On November 19-21 the Council of Europe (CoE) held a seminar on the European Youth Portfolio as a tool for recognition and self-assessment of youth workers. The seminar took place in Strasbourg, France and gathered 35 participants from European institutions, youth organisations, as well as representatives from Youth Agencies and Ministers of CoE member states. Aleksandra Cvetkovska represented CID and its activity on the seminar.
The aim of the seminar was to to introduce the revised European Youth Portfolio and to make a contribution to the process of recognition of youth work. The objectives focused on exploring the realities of the recognition of youth work and assessing the role of the Portfolio and its contribution to the validation of youth workers.
The participants presented their activities related to the topic, discussed the challenges that this process faces, worked on proposals for dissemination and promotion of the Portfolio and established the background for collaboration with key partners across Europe. Raising the visibility of the importance of youth workers is a priority and needs more research on the number of yourh workers and assessment of their activities. They also discussed different ways to approach institutions and get support from the authorities, and the input from the countries with greater experience in recognizing youth work was of much help.
The seminar was conducted in the spirit of non-formal education, and the participants had the chance to work on the Portfolio for the first time on the online platform. Follow-up activities are to be planned and organized in the upcoming months on a national level.