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Youth Information in 2020
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Which topics are covered by youth information services?
The chart below shows the topics that young people are informed about in youth information centres, based on the responses of 33 youth information providers. The topics are not only well-established topics of generalist youth information but also correspond to the needs of young people, as proven by the Future youth information and counselling: Building on information needs and trends survey, which was carried out with the participation of 6,212 young respondents in 18 countries in 2017.
The graph shows that there are essential topics covered by virtually every youth information provider in Europe, such as education, training and employment. It also showcases regional differences based on young people’s needs. Such versatility and flexibility are the main assets of youth information work: services follow the same principles and professionalism across Europe, while flexibly (and promptly!) adapting the offer to local needs. This is a key feature not only for providing full and reliable information but also for meeting the expectations and maintaining the interest of the target group.
Which topics are covered by your info services?
FURTHER TOPICS COVERED: Housing Sexuality and intimate relationships Relationships in the family and with friends Legal advice Access to rights Violence Support for youth from disadvantaged backgrounds Support for young migrants and refugees Integration of young people with disabilities Online safety Youth discount card/s Youth hostels Road safety Managing finances
Besides, the COVID-19 pandemic has had an important and evident impact on the delivery of face-to-face youth information services. In the course of 2020 youth information services became more dependent on online tools to reach out to young people, for example, information sessions delivered via webinars or individual online couselling to temporarily replace physical face-toface youth information activities services.
Which face-to-face services do youth information centres offer?
The core service of youth information providers is that they offer the possibility of a face-toface meeting in a physical space – and this is our competitive advantage as well! You would be surprised to learn how much young people prefer a real conversation with a human, even today. Seeking information on a wide range of topics from international mobility to violence, their number one choice is a face-to-face encounter with a youth professional, particularly at a youth info centre. Education, employment and volunteering also fall into this category. Additionally, their overall preference for receiving information remains faceto-face.1 Face-to-face information services also mean that youth information workers help to unfold the question or the issue, find eventual underlying reasons for the query, and thus propose a tailor-made answer that is the most useful for the recipient. Furthermore, they help the young person reflect on their actual information need – and always let them make their own, informed decision.
There are topics, however, that are more sensitive, or young people are more reluctant to ask about them in person from an adult. Geographical and other barriers may also lower the probability of a young person visiting a youth info centre. Alternatives such as outreach activities (e.g. “infomobile” vans, fairs) or phone and chat services are set up for this reason. Peer-to-peer information provision deserves special emphasis. Young people are at an age when they are significantly influenced by their peers. Additionally, for certain information topics they are likely to ask their peers first. Peer-to-peer youth information is a solution of primary importance and the survey results prove that three quarters of services offer this. (Read more under Methods below.)
What offline services does your network/organisation provide?
What are the main online and digital tools the centres use to communicate with young people?
Even though young people trust information provided face-to-face by a competent person or organisation, they consume most media and information online. They practice autonomous information-seeking, although many find it difficult to comprehend huge volumes of information and often suffer from information overload when looking for precise information for making decisions. They demonstrated the need for a cognitive authority; a source of information and advice which is believed to be trustworthy and reliable because of its expertise and knowledge. Outside educational institutions, youth information services play an important role as one.2
Furthermore, the recent restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of online services more than ever. Youth information providers, as always, reacted promptly to the situation and offered practical advice to young people and youth professionals, increased chat services, fact-checked information or supported mental health during this period – all online.3 4
Overall, we can say that the provision of online and offline services is not a question of either/or but and. No service, including youth information and counselling, can rely on only one of these, particularly if they are targeting a young population.
FURTHER TOOLS USED: Online peer-to-peer activities Phone hotline WhatsApp Blog Mobile app Radio channel or show... Which online/digital tools does your network/organisation use for informing/ communicating with young people?
2 DesYIgn – Innovative Youth Information Design and Outreach - Focus group interview report (Abo Akademi and ERYICA, 2020) 3 Good practices by the members of the European Youth Information and Counselling Agency (ERYICA, 2020) 4 The data in this publication were collected before the Covid-19 pandemic.
What methods are used to involve young people in information provision?
As well as peer-to-peer structures, young people are involved in the provision of youth information in several other ways. The most popular of these are outreach activities, codesign of information material and the evaluation of the services.
How do you involve young people in youth information provision?
Youth information and counselling is part of the national/regional youth strategies in 91% of the countries/regions in the ERYICA network
Youth information and counselling is highlighted in numerous policy documents and recommendations. Young people’s right to information has been recognised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and in the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The Recommendations N° (90) 7, CM/Rec(2010)8 and CM/Rec(2016)7 of the Council of Europe concerning information and counselling for young people and young people’s access to rights reinforce this too. Furthermore, the European Commission included Information and Constructive Dialogue as number 4 among the European Youth Goals. Recognising these policy initiatives and recommendations, states implement them at national level and include them in their own policy documents. An overwhelming majority include youth information and counselling in their national and/or regional youth strategy.
