1. Bridges for Recognition Leuven 19-23 January 2005 Presentation: Pierre Mairesse European Commission, DG EAC: Acting Director Youth, Civil Society, Communication

2. Relevance of youth work and non-formal education (NFE) The situation (see White Paper on youth) - Personal pathways become individualised - Longer orientation phases - Risk of marginalisation Youth work and NFE - Contribute to personal development - Bridge gap between school and employment - Foster inclusion and participation in public life - Are frequently linked to international mobility (YOUTH programme: 150.000 participants/year)

3. Need for recognition of youth work and non–formal education (NFE) - To ensure improvement of the quality of youth work and NFE by setting standards - To increase feedback to young people on their achievements in the context of NFE - To have an impact on the labour market - To increase competitiveness in an international context (European Council of Lisbon)

4. Key policy elements (1) - European Council of Lisbon - “Lifelong learning” strategy - “Non-formal learning” and “Non-formal education”

5. Key policy elements (2) White Paper “A new impetus for European youth” suggests: - A clearer definition of concepts, of skills acquired and of quality standards; - Higher regard for the people who become involved in these (youth work) activities; - Greater recognition of these activities; - Greater complementarity with formal education and training

6. What is being done in YOUTH? - Policy dimension and project dimension - Social and formal recognition e.g. plan to certify/validate participation in YOUTH Actions (already exists for Action 2); e.g. development of a validation instrument for the Actions of the YOUTH programme and its integration into EUROPASS; e.g. cooperation with the Council of Europe in establishing a European portfolio for youth workers and youth leaders

7. Bridges for Recognition - Aims - To bring together youth workers and policy makers - To gather policy makers from different fields - To inform each other about core topics - To develop a common understanding - To exchange examples of good practice - To better know each other’s needs - To increase synergies between the people involved - To increase the visibility of youth work and non- formal education

8. Main challenges - Greater coherence between the diverse key players, policies and instruments involved - Active participation of young people in the process - Better comparability of methods and approaches - Enhanced complementarity of formal, non-formal and informal learning - Simplicity and effectiveness, accessibility and visibility of validation and recognition procedures and instruments - Focus on the European added value