The document discusses digital youth work and the expertise center on digital youth work in Finland. Some key points: 1. The center of expertise on digital youth work is run jointly by Verke in Helsinki and Koordinaatti in Oulu, and is funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture to support the implementation of national youth policy. 2. The center provides training, networking opportunities, research, and materials on digital youth work topics to support practitioners. Training content covers issues like digitalization, social media, maker activities, and strategic development of digital youth work. 3. A 2021 survey of municipalities found that while many youth workers feel basic digital competence, lack of clear goals and competences are challenges for

1. Digital youth
work
FROM MAGIC TO
EVERYDAY PRACTICE
JUHA KIVINIEMI

2. • Youth worker active in the
fi
eld since
2003
• Digital youth work expert
• Trainer and facilitator
• Maker enthusiast
About me

3. • Verke coordinates the centre of expertise on
Digital youth work. It is comprises Verke (City of
Helsinki) and Koordinaatti (City of Oulu)
• Resources split 4/5 for Verke and 1/5 for
Koordinaatti
• Current tenure 2020-24
• Fully funded by the ministry of Education and
Culture
Centre for expertise on Digital
youth work

4. Youth field centres for expertise 2020-23
• The ministry of Education and Culture appoints the centres for expertise for a
specified period to support the implementation of the national youth policy
• The centres for expertise develop and support the competences, expertise
and information flow of the youth field according to the youth act
1. Municipal youth work - Center for expertise on municipal youth work Kanuuna
Administrated by: the city of Lahti
2. Youth NGO’s current status and impact - Centre for expertise Kentauri
Administrated by: the Guides and Scouts of Finland
3. Youth participation - Centre for expertise on participation
Administreted by: Youth academy
4. Targeted youth work - Centre for expertise on targeted youth work
Administrated by: Into
5. Digital youth work - Centre for expertise on digital youth work
Administrated by: City of Helsinki / Verke
6. Youth work in schools- Nuoska
Administrated by: South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences CHECK MORE: HTTPS:/
/MINEDU.FI/NUORISOTYON-KESKUKSET

5. Verke
Koordinaatti
Juha Kiviniemi
Maker activities,
international co-operation
Mika Pietilä
Jaana Fedoto
f
Riina Papinaho
Minna Ilva
Manager
Marcus Lundqvist
Training activities
Denice Lönnroth
Co-operation with schools,
swedish speaking
digital youth work
Heikki Lauha
Research and publications,
strategic development of
digital youth work
Matilda Maunula
Communications and
social media
Panu Räsänen
Digital gaming,
cultural digital youth work
Iita-Mari Ruponen
Training activities

6. Current focus points • Climate effects of
technologisation
• Strategic
implementation and
leadership in Digital
youth work
• Combining online and
F2F activities
• Competence criteria
and / in youth worker
primary training

7. Main target groups
THE CENTRE OF EXPERTISE FOR DIGITAL YOUTH WORK
People working in municipalities, parishes and NGO:s, including
• Youth work practitioners and planning officers
• Youth work managers
• Other practitioners working with young people or planning officers of said work
• Youth work trainers and lecturers
• Officials, government and the youth field

8. Tasks are outlined in the national youth work and
-policy development programme as follows:
Tasks for the centre of
expertise on digital youth work
1. Digital youth work competences should be strengthened in
managing, planning and implementing youth work – Verke
2. Knowledge-based development of digital youth work
should be strengthened – Verke
3. Youth workers need to be educated and more aware on the
risks and opportunities associated with digital media– Verke
and Koordinaatti
4. Cross-sectoral support for the coordination to combat online
grooming of young people should be provided –
Koordinaatti

9. What does Verke do?
Training:
Training for work communities,
seminar keynotes etc.
Networking:
SomeCamp -event, Discord -server
Communications:
Newsletter, blog, social media
Research:
Research and surveys on digital youth
work, research co-operation
Material production:
Videos, multimedia publications, self-
guided learning materials, podcasts
Consulting:
Sparring groups, board
memberships etc.
All training and materials are free of charge for the users!

10. What we train and provide materials on:
THE CENTRE OF EXPERTISE FOR DIGITAL YOUTH WORK
• Digitalisation and the future
• AI as a colleague
• AR and VR in youth work
• Young peoples’ new forms of active citizenship
• Social media and digital games in youth work
• Strategic development of digital youth work
• Technology education and maker activities in youth work
Content of trainings is always
customised for the work community
Please note:

11. DIGITALISATION OF MUNICIPAL YOUTH WORK 2021
RESPONSES TO SURVEY
MEDIAN AGE
DIVISION OF RESPONDENTS
BY ROLE
practitio-
ners
managers
MUNICIPALITIES RESPONDED

12. felt that the lack of
clear goals was a
signi
fi
cant challenge
for implementing
quality digital youth work
Stated they want to keep
abreast of technological
developments
felt that making a connection
with young people is as
valuable online as it is in
face-to-face situations
Perceived that they have
at least a basic level of
digital competences
Wanted more training on
topics connected to
digitalisation
Felt that lack of
competences is a
signi
fi
cant challenge in
implementing Digital
youth work
HOW RESPONDENTS PERCEIVED DIGITALISATION

13. • 33% of respondents indicated
that their work communities
had set goals for digital youth
work
• 31% of respondents said their
digital youth work is regularly
evaluated with indicators
GOALS AND EVALUATION

14. What does Verke do?
Training:
Training for work communities,
seminar keynotes etc.
Networking:
SomeCamp -event, Discord -server
Communications:
Newsletter, blog, social media
Research:
Research and surveys on digital youth
work, research co-operation
Material production:
Videos, multimedia publications, self-
guided learning materials, podcasts
Consulting:
Sparring groups, board
memberships etc.
All training and materials are free of charge for the users!

16. “ANY SUFFICIENTLY
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
IS INDISTINGUISHABLE
FROM MAGIC”
Digital youth work intro
- SIR ARTHUR C. CLARKE

17. Some perspectives:
(adapted from Arthur C. Clarke)

18. ”The only way of discovering the
limits of the possible is to venture
a little way past them into the
impossible.”
(Clarke’s second law)

19. ”Any sufficiently
advanced technology is
indistinguishable from magic.”
(Clarke’s third law)

20. ”Every revolutionary idea —
in science, politics, art, or whatever
— seems to evoke three stages of
reaction. They may be summed up
by these phrases:
(Clarke’s law of revolutionary
ideas)

21. 1. "It's completely impossible —
don't waste my time”;
2. "It's possible, but it's not worth
doing”;
3. "I said it was a good idea all
along."

22. • Revolution of communication
• Impact on employment
• Change in social interaction
• New services and phenomena
• A global societal change
VIEWPOINTS TO
DIGITALISATION

23. • Focuses on digitalisation of the youth
fi
eld and youth
work practice
• Simply put, it means using or addressing digital media
and / or technology in youth work as a tool, activity or
content
• Encompasses a wide variety of methods and
approaches that can be included in any form of youth
work
• Is underpinned by existing youth work goals, values
and principles
• Can be physical, online or a mix of these
What is digital youth work?

24. Examples of digital youth
work practice
Digitality as a tool
Emphasis on the
digitalisation of youth work
activities to enhance their
accessibility and relevance
•Using digital tools to
facilitate youth
participation
•Reaching young people
with social media
•Online help services aimed
for high-risk young people

25. Examples of digital youth
work practice
Digitality as an
activity
Emphasis on learning by
doing
and hands-on activities
•Game education, ie.
Game development
activities
•Digital maker activities
combined with arts and
crafts
•Using GPS-enabled apps
for adventure activities

26. Examples of digital youth
work practice
Digitality as
content
Emphasis on issues and
phenomena
related to digitalisation
•Discussing online
phenomena with young
people
•Organising events
connected with young
peoples online cultures, ie.
tubecons
•Using digital media to
support young peoples
self-expression

28. • Thing (co
ff
ee cup, man,
dachshund, car)
• Place (city, moon, forest..)
• Style (painting, photograph,
artist..)
WRITE ON A PAPER A..

29. Maker
activities
JUHA KIVINIEMI, VERKE

30. JUHA KIVINIEMI, VERKE
CREATIVE ACTIVITIES WHERE
YOUNG PEOPLE CAN GAIN NEW
SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND
ATTITUDES AROUND TECHNOLOGY
Maker activities

31. • Technological developments
• Maker -movement (US)
• Maker faires from 2006
• Make magazine
• US government involved
HISTORY

32. • Learning by doing and
experimentation
• Informal context
• Hobby community
• Peer learning in a central role
DEFINITION

33. • STEAM = Science, Technology,
Engineering, Arts and Maths
• STEAM activities often have a more
de
fi
ned curriculum and learning goals
• STEAM activities are heavily linked to
sciences
• Structural di
ff
erences (course-based
vs. “Let’s see what happens” etc.)
MAKER ACTIVITIES VS.
STEAM

34. • Facilities and communities that give access
for doing things together
• In the
fi
nnish youth
fi
eld: Lappenranta, with
an up cycling / ecological theme
• Libraries around Finland have makerspaces
• Hacklabs around Finland
• Europe - for example Luxembourg has a
network of youth work makerspaces
MAKERSPACES

35. • Young People learn most of
their technology skills on their
free time
• The digital gap exists, and a
central task of youth work is
to build equal opportunities
WHY?
TECHNOLOGY SKILLS

36. • Experiment with low threshold kits
• Buy equipment together with
other close organisations
• Get to know free coding platforms
(ie. Scratch)
• See if there are opportunities in
your community
WHERE TO BEGIN?

37. • Background
• Youth work examples
• Inspiration and food for
thought
• Only pdf available, multimedia
version in the works
OUR BOOK

38. • Microcontrollers and
programming with micro:bit
• NFC-tags
• Littlebits synthesizers
• AI-generated art
VAIHTOEHTOJA

39. •SNAC on Digital youth
work
•Competence
models for digital
youth work,
digitalisation in
youth policies..
•European academy on
youth work
•Research on
digitalisation in the
European youth
programmes
•Digital transformation
•MOOC on digital youth
work
•Research on
digitalisation and
inclusion
•New cross-sectoral
Salto center on
digitalisation
CURRENT EUROPEAN INITIATIVES
INCLUDE (BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO)

41. A — B — Obvious News — C — D — E — F
Youth
work
tools
Youth
work
spaces
Youth
work
values
Youth
work
timing
Youth
work
methods
Q: Which aspects of your youth
work have been affected?
0
20
40
60
80
100
majorly moderately slightly
“Everything has
changed. All our
structures, our
framework, our
support environ-
ment, our work
– everything.”
Online survey respondent

42. •Technical issues: connections,
fi
rewalls, hardware..
•Data protection guidelines and
concerns
•How do we reach young people?
•We have had service x, how do
we do that in this platform?
COMMON QUESTIONS / ISSUES

43. EUROPEAN DIGITAL
YOUTH WORK AND THE
COVID-19 PANDEMIC:
WHAT’S NEXT?
DR ALICJA PAWLUCZUK,
UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSITY

44. European Digital Youth Work and the
Covid-19 pandemic: What’s next?
01: Recognise
Let’s take digital youth work
seriously
The key message from the
data is clear – digital youth
work should be recognised
as an essential
fi
eld of
youth work practice and
not merely considered as a
set of ad hoc digital
activities.
DR ALICJA PAWLUCZUK, UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSITY

45. European Digital Youth Work and the
Covid-19 pandemic: What’s next?
02: Support
Let’s consider and address
youth workers’ learning
needs and their well-being
[…] many youth workers still
require additional support
to e
ff
ectively accompany,
support and empower
young people in their
digital participation.
DR ALICJA PAWLUCZUK, UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSITY

46. European Digital Youth Work and the
Covid-19 pandemic: What’s next?
03: Provision
Let’s provide access to
digital technologies and
youth-friendly internet
During the pandemic,
many youth workers had to
rely on their personal
devices and data
allowance to manage and
deliver their youth work
provision. Thus any future
planning and delivery of
future digital youth work
interventions should
consider the provision of a
reliable source of internet
and digital devices.
DR ALICJA PAWLUCZUK, UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSITY

47. • Access to technology (Youth work as an
enabler)
• Technology skills (Most technology skills
are learned outside of formal education)
• Understanding technology (Looking at
technology as a phenomenon in the
context of young peoples daily lives)
• Technical skills vs. Tool for self-expression?
THE DIGITAL DIVIDE AND
YOUTH WORK

48. “IF YOU’RE NOT FALLING
DOWN, YOU’RE NOT
TRYING HARD ENOUGH”
Digital youth work intro
EXPERIMENT WITH A PLAN!

49. DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE
• COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
• HARDWARE & SOFTWARE
• EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES (E.G. AI,
BIG DATA, IOT)
—> TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE
SNAC ON DIGITAL YOUTH WORK
BUILDING AN ECOSYSTEM
• CAPACITY BUILDING
• RESEARCH
• CO-OPERATION
• FUNDING
—> SYSTEMIC CHANGE
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF YOUTH WORK
POLICY AND PRACTICE
• YOUTH & YOUTH WORK POLICY
• SERVICES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
• YOUTH WORK PRACTICE
—> CULTURAL CHANGE

50. 1.The criteria for professional
digital competence in youth
work.
2. A professional digital
competence self-
assessment tool.
3.A competence test
DIGITAL COMPETENCE
TOOLBOX

51. •I know how to install
the programs and
applications required
by my work if
necessary.
•I know how to justify
the need for the
devices and
applications required
by my work to my
employer if necessary.
•I know how to use the
software and digital
services
required by my
employer and know
where to get additional
support in their use.
•I know how to set the
basic settings of the
mobile devices
provided by my
employer, such as
sharing location data
and managing network
connections and
applications.
DIGITAL COMPETENCE
REQUIRED IN WORK

52. •I know how to guide
young people in the
use of the
equipment provided
by youth work.
•I know how to use
the devices and
applications
provided by my
employer in
reaching and
engaging with
young people and
implementing youth
work processes.
DIGITAL COMPETENCE IN
YOUTH WORK PRACTICE

53. •I understand what digital
youth work means.
•I know how to utilise
digital solutions in
planning my work.
•I know how to utilise
digital solutions in
mapping out the wishes
and needs of young
people.
•I know how to utilise
digital solutions in
organising and assessing
services as well as
gathering feedback from
young people.
•I know how to make time
for youth work carried
out in digital
environments.
DIGITAL COMPETENCE
REQUIRED IN WORK

54. •I know how to carry
out digital youth
work in accordance
with my
organisation’s
objectives.
•I know how to set
objectives for the
use of digital media
and technology in
my own youth work.
•I know how to
promote youth
participation and
equality (e.g. taking
minorities into
consideration) with
the help of digital
media and
technology.
•I know how to guide
young people to the
digital services of
reliable actors.
DIGITAL COMPETENCE IN
YOUTH WORK PRACTICE

55. DYW SNAC
International project with 17 countries

56. SNAC on Digital youth work:
https://www.oph.
fi
› digital-youth-work

57. SNAC on Digital youth work:
https://www.oph.
fi
› digital-youth-work

58. • When looking at the competence
frameworks: few are speci
fi
c on digital
youth work; with the majority being
dedicated to general digital
competences, speci
fi
c to schools or
formal education settings.
• Assessment of competences in digital
youth work is not a widespread practice
but at the same time the motivation (or
lack thereof) of using them is not clear.
WP2 - DIGITAL COMPETENCES AND CAPACITIES
SNAC on Digital youth work:
https://www.oph.
fi
› digital-youth-work

59. Building a vision where digital
transformation is incorporated into
learning mobility activities is a necessary
step. It is time to shift the focus from
online to digital learning mobilities.
During the pandemic, we were forced to
opt between going fully online or o
ff
ering
no activities. However, as our exercise
shows, there are possibilities other than
providing fully online activities.
WP5 - HYBRID AND BLENDED MOBILITIES
SNAC on Digital youth work:
https://www.oph.
fi
› digital-youth-work

60. PLEASE GIVE US FEEDBACK! (2 MINUTES)

61. JUHA KIVINIEMI, VERKE
Kiitos!
juha@verke.org
info@verke.org
www.verke.org