EVS Contact making seminar for young people with fewer opportunities,29 Jan – 1 Feb, 2008, Paris, France

“Inclusion in youth work: a French and European perspective”

Dr. Lasse SiuralaDirector of Youth, City of Helsinki

Dr. Lasse Siurala, Director of Youth, City of Helsinki

Curriculum vitae

Researcher, acting associate professor of economic sociology at the Helsinki School of Economics (1975-1995)

Director of Youth, City of Helsinki (1995-1998,2002-)

Director of youth, Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France (1998-2001)

Married: 2 sons, one daughter

Finnish Champion in Karate (1974), 1st President of Finnish Karate Federation

DEPARTMENT OF YOUTH, CITY OF HELSINKI

AIMS: To promote active engagement and democracy education To support youth organisations To empower youth at riskMEANS: 54 Youth Centres and specialised services like Youth Information Centre, Media

Centre, Cultural Centre, Domestic Animal Farm, Theatre, Nature House, House of craft and visual arts, Traffic Education Centre, Youth Centre for Girls Only, indoor skating hall, 21 outdoor skate parks, two camping islands, residential education centre, Virtual Youth Centre, Virtual Cultural Arena, LAN party facilities etc

300 municipal professionally trained full-time youth workers Cultural activities, contests for amateur bands, street and show

dance, theatre, media art etc Free for a membership card (4 euros/year) Budget 25 Me (2008)

Young people with fewer opportunities –

recent embarrassment in Finland

November 2007 a school boy guns down 8 people at his school. His victims include the headmaster and two adults. Finally he kills himself.

Young people with fewer opportunities – recent embarrassment in Finland

The Jokela school shooting debate:

•Erosion of social communities: why are youth “bowling alone”?

•Has the emphasis on individual competitiveness and efficient integration into labor markets gone too far?

•Does the immense space of uncontrolled internet communities support young people to extreme acts?

•Why the school and other educational contexts do not offer young people possibilities to reflect their differing and sometimes extreme views and ideas?

New forms of illness?

- loneliness

- obesity

- lack of sleep

- bad physical condition

- multi-drug use

- stress

- net-dependency

- deteriorated backbone

- etc

Young people with fewer opportunities – recent embarrassment in Finland

Young people with fewer opportunities – recent embarrassment in Finland

Inheritance of social exclusion and disappearance of youth:

What are young people (16-28 year-olds) doing after finishing compulsory education?

in education 57 %at work 27unemployed 7in military service 3elsewhere 6

100 %

Source: Häggman, Erik: The Polarisation Memorandum 2007

Social inclusion through youth work

Case: Helsinki City Youth Department

Early prevention

Targeted intervention Reintegration

youth centres,

cultural youth work

support to youth NGOs and action groups

youth work in multi-media context

counselling

democracy education

street work

employment work shops (production schools)

peer education

integrating ethnic minorities

support to youth in the net

multi-agency integration services for youth at risk

projects for special groups

The process of deviancy The role of youth work

Frustration(Social pressure theory)

Supporting identity growth and choices in life: youth information and counselling, PSSs

Offering rewarding experiences in daily life: self-realisation through young people´s own cultural productions

Disengagement(Control theory)

Learning

(Learning theory)

Labelling

(Labelling theory)

Providing informal control and social capital: engaging young people as active participants in NGOs, youth centres, action groups, net communities, municipalities etc

Offering an alternative: street work, activities during week ends and holydays, night basket ball etc

Seeing youth as a resource, not as a problem: combating stereotypic images of youth, providning ´other knowledge`

A continuum of youth policy approaches

Policy type Strengths weaknesses examples

Issue-based programmesand projects:- multi-agency action to combat violence, substance use etc.- fixed term (mixed) funding

well targeted, planned, managed and evaluated, broad partnerships, attracts funding, aims at good practices

lacking continuity, problem-centred,“politicization”

CanadaUK

Early prevention general services:- youth centers, professional youth workers, youth information, YNGO support systems etc.- permanent (public) funding

continuity, professional quality of youth workers,broad clientele, equalitarian, opportunity -focused

becoming hidebound*, sectorization,lacking flexibility, one-source funding

FinlandAustria

*hidebound= keeping to outdated traditions rather than accepting new ideas

Toronto Urban Youth Violence project 2006-2007

GOALSEmpowered youth prepared

for opportunities and choices

Transform stressed neighbourhoods into strong, safe and healthy communities which provide opportunities for youth

PRINCIPLESFostering partnerships and

streamlining

Responding at-risk youth and communities

Investment in “what works”Promoting local solutions

PILLARSStrong, Safe & Supportive Communities. Community and Youth Engagement and Partnerships.Strong and Supportive FamiliesLearning & Skills Development

EXPECTED OUTCOMES INDICATORSfewer youth in gangs proportion of “gang alert” youthfewer gang violence youth recidivism rate by type of

offenceincreased youth employment youth employment rate

In co-operation with The University of Toronto