Conference Summary
2nd Commonwealth Conference on Youth Work 2016
Engaging Young People in Nation Building - The Youth Workers’ Role
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A. Introduction
1. This Conference summary includes observations, conclusions and recommendations
of the 2nd Commonwealth Conference on Youth Work (CCYW) held in Pretoria, South
Africa, from 8-10 March 2016. It was the second Conference of its kind. The first,
held in 2013, also in Pretoria, focussed on the Education and Training of Youth
Workers and made recommendations for the future development of the profession.
The 2013 conference statement was shared at the Commonwealth Youth Ministers’
Meeting held the same year in Papua New Guinea which resulted in political
commitments by youth ministers for the professionalisation of youth work in their
countries.
2. The 2nd Commonwealth Conference on Youth Work was conducted as a partnership
between the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Government of the Republic of South
Africa, University of South Africa (UNISA), and the National Youth Development
Agency (NYDA) of South Africa.
3. The 2016 Conference brought together over 250 youth workers, academics, policy
makers young people and other stakeholders from over 25 countries under the theme
Engaging Young people in Nation Building: The Youth Workers Role’.
4. Delegates examined progress in professionalising youth work in the Commonwealth
with particular reference to:
 The concept and practice of youth work
 Legislation and policy for youth work
 Youth work education and training
 The role and contribution of youth workers’ associations
 Youth participation in youth work
 Measuring the progress and impact of youth work
 Building and promoting ethical practice in youth work
 Delivering youth work outcomes through sport
5. Delegates deliberated on the history, progress, values and principles, hopes and
challenges of making youth work a professional practice that delivers positive
outcomes for young people and contributes to nation-building.
6. The theme of the conference is a recognition that youth workers play a mediatory
role between young people and national development by supporting the channeling
of youth empowerment to sustained national and global development efforts. Youth
work plays a key role in that it creates conditions for enabling and empowering young
citizens, and in turn impacts on a country’s social, economic, political and
environmental success.
7. The theme also acknowledged Commonwealth values of inclusion, peace, gender
equity, development, human rights and democracy as key tenets that determine
meaningful nation-building. The conference promoted discussions on the youth
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worker’s role in moving towards these democratic and participatory ideals in
member states through youth work that is empowering and enabling.
8. The conference encouraged the creation and sharing of knowledge around youth
work theory and practice; acceleration of the recognition of, and investment in,
youth work as a profession; and the exchange of knowledge and ideas on youth work
practice in Commonwealth member states. The conference had a mix of renowned
academics, innovative practitioners and policy makers as speakers and delegates.
The conclusions and recommendations of the conference were as follows:
B. The Concept and Practice of Youth Work
Discussions on the concept and practice of youth work are critical to demonstrate
that youth work is contextual, diverse and responsive to the needs of specific groups
of young people in specific contexts. The sessions devoted to this theme made the
following observations:
1. There is a diversity of innovative, exciting practice and an optimism on the impact
of this work. Discussions looked into the future, and had a sense of synthesis and
common aim. A recurrent question that was raised was “Why are we working with
young people? To release their power, or to contain it?”
2. There are models of youth work that are effectively responding to the growing
disillusionment and frustration of young people to the social, economic, political and
cultural realities of their lives; and the emerging culture of dissent. Youth work
supports constructive forms of dialogue and information sharing to create positive
relations between young people and institutions.
3. Youth work practice needs to transform paradigms of practice in order to respond to
the growing inequality, unequal power relations, and increasing disaffection among
young people, particularly young people living in the margins.
4. There are still knowledge gaps in understanding the depth, breadth and diversity of
youth work practice, and youth engagement across Commonwealth member states.
5. Youth work practice also needs to be responsive in an era of technological
advancement which has significant implications for young people’s empowerment
and engagement.
6. There are sometimes power dynamics around the creation of knowledge in youth
work, and there is a need for greater south-south cooperation in knowledge sharing
and revisiting paradigms. Innovative examples of transformative youth work practice
from the South were shared.
7. Youth-serving organisations should constantly engage with young people on the
quality and relevance of the services they provide in order to reframe relevant,
contextualised youth work.
8. Youth work is based in human rights principles. The need to recognise the dignity
and agency of young people was highlighted throughout the conference.
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C. Advancing Legal, Regulatory, and Support Frameworks for Youth Work
Commonwealth member states have been at the forefront in the recent past in providing
legislative and policy status to youth work. This session looked at examples of
mainstreaming youth work in legislation and policy, and the impact, and potential for
impact, this formal recognition has on the delivery of professional youth work practice.
1. The conference acknowledged the Commonwealth Secretariat’s contribution to
professionalising youth work for the past 40 years, and recognised the policy and
legislative environments that have been created for youth work in member states
through Commonwealth initiatives.
2. Delegates affirmed legislative and regulatory frameworks for youth work have to be
further strengthened and that strong political commitments and financial
investments need to be made to professionalise the sector. Countries which have
progressed well in this area were commended.
3. Delegates called for Commonwealth support in developing a roadmap for
professionalisation in member states in order to benchmark progress in value-based
youth work.
4. Delegates also called for attention to competency-based qualifications, formulating
core competencies and greater training in research for youth workers.
D. Youth Participation in Youth Work
Youth participation is central to youth work practice in that youth workers become
mediators in supporting young people to bring their perspectives, ideas and
recommendations into public decision-making processes. The following observations
were made on youth participation in youth work:
1. Young people in many domains have lost their entitlement to participate, and to reengage positively. Young people need to be provided legitimate spaces for
meaningful participation, and adults cannot manufacture their consent. Agendas
with and for young people have to be transparent and accountable.
2. The panel also raised some provocative issues and questioned perceptions
surrounding working with young people that have been taken for granted.
Fundamental questions such as: “Why are we working with young people?” and “Who
sets the agenda?” forced the unpacking of motives, agendas and objectives of various
stakeholders including the state, multinational corporations and political parties.
3. Youth workers’ engagement with young people on participation in decision making
should be clearly linked to results for young people, and has to create political and
institutional change. Youth workers need to be transparent, accountable, and
process-oriented when working with young people to create meaningful processes
and should engage positively with conflict, rather than denying its existence.
4. Complex, often expensive, structures of youth participation should not be confined
to young people’s learning only, but should lead to informed policies and mechanisms
for youth engagement with decision makers, and realise clear social, economic, and
political results for young people resulting from this engagement.
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5. It was pointed out that engagement with the state and state institutions does not
have to be black and white or confrontational or, on the other hand, co-opted.
Several options for collaborative models could bring the desired results and aid in
building relationships and bridges between youth and adults in positions of power
that are based on mutual respect, better understanding of each other and an equal
or level playing field.
6. Youth workers need to be conscious that they cannot advocate on behalf of young
people, but that young people need to advocate for themselves. In a climate of
increasing inequality and injustice, development paradigms need to be changed, and
young people need to shape the world. This entails providing the young people the
right to self-determination, non-violently and constructively and in partnership.
7. The Commonwealth, whose rights-based principles are indicated in the
Commonwealth Charter, should strengthen platforms for young people, including
youth organisations that are by and for the youth, and are autonomous. The UNCRC
frames our work with young people and if they are above 18 years, the Human Rights
Convention is our guide. However, both underline the right to participate in all
matters concerning them and stresses the importance of civil and political rights
without which an individual’s entitlement would have no meaning.
8. Any engagement with young people cannot, and should not, must not, be tokenistic.
We should ensure that we do not manufacture consent, using youth as informants
for framing policy or conducting research without being transparent about our
purpose and intentions and in the absence of accountability mechanism. To do
otherwise is a gross violation of personal privacy and rights.
9. The autonomy of youth organisations is central to their ability to leverage support in
negotiations with institutions. Therefore the extent to which the state or state
mechanisms and institution have control over the lives of young people needs to be
critically assessed and reduced to a minimum. These spaces must be kept separate,
with appropriate collaboration in situations deemed necessary by the young people,
the youth worker and the state. The less control or interference, the more
autonomy, and the more autonomy, the greater the power/ability for young people
to be heard objectively, and be responded to.
E. Education and Training of Youth Workers
Higher education institutions from across the Commonwealth agreed to partner on a
Commonwealth Youth Work Qualifications Consortium in order to facilitate youth
work education and qualifications particularly at a degree level. There were several
recommendations that came out of the Consortium sessions:
1. Concrete steps to professionalising the youth work sector should revolve strongly
around adequate youth work education and training. Delegates called on
governments, academia and other institutions to accord this as a high priority.
2. The delegates explicitly referenced that there be an agreement in principle to
address the mobility of graduates of youth work certification and intentionally
consider their insertion across the social and economic spaces of the Commonwealth.
3. For the creation of an effective Commonwealth Youth Work Qualification
Consortium, delegates agreed that there is a need for working groups to monitor and
continuously review the programmes in order to ensure quality assurance. Delegates
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called for the establishment of a Working Group of Tertiary Institutions in the
consortium to monitor and continuously review the programming and training being
delivered across Commonwealth countries.
4. It was pointed out that licensing regimes must exist for youth work. This should, as
an ideal, be achieved by all Commonwealth countries and the intention of this should
be communicated to Ministries of Higher Education and Government by the
Commonwealth Youth Division.
F. Youth-Led Organisations
Youth-led organisations are key to enhancing youth leadership and self-esteem, and
for ensuring that young people participate in organisational and programme decisionmaking at all levels. Youth-led organisations have also been historically instrumental
in reaching more young people through relevant, fun and engaging activities as young
people know young people’s interests, concerns and aspirations best. In this session,
young people discussed their experiences of working with young people as peer
youth workers. They:
1. The Conference discussed the benefits of youth-led participation and focused on the
forms that this can take to be effective and genuine. There were recommendations
and models presented of utilising arts, sport and the creation of spaces for youthled networks to function at national, regional and pan-commonwealth levels to
embrace real democratic and organic youth participation and empowerment.
2. The Panel called for support of existing Commonwealth networks and encouraged
youth workers to create similar structures based on the interest and concerns of the
youth within their constituents. The panel discussed the prevalence of organisations
to engage in youth leadership training without actually being youth-led.
3. It was identified that there are clear benefits of becoming genuinely youth-led which
include the improved quality of credibility of programming, increased access to
ordinarily marginalised groups of young people and the strengthening of
organisational sustainability.
4. While the transition towards youth-led initiatives may take time, there are a number
of key principles that, if followed, will help organisations become genuinely youthled. The panel identified that in doing so, there will be a move from doing things for
young people, to doing things with young people and as such promote increased
belongingness and ownership by young people.
5. The Panel noted the genuineness of engagement and impact of peer youth work and
that optimum youth participation is achieved when young people and adults share
decision-making and when young people can also
6. The disproportionate challenges faced by youth workers and youth-led organisations
in accessing funds, and constraints faced by limitations imposed by funders was a
concern shared by the delegates. They noted the need for proactive investment and
commitment to peer youth workers and youth-led organisations and the creation of
spaces for them to independently mobilise, innovate, engage and implement.
7. The conference discussed the differing needs of rural and urban youth and the
challenges that each presents in terms of presenting a unified approach to advocacy,
change and youth development. Youth workers reaffirmed their commitment to
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provide young people with the skills and opportunities of leadership in culturally
appropriate ways, whether it is within the organisation, through sports and the arts,
or through leadership in their own networks based on thematic areas of interest and
passion. The discussants reiterated the need for there to be youth led organisations
and networks across Commonwealth countries.
8. The Panel discussed the need for youth workers to mobilise each other through
networks, and provide spaces for youth to mobilise and network, in order to present
an organised and representative approach to seeking positive change and achieving
success in the youth development space.
9. Delegates called on governments to critically and objectively examine their current
structures for supporting the youth work sector and make structural and budgetary
changes to ensure optimum functioning whether it be through the creation of a
designated Ministry for Youth or a designated Department for Youth.
G. Building a Strong Front: the Role of Professional Associations and Youth Work
Institutes
At the foundation of a successful professionalisation process lies the collective
strength of organised youth work practitioners participating in defining the
parameters and quality of the practice of their profession, including advocating for
professional recognition, providing inputs into directions in the education and
training of youth workers, and assuring the quality of training, practice and
supervision.
1. The Conference discussed the history, challenges and achievements of creating youth
work associations and their advocacy around youth work. It charted the common
experiences on journeys to create professional youth work associations and
demonstrated evidence of changes in the lives of young people as a result of the
initiatives of youth work associations.
2. Lessons from other Associations, such as the National Association of Youth and Child
Care Workers of South Africa, highlighted the need to build strong strategies based
on the historical and political realities of countries, well-designed organisational
structures, a focus on advocacy, skill development of members, attention to
development of models of youth work practice, clear strategies, codes of ethics, and
robust conversations on the development of the profession.
3. Youth workers were called on to reflect on, and be self-aware of, what they stand
for as practitioners engaging with young people, a process encouraged and pursued
by youth work associations.
4. An important conference outcome for youth work associations was the initiation of
a Commonwealth Alliance of Youth Workers’ Associations that will bring together
associations, collectives and networks from across the Commonwealth devoted to
advancing the profession and practice of youth work. A steering committee for the
Alliance was formed, and made commitments to advocating for the
professionalisation of youth work across Commonwealth member states and to
bringing a strong international identity to youth work.
5. As youth work moves towards professionalisation, it should be mindful that it does
not lose sight of the purpose of its work – to improve the lives of young people. With
professionalisation comes the creation of a ‘youth work industry’, with its own
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needs, views and voices. We must be careful that our views and needs as workers do
not over-shadow the views and needs of the young people we are here to support,
and that our central organising principle is the view of young people themselves.
6. Questions were asked as to what extent youth workers want legislation to define
their personal freedoms, and requests were made for legislation that enables
transformation and change rather than punitive legislation as punitive legislation
only works through pressure.
7. Young people, and youth workers, do not require permission to organise. Delegates
were reminded that the movements that fought for the 8-hour work day, or for
freedom in South Africa, or for independence in India, were not registered. Youth
workers were asked to be autonomous and to enable young people’s organisations to
be autonomous. By all means, though, encourage principles and values that the
sector stands for.
8. At the same time, it was recognised that the youth work profession does not have a
strong track record for organising, and there were calls for more commitment and
discipline from all in the sector in relation to a united voice and collective action.
H. Building and Promoting Ethical Standards in Youth Work
Supporting youth workers to assess and provide solutions to ethical dimensions of youth
work practice is a core component of professional youth work. Does youth work practice
provide equal opportunity, respect, protection, confidentiality, and above all, agency,
to young people engaging with youth services? How is ethics defined and implemented?
This session looks at the comparative status of ethical practice across several
Commonwealth member states, its broader implications and deliberates the viability of
international codes of ethics for youth work practice.
1. Discussion on youth work ethics focussed on framing ethics in the context of youth
development and human rights, and the economic, social and cultural inequalities
that young people face. It also highlighted the need to put young people at the
centre of youth work and ensure that youth work engagement with young people
ensured their agency.
2. It was pointed out that a code of ethics should recognise youth individuality and
personhood, and respect their agency, dignity and aspirations. Delegates stressed
that young people should always be at the centre of youth work.
3. There was consensus that the advancement of youth work as a profession requires
acceptance and integration of a formalised code of ethics. All stakeholders should
collaborate on this initiative, with youth work associations playing a leading role in
promoting the widespread acceptance of the code.
4. Delegates recommended that consultations be conducted to agree on a Code of
Ethics for youth workers in the Commonwealth based on the Draft Commonwealth
Code of Ethical Practice and similar initiatives.
I. Delivering Youth Work Outcomes through Sports
Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) methodologies can be an effective tool for
youth workers to deliver youth development outcomes, including to empower young
people and to contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals for young
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people. At the same time, SDP practitioners who work with young people have
strong aspects of youth work in their practice.
1. Sport for Development methodologies can be an effective tool for Youth Workers to
deliver Youth Development outcomes, including to empower young people and
contribute to achieving the sustainable development goals for young people.
2. Recognising that both fields are working with the same young people, there is a need
to create intentional synergy between the fields of Sport for Development and Youth
Work.
3. The conference recognised that Sport for Development practitioners delivering youth
development outcomes should identify as youth workers, with youth work
professionalisation standards brought to the Sport for Development sector. There are
opportunities to strengthen Sport for Development methodologies through the
integration of youth work principles and values and this needs to be further explored.
4. Achieving this closer relationship between the Youth Work and Sport for
Development sectors will require an exchange of knowledge and facilitating
opportunities to access education and training opportunities to gain an
understanding of the principles and methodologies of the other sector, as well as an
on-going need for practitioners to adopt a reflective practice approach.
5. Traditional sport can have significant structural weaknesses in relating to issues such
as rejecting youths with less ability, gender and racial inequality, and failures in
inclusion and safeguarding of participants. The Sport for Development sector has
taken important steps to ensure these issues are not replicated in their programmes
and methodologies and this will have to be maintained and strengthened if Sport for
Development is to be accepted as a legitimate element of mainstream Youth Work.
6. The Youth Work and Sport for Development sectors face a number of similar
challenges including in relation to sustainability, remaining relevant to local
communities whilst scaling-up effective approaches, funding, facilitating youth-led
organisations, and evaluating impact. There are therefore opportunities for the
sector to share learning and work together to develop solutions to these challenges.
7. South Africa hosting the 2022 Commonwealth Games, will create opportunities for
the youth work sector in South Africa and the African continent. The Youth Work
sector needs to be proactive in engaging with similar opportunities and the Games
organisers, if the sector is to play a key role in securing a legacy from the Games for
young people.
J. Promoting Evidence-Based Youth Work Practice
It is vital that youth work is based in evidence, which allows demonstration of the
impact of youth work, and what works, what does not, and why. Conference
discussions highlighted successes of the youth sector as an evidence-based
profession, investing in research on the theory and practice of youth work. It
highlighted the critical nature of research to demonstrate the impact and relevance
of the profession, and for obtaining greater commitments and investments for the
profession.
1. Delegates discussed processes for youth workers to design outcome indicators to
measure the progress of their work at the local level and reiterated the importance
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of tracking and monitoring outcomes. This will allow for a shift in the way the
professionals operate to focus on the changing trends in the youth space.
2. The conference discussed how demonstrating impact can bring about greater
investments for youth work with emphasis on results-based management of youth
work. Utilising evidence and cutting edge youth work research can lead to greater
professionalisation of the sector.