3. Smart Youth Work

 

In 2012 the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research started discussions about future aims and objectives in youth policy and youth work in Estonia. The preparation of the national strategy for youth field  “Youth Field Development Plan 2014-2020” included discussions about ICT skills and competencies of young people, but also about the increasing impact digital technologies have on working with and for young people. During those discussion the term nutikas noorsootöö ie smart youth work was born. It was also included in the text of the strategy paper, when it was approved by the Government in 2013.

 

Digital youth work and using digital tools in youth work was by that time already an important issue for many countries and organisations in Europe. Finland has been one of the frontrunners in this area. According to Suvi Tuominen from Verke – the national Centre of Expertise for Digital Youth Work in Finland, it could be said that digital media and technology have been included in youth work in Finland as long as digital media has existed; since early 2000’s young people in Finland have been offered the possibility to get in contact with youth workers in online communities and social media services; a network of youth work organisation working with online services aimed at young people in Finland was created in 2007;  etc.[1]

 

The experiences from Estonia and Finland are just illustrating the emerging importance of understanding the impact digital technologies have on working with young people in any context, but especially in youth work. At the level of the European Union, digital youth work and smart youth work have been discussed more intensively since 2016 staring with establishing a specific priority to act upon in the European Council Working Plan on Youth 2016-2018. In 2017 conclusions on smart youth work were approved by the European Council.

 

This chapter looks at the work done at the EU level to conceptualise digital youth work and to define common understanding about smart youth work, at Estonian approach including the explanation about the relationship of the smart and the digital youth work.

 

In this chapter:

3.1. Conceptualising digital youth work in the European Union

3.2. Conclusions on the smart youth work

3.3. Estonian approach to smart youth work