organisations.
Assessment: Review and scorecard will be made latest in 2018.
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6. The education and training of those who work within the fieldof youth issues is professional and it facilitates increased quality inyouth work

Maximising professionalism, education and training in the field of youth issues is the shared role of government, municipalities and parties engaged in youth work. The societal demands on those who work withchildren in schools and sports and other youth work are constantly growing. Important developments havetaken place in relation to these issues. Around a decade ago, education in leisure studies and social education was established on the university level. Furthermore, many social organisations have their own system ofeducation and training (informal education systems) for their leaders. It is therefore urgent to further increase
the quality of the activities and ensure that quality and professionalism is the guiding principle in all youth
work. Here, the increased education and training of top level individuals is the key.

Ways:
• Build more diverse foundations for basic and continuing education for individuals working withyouth issues.
• Increase the requirements for education and experience of those of work within the field of youth
issues.
• Create a rigorous legal frame around parties working with youth issues in which their rights andduties are stipulated.
• Formally evaluate and recognise the training and education that takes place within youth organisations.
• Bolster university studies in the field of leisure studies and social education.

Responsibility: The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, municipalities and independent socialorganisations.
Assessment: Review and scorecard will be made latest in 2018.
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7. Diversity is encouraged in research within the field of youth issues
and it is ensured that research findings are used for the benefit ofyouth workUniversities, research institutions and parties engaged in youth work are able to facilitate increased development and knowledge regarding youth work through substantial research. It is important to ensure diversity
in research and promote innovation and recruitment in research on youth. Special care must be taken toensure that data and findings are systematically utilised in order to improve and strengthen youth work in
the country.

Ways:• Always safeguard the interests of Icelandic youth in policy making regarding Icelandic youthresearch.
• Allocate research funds to the Icelandic Centre for Research mandated by the ministry.
• Ensure innovation and necessary recruitment in research on youth issues and pave the way for innovative research subjects.
• Facilitate ongoing longitudinal research within the field of youth issues.
• Strengthen researchers’ service to social organisations.
• Shape policy concerning open access to data gathered by means of public funding for the benefitof other researchers.

Responsibility: The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, municipalities and independent socialorganisations.
Assessment: Review and scorecard will be made latest in 2018.
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Closing Words
On the shaping of the policy
The policy has been shaped over a long period of time and has come to be through the work of the council overthe last four years.
In the spring months of 2012, the Icelandic Council of Youth was joined by an advisor who was given the roleof project manager and editor of the policy making process. The steering committee of the Youth Council held anumber of meetings from May to October 2012 in which the emphasis was placed on policy making and stage
analysis. A so-called SWOT-analysis was, among other things, the fruits of that labour. During the fall months of2012, a survey was designed and then sent via the internet. The survey was sent to most parties involved in youth
work, organisations, institutions, groups and staff from varying municipality community centres. Moreover, theadvisor conducted interviews with staff from ministries, institutions and other parties concerned with the issue.
The steering committee initiated a meeting between then Minister of Education, Science and Culture, Katrín
Jakobsdóttir, and representatives from the youth councils of the municipalities in October 2012. The meeting
was attended by around 50 youngsters, aged 15-20. They discussed their opinions with the minister and actively
partook in group work which revolved around the position and future of youth work. Moreover, during thepolicy making process, existing information regarding work on the analysis and shaping of policy in youth issues
from the last three years, was summoned, as well as other research findings within the field, see references.
The policy on youthwork was publically presented on the 10th of December 2012 and afterwards, parties working in the field were invited to hand in comments. Comments came from 11 parties and the newly formed YouthCouncil surveyed all the comments with the aim of taking them into consideration.
The comments revealed, among other things, criticism on the work methods utilized in the policy making process. Various social organisations expressed that they had wished for stronger involvement in the process. All
parties who sent in comments were invited to a meeting with the Youth Council, where they expressed theirviews and comments on the policy making process. Following a detailed review, the Youth Council emphasised
strongly that the comments would be addressed to the extent possible.
“Policy on Youthwork 2014-2018” presumes that the work in the field of youth issues will generally focus onaspects most widely agreed upon. With these emphasises in mind, necessary developments in youth issues inIceland will be expedited.
“Policy on Youthwork 2014-2018” was approved unanimously in the Youth Council on the 5th of June 2014.
Furthermore, minor alterations in phrasing and suggestions by a proof-reader were unanimously approved in a
meeting of the Youth Council on the 11th of August 2014.

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Ingibjörg Valgeirsdóttir, chairman

Margrét SigurðardóttirJakob Frímann Þorsteinsson, vice-chairmanRagnheiður SigurðardóttirÁsta Björg Björgvinsdóttir Hreiðar Már ÁrnasonSigurður GuðmundssonMargrét Vala Gylfadóttir

Valur Rafn Halldórsson

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