IJAB e. V. – Fachstelle für Internationale Jugendarbeit der Bundesrepublik Deutschland e.V. (International Youth Service of the Federal Republic of Germany) and the Council of Europe invited youth work and youth education professionals, as well as the project DIYW-ROAD, to the conference ‘Democracy in Action – Youth Work Matters’ from 3 to 5 December 2025 at the European Youth Centre in Strasbourg (FR).
Democracy and democratic spaces are currently under pressure, raising the question of what consequences this will have for youth work, youth education and youth-led structures. This was the topic of the conference, which was initiated by IJAB members.
Elisa Rapetti from the DARE network, together with Nils-Eyk Zimmermann (AdB), presented the work of the project DIYW-ROAD Digital Youth Work – rights sensitive, open, accessible and democratic.
As varied as the conditions in different youth work contexts may be, a general trend also became apparent, as Staffan Lindberg from V-Dem Institute pointed out. He presented the current and alarming data from the Global Democracy Reports with the fitting title: „25 Years of Autocratization – Democracy Trumped?“ As varied as the conditions in different youth work contexts may be, a general trend was also evident, as Lindberg highlighted.
The topic of digitalisation should also be viewed in this context: digitalisation as a catalyst for social change, but also as an important part of future policy. This makes it all the more important that education on digitalisation becomes more political and human rights-oriented
More information:
- Project DIYW-ROAD
- Conference: Democracy in Action – Youth Work Matters