ERYICA NEWSLETTER - MARCH 2007

At the end of 2005, according to the results of a survey conducted by ERYICA:

a) there were 25 European countries in which there was a national network of "generalist" youth information centres, plus other countries where a network was being developed

b) almost 8.000 local and regional centres belonged to these national networks

c) around 13.000 youth information workers were employed (full-time or part-time) in these centres.

During the year 2005, these centres received a total of nearly 23 million visits. This figure is based on the record of the number of visits and the type of questions asked that each centre keeps, but it does not include any figures for the use of other services, such as phone calls, requests by post and e-mail, or the use of on-line services.

 

 

The National Co-ordination Centre for Youth Information and Counselling Services in Finland is organising a seminar on the topic of "Participation of Young People in Youth Information Work in Nordic Countries and Autonomous Territories". The seminar, which is supported by the Finnish Ministry of Education, will take place in Turku on 9-11 May 2007.

The seminar will involve youth information and counselling workers from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and from the "autonomous territories" (Faroe Islands, Greenland and Aland). From each country there will be 4 participants, from each autonomous territory one participant, and from the Finnish Youth Information and Counselling Network there will be around 10 participants. This co-operation is based on existing Nordic co-operation, and especially on the Strategy for Children and Young People adopted by the Nordic Council of Ministers in Copenhagen on 1 March 2006. [...]

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As of 12 March, Audrey Guillo has joined the ERYICA secretariat as Co-ordinator of Internet Services. Coming from a similar job in Rouen with an association promoting co-operation between schools, Audrey is French, speaks fluent English, has some notions of Spanish, and is a frequent trekker.

A big welcome to you, Audrey !

The main topic for discussion at the ERYICA General Assembly in Paris last December was a set of guidelines for the future development of the Agency and its activities. On the basis of proposals prepared by a working-group that had consulted the national partners during 2006, and others formulated by the Governing Board, the Assembly adopted a set of 13 Strategic Areas of Work, as well as a Mission Statement for the Agency.

It also decided that the ERYICA Work Programme would be prepared in future on a 3-year basis, with a view to making progress in as many areas as possible towards the objectives fixed for each of the Strategic Areas of Work.

[For the text of the Mission Statement, and the list of Strategic Areas of Work, see this document].

The Finnish youth information and counselling work has been strongly influenced by the European Union's White Paper on youth policy, by the new Finnish Youth Law of 2006 and by ERYICA's Charter, which emphasises the right of young people to receive information, their right to be heard and the importance of young people's active participation in the production of information aimed at them. These documents also underline the idea of peer-to-peer information and the importance of reliable and understandable information.

In Finland, the Ministry of Education is responsible for co-ordinating public youth work in general and youth policy measures. The Youth Law provides for the improvement of young people's living conditions and of youth services. The aim is to support young people in managing their own lives. The Youth Law reinforces youth information as one of the basic elements of municipal youth work services. The Law supports the National Co-ordinating and Development Centre in Oulu, the national youth information network and the development of training in this field. The Ministry of Education and the youth information network are working closely together on the implementation of the Law. Both parties understand the importance of a co-ordinated approach at the national level. The Ministry supports national and regional youth information and youth media services development projects financially. The budget for this work in 2007 is 900.000 euros. [...]

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Following the mandate given to it by the General Assembly last year, the Governing Board has decided to move the ERYICA office to Luxemburg, primarily for economic reasons. The Board has accepted the offer of free office space in the centre of Luxemburg, made by the Luxemburg Ministry for the Family and Integration. It has therefore decided that the ERYICA office in Paris will be closed at the end of July, and that the move to Luxemburg will take place this summer.

The Board is in the process of recruiting the new head of the secretariat, who will succeed Jon Alexander when he retires at the end of June.

The Hungarian Association of Youth Information and Counselling Offices (HAYICO) and HELPI - the Youth Information and Counselling Office in Kecskemet - have published a methodology handbook, that is designed for helpers who work in youth information and counselling services and for municipalities which are planning to set up such a service.

The handbook is a collection of the most significant documents - from Hungarian and European sources - that are relevant for organising a youth information and counselling service in Hungary.

The booklet of 120 pages - in Hungarian - covers the following topics :

• History of the youth information services in Europe
• History of the youth information services in Hungary
• What is youth information and counselling service?
• Guide for the organising of a service
• Professional reference materials
• European Youth Information Charter
• Council of Europe Recommendation R (90) 7 concerning information and counselling for young people in Europe
• HAYICO Professional Code of Ethics
• Bibliography
• Youth Work Thesaurus