Elements of Formal Support for Youth Workers in Croatia

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has increased the fragility of organisations and institutions providing assistance to young people. While young people are facing uncertainties in their transitions, traditional safety nets have undergone a series of ruptures, and youth work providers are stretched between the needs and aspirations of young people and the scarce resources they have at disposal. Non-governmental associations in the field of youth provide a form of “out-of-school education managed by professional or voluntary youth workers that contributes to the development of young people” (European Commission, 2009, p. 11), often without a strong and structured support in tackling their professional challenges. This is especially pronounced in the cluster of 13 EU Member States, like Croatia, which, on average, have lower success rates in many fields (e.g. median income 1 ). The public institutions of those countries demonstrate inadequate policy responses to youth vulnerabilities and requirements of the youth non-governmental sector. This paper focuses on the relations between experiences of youth workers within the organisational environment of youth organisations, with a focus on support received during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the analysis of respective national public policies. The semi-structured interviews conducted with eight youth experts and youth workers in 2021 focused on the institutional and policy framework and support structures for youth work during the pandemic. The analysis employed the Attride-Stirling (2001) model of thematic network. Five themes crucial for contemporary youth work in Croatia were identified: 1) prioritising youth; 2) cross-sectoral cooperation; 3) administrative and financial aspects 4) recognition of youth work, and 5) digitalisation and reinvention of youth work.