10.3 Support to youth work
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Policy legal framework
There are not any top-level policies and regulations on youth work, nor a specific strategy on youth work in Cyprus.
Funding
The public funding is made available to support youth work through the “Youth Initiatives” Funding Scheme, administered by the Youth Board of Cyprus.
The source of this funding is the government’s budget. According to the Youth Board of Cyprus Budget Law of 2023 the amount of funding earmarked for the Programme in 2023 is €458 855.
In order to benefit from the funding, youth work providers need to fill in an application form, explaining their project proposal. The Youth Initiatives Project offers direct financial support to Youth Coordination Bodies such as the Cyprus Youth Council and the Cyprus Youth Clubs Organization. In order to benefit from the funding, the coordination bodies need to fill in a special application form which must be accompanied with the annual report and the current year’s plan and budget.
The types of activities of the Youth Initiatives Project are identified in the chapter ''Participation'' of the Youth Wiki and specifically on section 5.6 Supporting youth organisations. There are not specific target groups to be supported. All youth are covered by the programme.
The funds used for the Youth Initiatives Project come directly from the government’s budget. EU funds are used primarily within the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes, which offer opportunities for youth work on European and national level.
Cooperation
The Youth Board of Cyprus, being the national authority for youth, has established a framework of cooperation with various actors that are described thereafter:
Civil society organisations active in the field of youth work, in this case primarily the Cyprus Youth Council (CYC) and the Cyprus Youth Clubs Organisation (CYCO). As previously said in section 10.2, the Youth Board of Cyprus has established a Working Group, with the participation of representatives from these two umbrella organisations in order to develop a road map for the holistic and quality development of youth work in Cyprus.
Public services dedicated to young people: this cooperation is safeguarded in the framework of the National Youth Strategy which embeds a cross-sectoral committee and binds all actors involved to closely cooperate on youth related issues.
Youth workers and practitioners in the youth field, as well as researchers and experts in the field of youth work: this cooperation was especially promoted in the framework of the visit of the Council of Europe experts’ team in 2019. During the meeting, youth workers were invited to share their point of view on the current needs of the youth work field in Cyprus. In addition to that, the experts had a meeting with professors from the University of Cyprus, discussing the possibility of offering new educational programmes on youth work. Moreover, youth workers have an important role during the design and formulation of the occupational standards of the youth worker that are under development.
Private organisations and social enterprises. Employers and private sector representatives are part of the consultation process of developing standards of vocational qualifications of the youth worker.