At “Active Youth Hub,” knowledge is at the heart of our mission, and we are thrilled to share the fascinating outcomes of our literature review and focus groups! Our consortium partners, following the research and ethics guidelines sent by the project coordinator, conducted literature review and three focus groups across the consortium countries, and the results have affirmed our three hypotheses.

Hypothesis 1: Disadvantaged youth do not have access to high-quality learning resources and innovative pedagogical methodologies.

Through in-depth discussions with youth workers, we confirmed that while innovative pedagogical methodologies do exist, they often reach only a limited number youth workers. Barriers such as fragmented implementation, cost, and outdated educational practices hinder widespread access.

Hypothesis 2: Youth workers do not receive high-quality professional development opportunities.

While in all consortium countries exist training programs for youth workers, we discovered that the focus tends to be on completing the training rather than the quality of content and practical application (especially in Greece and Romania). Updating training materials and fostering a culture of innovation are crucial steps for effective development of youth workers.

Hypothesis 3: Local entities do not prioritize active citizenship and entrepreneurship programs.

Participants highlighted the significant role of local entities in supporting (disadvantaged) youth. Creating spaces that value young voices and address immediate needs, rather than solely focusing on funding, is key. Practical know-how on implementing civic engagement activities, collaboration with international initiatives, and establishing a common culture for such initiatives were also recommended.

These research findings will drive our efforts in shaping comprehensive solutions for empowering youth workers and promoting active citizenship and entrepreneurship among young minds. Actually, our project result 1 will aim to address these challenges.