By TiPovej! Institute and the Digital Systemic partnership

As youth workers, we don’t need to be told that young people’s lives are deeply digital. We see it every day – in how they connect, create, organise, learn and express themselves. But one question keeps coming up in our team meetings across Europe:

How ready is our youth work to truly meet young people in the digital age?

That question is at the heart of our Erasmus+ project Digital Systemic. Together with partners from Lithuania, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Curaçao, we are building practical tools that help youth workers and organisations not only use digital tools, but develop digital youth work in a strategic, meaningful and rights-based way.

One of the most important things we have just launched on our Cities of Learning platforms is a self-evaluation competency framework that youth workers and organisations can use to reflect on where they are – and where they want to go.

A framework that reflects real youth work

The framework we use is based on the European Digital Youth Work competence and capacity model, developed with hundreds of youth work practitioners across Europe.  It doesn’t ask whether you are “good with technology”. Instead, it looks at five areas that really shape digital youth work:

1. Leadership of digital transition – Is digital youth work supported, planned and taken seriously in your organisation?
2. Working culture – Are different digital realities, ideas and youth cultures respected and used to renew youth work?
3. Digital competences – Can youth workers support young people with digital skills, critical thinking and digital rights?
4. Infrastructure – Do you have the tools, time and conditions to actually do digital youth work?
5. Quality and youth participation – Do you reflect on your digital work and involve young people in improving it?

Each area is broken down into clear, concrete indicators, from “we are just starting” to “this is fully embedded and leading practice”.  You don’t get a pass/fail score – you get a map of your current reality.

 

Why this matters for us as youth workers

What we love about this framework is that it does not blame or judge. It recognises that:

• Some organisations are strong in face-to-face youth work but still cautious about digital tools.
• Some are very active online but have not yet built a shared vision or quality standards.
• Young people are often far ahead of us – and they deserve to be partners in shaping digital youth work.

Using this tool helps us name what we already do, see where we are stuck, and decide what to develop next. It also makes digital youth work visible and recognisable – which is important when talking to managers, funders and policy-makers.

Try it on the Cities of Learning platform

Within Digital Systemic, we have integrated this framework into the Cities of Learning platforms, together with learning resources and digital badges. That means you can:

• Do a self-assessment as a youth worker
• Or assess your organisation’s digital capacity
• Get a learning pathway that fits your results
• And later receive recognition for what you have developed

We are currently inviting youth workers from all partner countries to test the framework, give feedback and use it for their own development.

So here is my invitation to you, as a colleague:

• Take 30 minutes
• Test the framework (you will need to log in with your email, and after that, you will see the Assessment Model view to start your self-assessment).
• Reflect honestly. See your digital youth work more clearly. Not to be perfect – but to move forward.
• If you have 10 more minutes, please share feedback about your experience using the self-assessment tool. 

Let’s build digital youth work that is not just online but also critical, inclusive, creative, and youth-led.