Youth Work – What Future?

For ease we were going to copy and paste the Workshop report from the North-East’s September meeting in its entirety, but unfortunately the format would not cooperate. However find below the informative and challenging account pulled together by Sarah Banks – a must read.

Developing and defending youth work 2: The Future of Youth Work

In addition we attach the notes of the Working with Girls workshop, which was part of the same event.

Feedback from the Working with Girls Workshop – NE September 21

Thanks to our North-East supporters for all their hard graft.

Thinking Seriously about Work with Girls and Young Women

Thinking Seriously

About Youth Work and Work With Girls and Young Women

Conference

22nd 23rd March 2010

Hinsley Hall, Leeds

The second of the biannual ‘Thinking Seriously’ conferences organized by ‘Youth and Policy’ is to focus on the subject of Work With Girls and Young Women.

The intention of the ‘Thinking Seriously’ conferences is to offer participants an opportunity to discuss youth work and other approaches to work with young people in a serious, reflective and analytical way, benefiting from analysis and research as well as practice experience across a range of settings and localities. The events are deliberately structured to be small scale to encourage sustained and open critical discussion and developmental conversation amongst participants.

The 2010 conference will approach the question of work with girls and young women from the broad perspective of gender inequality and difference and will seek to develop a critical understanding of current policy agendas and the particular professional specialisms associated with work with girls and young women.

In keeping with the intention to create an atmosphere and setting favourable to debate and conversation, we shall restrict attendance to a maximum of 60 and ask all participants to make a commitment to attend for the whole two day event so book early to guarantee a place!

Find further information and a booking form below, please get in touch if you require any further information.

Youth and Policy Girls Work Conference 2010

Girls Work Conference Booking Form 2010

This is a women’s only event, which has already sparked a classic debate on the In Defence Google group, to which you might subscribe –

http://groups.google.com/group/in-defence-of-youth-work

In this context too,  find below the transcript of  the presentation given by Tania de St Croix at the recent UK Youth/Feminist Webs National Girls’ Work conference, the first to be held for 15 years.

Off Target: Girls Work, Control and Inequality

Talk at UK Youth Girls Work Conference, Tania de St Croix, 08/09/09

Tania begins:

I am not an experienced speaker and this is way out of my comfort zone! So why did I say yes? Because I don’t think we face-to-face workers speak up often enough. Because I love youth work and girls work. And because they are under threat.

The kind of youth work I love is not the special events, it’s what I try to do every night: usually improvised, mostly informal, sometimes chaotic, often creative and always questioning.

And I believe this is a time in youth work history when all of us who practice this kind of youth work need to take action if we want it to survive.

tania girls work speech september 09

Girls’ Work: Threat or New Dawn?

As we discuss both  defending and extending a democratic and emancipatory youth work,  UK Youth are organising a one day conference, Girls’ Work: Threat or New Dawn to be held on Tuesday, September 8 at Hinsley Hall, Leeds.

Youth work with young women has a long history, but an uncertain future. Due to targets, current funding mechanisms and a focus on troublesome male youth. This one day conference of presentations, workshops, and groupwork will seek to draw lessons from past and present practice. It will consider how we can find ways in which girls work can develop and expand in the future.

Please download the booking form at http://www.ukyouth.org/whatwedo/conferences.htm