Our story
We are enthusiasts for working with youth and young people. We follow trends in their lives, innovations in education, support the involvement of young people and influence youth policy. For some of us, working with young people has been a mission and a hobby since the 1990s, others jumped on this train later. In 2015, we decided to establish the YouthWatch organization, which aims to contribute to improving the quality of youth work and youth policy, bringing innovation and developing young people and youth workers.
We believe in young people and perceive the need to understand and know their needs, to share them with the community of people who work young people. We support policy-level changes so that young people can live better and have the opportunity to be full and active members of society.
4 pillars
Youth policy
At YouthWatch, we understand youth policy as the management of public affairs in order to improve the quality of life of the young. We are aware that a proper and effective policy is based on the knowledge about young people of today.
Examples of areas we cover:
- Setting up a youth policy system;
- Conducting surveys on youth policy topics at various levels;
- Assessment of the state of individual areas of youth policy at various levels;
- History and development of youth policy in Slovakia.
Quality and innovation in youth work
At YouthWatch, we see the goal of youth work evenly with the Council of Europe: to create such opportunities that will help young people shape their own future. We see youth work as a term including many diverse activities (social, cultural, educational, political, etc.) that ease one’s transit to adulthood. We are aware that the quality of youth work will also affect the quality of current and future young people, so it is crucial to support those who work with them.
Examples of areas we cover:
- development of youth work for the target group 16+;
- recognition and validation of non-formal education in youth work;
- news and innovations in education;
- gaining and deepening of expertise of volunteer and professional youth workers.
Social responsibility
Experience is non-transferable. If we want young people to be once responsible and active citizens, they must gain this experience. We have been dealing with the topic of how to develop the activity of young people and their interest in public affairs for a long time. We realize that today’s age of consumption and individualism requires new approaches and methods that will make activism and citizenship attractive to today’s young people.
Examples of areas we cover:
- support for young activists – youth leaders;
- setting up complex systems for the development of youth activism at various levels.
Trends and needs of youth
There is no universal way or approach to which all young people respond. Youth is an extremely diverse group. Sensitively capturing what is happening in individual groups of young people, analyzing their needs and interpreting these needs to various actors (politicians, educators, employers…) is an area where we can provide experience and information.
Examples of areas we cover:
- trends in the lives of young people;
- the needs of young people;
- the future of young people.
VISION
Our vision is filled with young people actively building the world around them, young people, who are recognized as an important part of the society and correspondingly supported.
MISSION
We contribute to improvement in youth work and youth policy quality by following trends, bringing innovation and developing young people as well as those who work with them.