Brussels, 16/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - One of the ways to help NEET young people (not in employment, education or training) get onto the job circuit and hence tackle youth unemployment is to take advantage of social and educational action in the community, explained EU ministers on Thursday 16 May.
Social and educational action in the community makes the most of informal learning for young people who are often disillusioned with the European project because it offers them enriching experiences that can help raise their self-esteem. At the Youth Council on Thursday, the Irish Presidency organised a debate among youth ministers on making more of social and educational action in the community in the member states, along with immediate and tangible action to supplement what is already in place. The Council published a conclusions document on this.
EU Education, Youth, Culture and Multilingualism Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou said that if politicians can be persuaded to back social and educational measures, then it will be possible to show them that, over time, they bring benefits in terms of social well-being. Irish Childhood and Youth Minister Frances Fitzgerald said young people need support so that they can get back on the circuit and take part in life.
Social and educational action in the community is a type of education that takes place outside formal school education and comprises leisure activities organised by professional or volunteer youth leaders and the managers of youth organisations. In order to get the debate off the ground, two experts briefed the minsters about their experience. Director of research at Eurofound, Massimiliano Mascherini, said that at the moment, there are 14 million NEETs across the European Union, who cost more than €153 billion (1.2% of GDP). These marginalised youngsters have disconnected from traditional political ideas and are the main victims of populist and extremist speech-mongering, he warned. John Bamber of the Centre for Effective Services in Dublin, said that social and educational action in the community is not widely known, looks down up and gets little political support yet, by teaching kids how to learn and developing civic duty and respect of others, it helps youth people gain useful experience outside the usual circuits. In the debate, the youth ministers recognised the need to grant more importance to social and educational action, but said they had little room for manoeuvre and would need the support of other politicians.
In the conclusions document on the contribution of quality social and educational action to the development, well-being and social inclusion of young people, the Council hopes to encourage cooperation among the member states in domains related to young people, like healthcare, education, jobs, culture and sport. Social and educational action is essential against the backdrop of the current economic crisis and high unemployment, the fragmentation of society and rising numbers of NEETs because it extends over-arching skills like entrepreneurship, team working and simply learning how to learn. The Council hoped that mechanisms would ensure that such high quality social and educational action in the community is outcome-based to enable young people to make the most of it. (IL/transl.fl)