Elements of Formal Support for Youth Workers in Croatia

Bibliographic Data

ID21195683
AuthorsDunja Potočnik (0000-0003-1256-2660, Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, corresponding author)
Year2024
Publication date2024-02-21
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociologija i Prostor (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1846-5226 • E-ISSN: 1849-0387
PublisherInstitute for Social Research Zagreb (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.5673/sip.61.3.5
OpenAlexW4391995966
LanguageEN
References cited8

IN ENGLISH: The Covid-19 pandemic has increased the fragility of organisations and institutions \nproviding assistance to young people. While young people are facing uncertainties in \ntheir transitions, traditional safety nets have undergone a series of ruptures, and youth work \nproviders are stretched between the needs and aspirations of young people and the scarce \nresources they have at disposal. Non-governmental associations in the field of youth provide \na form of “out-of-school education managed by professional or voluntary youth workers that \ncontributes to the development of young people” (European Commission, 2009, p. 11), often \nwithout a strong and structured support in tackling their professional challenges. This is especially \npronounced in the cluster of 13 EU Member States, like Croatia, which, on average, \nhave lower success rates in many fields (e.g. median income1). The public institutions of those \ncountries demonstrate inadequate policy responses to youth vulnerabilities and requirements \nof the youth non-governmental sector. This paper focuses on the relations between experiences \nof youth workers within the organisational environment of youth organisations, with a focus \non support received during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the analysis of respective national \npublic policies. The semi-structured interviews conducted with eight youth experts and youth \nworkers in 2021 focused on the institutional and policy framework and support structures for \nyouth work during the pandemic. The analysis employed the Attride-Stirling (2001) model of \nthematic network. Five themes crucial for contemporary youth work in Croatia were identified: \n1) prioritising youth; 2) cross-sectoral cooperation; 3) administrative and financial aspects \n4) recognition of youth work, and 5) digitalisation and reinvention of youth work. --------------- IN CROATIAN: Pandemija Covida-19 povećala je krhkost organizacija i institucija koje pružaju pomoć mladima. \nDok se mladi ljudi suočavaju s neizvjesnostima u svojim tranzicijama, pandemija je na \ntradicionalnim sigurnosnim mrežama ostavila niz pukotina, a pružatelji usluga u području \nrada s mladima razapeti su između potreba i težnji mladih i oskudnih resursa kojima raspolažu. \nNevladine organizacije u području mladih pružaju oblik „izvanškolskog obrazovanja, kojim \nupravljaju profesionalni ili dobrovoljni radnici s mladima, koji pridonosi razvoju mladih” (Europska \nkomisija, 2009., str. 11), često bez snažne i strukturirane podršku u suočavanju s njihovim \nprofesionalnim izazovima. To je posebno izraženo u klasteru od 13 država članica EU-a, \npoput Hrvatske, koje u prosjeku imaju niže stope uspješnosti u mnogim poljima (npr. medijan \ndohotka ). Javne institucije tih zemalja pokazuju neadekvatne političke odgovore na ranjivosti \nmladih i zahtjeve organizacija civilnog društva u području mladih. Ovaj se rad usredotočuje na \npovezanost iskustava osoba koje rade s mladima unutar organizacija mladih, s fokusom na podršku \nkoja im je bila na raspolaganju tijekom pandemije Covid-19 i analizu nacionalnih javnih \npolitika. Polustrukturirani intervjui provedeni 2021. s osam stručnjaka za mlade i omladinskih \nradnika bili su usredotočeni na institucionalni i politički okvir struktura podrške za rad s mladima \ntijekom pandemije. U analizi je korišten model tematske mreže Attride-Stirling (2001). \nAnalizom je identificirano pet tema ključnih za suvremeni rad s mladima u Hrvatskoj: 1) davanje \nprioriteta mladima; 2) međusektorska suradnja; 3) administrativni i financijski aspekti; 4) \nprepoznavanje rada s mladima i 5) digitalizacija i reinvencija rada s mladima

Croatian · Geography · Linguistics · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Regional Development and Management Studies · Resilience and Mental Health · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics

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