European Academy on Youth Work, 4th edition

WHAT IS THE EUROPEAN ACADEMY ON YOUTH WORK (EAYW)?

The EAYW aims to promote the development of quality youth work, to support its capacity to react to current and future developments, and to contribute to creating a common ground on youth work and youth work policy. To this end, it focuses on supporting innovation in youth work, as a response to the trends, challenges and uncertainties faced by young people in today’s fast-changing societies.

The EAYW offers a platform for reflection, exchange and knowledge gathering on trends and developments in and with relevance to the youth field in Europe, and on innovative youth work responses to these trends and developments. In this way, it contributes to a European youth work ecosystem that supports quality development and innovation in youth work.

Residential EAYW events are held biennially and bring together 150 – 200 participants. In between these events, the EAYW organises smaller-scale activities (online and residential), undertakes research projects and develops educational tools and resources on the topic of the Academy – innovation and future readiness in youth work.

The EAYW is a strategic cooperation of National Agencies of the Erasmus+ programme, youth field, and the European Solidarity Corps and SALTO-YOUTH Resource Centres (1).

More information: www.eayw.net.

ABOUT THE FOURTH EAYW EVENT: CONNECTING DOTS AND MOVING FORWARD, TOGETHER

At the latest since the Covid-19 pandemic, disruption seems to have become a constant condition. The world keeps changing fast, new developments and challenges are appearing on the horizon, adding on to those that have already been existing for some time – from developments in AI and technology, climate change, wars and conflicts, the erosion of democratic systems, the rise of populism and the far right, aging populations etc. -, all of them impacting young people and youth work. The youth work field in Europe is additionally impacted by uncertainty related to the transition period between the end of the current Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes and the beginning of the next generation of Erasmus+.

On this background, the 4th EAYW event aims to offer a space to the youth work community of practice for reflecting and discussing how youth workers can move forward, individually and collectively, in these times of uncertainty and change.

The 4th EAYW event will be hosted by MOVIT, the Slovenian National Agency for Erasmus+, youth, and the European Solidarity Corps, in cooperation with the EAYW partners. It will take place over three days from 5th May afternoon – 8th May mid-day 2026 in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. Participants are expected to arrive at the venue by 16:00 hrs on 5th of May and to depart after 14:00 on 8th of May.

This EAYW event will be closing the cycle of the Academy under the current generation of EU youth programmes. Building on the experiences and outcomes of EAYW so far, the fourth EAYW will a bridging event, representing an occasion for looking back and celebrating achievements as well as looking forward and identifying action for steps youth work can take to move forward.

Attention will be given to raising awareness about and addressing the challenges and the uncertainty that the youth work field is facing, looking ahead, and stimulating reflections and discussions about possible responses supporting positive, preferable futures, which can be initiated in different contexts.

The specific objectives of the Fourth EAYW Event are to:

• Celebrate the Academy’s efforts and achievements.
• Build knowledge & capacity around the themes of future-oriented thinking, innovation and change.
• Support youth workers' collective resilience and sense of agency. 
• Create space to reflect on how youth work can move forward in times of uncertainty.
• Strengthen the youth work community and inspire new ideas and initiatives for the future.

PROGRAMME

Key features will include:

• Plenary sessions, which aim to address key cross-cutting themes like change, innovation, resilience and agency. The aim is to inspire collective reflection within the field and provide “container” space for the more specific Deep Dive conversations. The plenary sessions will also provide moments for collective sense making and discovering the source of the future movement in the youth work field.  
• Deep Dive sessions offering space for deeper discussions on selected topics (see more below);
• Introduction of youth work tools and practices that support future oriented conversations and help youth work move forward. They will be shared at different moments throughout the programme - in plenary, Deep Dives and other designated spaces, such as the Bonfire & Market evening see below);
• Inspiring inputs from inside and outside youth work that can stimulate new perspectives and ideas for action at different moments of the programme;
• Spaces for community-building, networking and joint reflection about futures of youth work;
• Reflection and exchange in smaller learning groups on how ideas and reflections from the event can be taken further in the participants’ home environment;
• Informal spaces for seeing things from a different perspective and having fun together.

Deep Dive Sessions

After gathering feedback from different stakeholders, the next EAYW event is being designed to include more learning spaces that allow for deeper discussions and reflections.  Each participant can follow one Deep Dive session on the theme of their choice.

The Deep Dive Sessions will be six thematic groups that run in parallel across three 90-minute sessions. Each group explores one central theme shaping youth work today – from AI and social skills to democracy, rights, climate justice, and belonging in times of conflict. These sessions will create a focused space where 20–30 participants stay with the same topic long enough to actually… well, dive deep. Sessions will include inputs and practice presentations to stimulate new perspectives. The intention is to create shared spaces of curiosity to reflect together, challenge assumptions, meet new perspectives, and connect what we hear to our own realities and practices. 

Deep Dive Themes:

1. Love, Youth Work & Robots – AI, Technology and Everything In Between

2. Tell Me How to Say Hello – Mental Health & Social Skills in the Era of ChatGPT

3. From TikTok to Real Talk – Youth Rights & Participation Beyond the Screen

4. Us, Them & the Nothing Inbetween – Youth Work in a Fragile Democracy

5. Environment & Climate Justice – Are We Rearranging the Deck Chairs on the Titanic?

6. From Division to Dialogue – Supporting Young People in Times of Conflict

“Bonfire & Market” (evening of 6th May)

This will be an interactive marketplace showcasing diverse tools, practices, games, and resources that help youth workers engage with future thinking, transformation, and innovation in their work. Participants move freely between “stalls” hosted by tool creators or practitioners, creating informal yet meaningful spaces to explore, ask questions, and get inspired.

Set in an open, festival-style setting with bonfires, drinks, and music, the Tools Marketplace is planned as a celebratory moment that mixes learning and networking.

If you have a practice or tool that fits into this frame and that you would like to share during the marketplace, you are invited to share it in your application.

PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS

The EAYW targets experienced youth workers and representatives of NGOs as well as professionals in areas with relevance for the youth sector, such as representatives of youth work policies and public services, National Agencies and other youth work structures, trainers and educators in the field of youth work (education) and other professionals from related fields of science and research. 

Participants should have a keen interest in learning about and contributing to new, innovative and forward-looking initiatives and developments, in order to further develop youth work or frameworks for youth work in their own context.

(1) National Agencies of Austria, Belgium-FL, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden.