Reflection, resources and musings aloud on supporting, enabling and empowering young people

What is youth work anyway?

(If you only click one link in this blog post - click this one...)

I've had a pretty exciting and intense couple of days at the 2gether08 festival of ideas and action in Shoreditch in London.

You can read a bit about what I was up to exploring models for Youth Work 2.0 over here, and creating a pitch for Detached Youth Work in the online social networking space here (all things arising from the Youth Work and Social Networking Research Project).

But rather than tell you all about the amazing potential of social technologies for youth work, I wanted to ask for your help. Your help in finding resources which offer an audience who've never knowingly encountered Youth Work before a sense of what it is about.

I've only really become familiar with what makes Youth Work what it is through my research over the last year - but I find I'm almost always having to spend the first five minutes of any conversation on 'Youth Work 2.0' going round in circles to explain Youth Work as it is now. And right now I can't invite people to search the web to find out more, because frankly, there appears to be a real lack of clear resources presenting what youth work is.

That's why, in the 'just sort it out' spirit of 2gether, I've stared this discussion over on UK Youth Online to invite you to help out and share your resources that tell an audience who have never knowingly come into contact with Youth Work what it is all about.

You could share a video, a presentation, a leaflet - anything that helps tell the story of youth work more... 

 
 



 

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About Tim Davies

Tim Davies is a freelance consultant and researcher focussing on youth work and youth and community participation.

Tim graduated with a first class BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) from Oxford University in 2006. Whilst at University and for a short while afterwards Tim worked as a trainer and consultant with the Participation team of The National Youth Agency, developed the Hear by Right online shared learning tool and managed the final relaunch of the Participation Works online gateway for NCB/Participation Works. He has designed and delivered consultations for national and local government. Tim was also responsible for developing a national online management information system for YouthBank UK, now providing micro-finance grant management tools to over 80 sites across England and Ireland. Tim has also worked as communications manager for Just Fair Trade in Leicester.

Writing and blogging widely, Tim recently co-authored a chapter in the Open University reader 'Leading and Managing Youth Work' with Bill Badham.

Tim draws on skills as a technology steward and social media specialist to make the most of collaboration, consultation and community building technology in projects he works on - and to support youth organisations in engaging with social media.

Children & Young People Now is the official publication for members of the National Children's Bureau and The National Youth Agency.