10.2 Administration and governance of youth work
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The Minister of Youth is the main actor involved in youth policy making. It lies within the French-speaking Community of Belgium.
The Youth Department is a service within the Ministry of Culture. It implements the youth policy by applying decrees. It recognises and funds youth associations.
Youth associations are non-public actors who implement directly the principles of youth policy by working directly with young people.
There are 2 main types of youth associations:
1. Youth organisations that are active at the Community-wide level. It includes youth movements such scouts but also others types of youth organisations such as thematic movements or youth services.
2. Youth centres which are active at local level. They work with young people on temporary projects (dance, culture, theatre, media literacy, environmental projects, etc.).
The Youth sector also includes Homework schools and Holidays centres which are at the intersection of youth policies and childhood policies.
The Common Political Declaration 2019-2024 highlights, in the frame of youth policies, the importance to build bridges between the various policy fields affecting young people. There is a will to create an “interministerial and intergovernemental conference” dedicated to youth in order to work on a cross-sectorial outlook of youth between the federal and regional authorities.
The Declaration also points out the importance to create synergies between services within the French-speaking Community of Belgium in order to foster partnerships projects.
The minister of Youth for the period 2019-2024 has numerous portfolios:
- High Education and Vocational education ;
- Sports ;
- Youth Welfare ;
- Justice houses ;
- Brussel’s promotion.