Acceleration lane

Youth work in Hungary is a fragmented and undervalued professional field. There is little shared data, research or structured professional knowledge, and many organisations work in isolation. Actors often do not know each other, cooperation is mostly project-based, and a national network of connections barely exists. The concept, role and framework of the profession are interpreted in different ways, so its shared professional identity and visibility are weak, and its social and policy recognition is low. Coordinated advocacy is limited, with few common positions and little evidence-based communication towards decision-makers. The methodological background supporting young people’s democratic participation also needs development. At organisational level, GYIÖT faces growing workloads, parallel projects, knowledge tied to individuals, staff overload and unpredictable project-based funding, which make long-term, strategic operation difficult.

The project aims to strengthen GYIÖT, a youth work organisation with 30 years of experience, as the national professional knowledge centre and network organiser of youth work, and as the operator of its advocacy platform. The activities are built on four pillars:

• Knowledge centre: the 2027 data collection of the “Are you doing youth work?” research and the publication of the reports (in Hungarian and English); building a public online professional library; developing a competence map and an impact measurement methodology for youth work, with a pilot; an international study visit; developing local youth participation models in the ParticipaTEEN project.
• Network: making the youth work map public; establishing a network operating framework and an online professional community; drafting and disseminating a code of ethics for youth work and initiating an ethics committee; international mobility programmes; introducing the “Youth Work Award” (quality certificate); a conference.
• Advocacy: contributing to the founding of an advocacy platform for youth workers; developing common professional positions; lobbying and communication training.
• Stable GYIÖT: developing financial regulations and processes; updating the communication strategy; introducing a CRM system; learning-organisation and knowledge-transfer practices; an annual impact report; reviewing the strategy and preparing the work plan for the second period.

Outputs: at least 25 professional, research and methodological materials (including research reports, the code of ethics, the competence map and the impact measurement methodology); at least 60 professional events, workshops and training sessions; an online professional library with at least 250 published items; involvement of at least 500 youth workers and volunteers and at least 80 organisations in the activities; annual impact reports.

Outcomes:

• For youth workers and youth work organisations: more conscious, data-driven operation; stronger national and regional cooperation; a shared professional language and identity; an active advocacy community representing common positions, and growing professional recognition.
• For decision-makers and related professions: evidence-based information and shared professional frameworks on youth work.
• For young people (indirectly): higher-quality youth work that more effectively supports democratic participation.
• For GYIÖT: more stable and conscious operation, systematic knowledge transfer, better staff well-being and more diversified funding.