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1. Forthcoming policy developments

2. Ongoing debates

Forthcoming policy developments

According to the Department of Youth Affairs in 2021, the need for young people to have a greater say in the public issues that affect them is a recurring theme in face-to-face conversations with young people, at events and in discussions with youth NGO leaders. In addition, a practical handbook for teachers is currently being produced to support career guidance for young people.

Ongoing debates

According to the Department of Youth Affairs in 2021, the main topics of policy debates are the following:

• Tackling unpaid apprenticeships of young people.
• Creating community spaces for young people: the project that funded the New Generation Centre community space network has come to an end, but there is still a growing number of municipalities that consider it important to create community spaces for young people. The government encourages local authorities to take advantage of this opportunity, as it can be an important means of retaining young people in their area.
• Involving young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in community and voluntary activities.
• The impact of COVID on youth work/youth mental health issues.
• Promoting the further development and visibility of youth work.