History of online youth work in Finland - Verke as an organization - Survey results - Strategic planning - Helsinki study visit

1. Brief history of Digital Youth
Work in Finland

2. Youth Act
• Will be renewed next year
• ”to support young people's growth and
independence, to promote young people's
active citizenship and empowerment and
to improve young people's growth and
living conditions”
• Youth policy affairs belong to the Ministry
of Education and Culture

3. “Local youth work and youth policy shall
comprise
• educational guidance of young people
• facilities and hobby opportunities
• information and advisory services
• support to youth associations and other
youth groups
• sportive, cultural, international and
multicultural youth activities
• young people's environmental education
• outreach youth work”

4. • Young people means all under 29 years of
age
• Over 3000 people work with young people
in municipalities
• 121 youth work organizations and the
Church play a significant role in youth
work

5. Young people’s
media productions

7. Day in the life of a youth
worker
Photo: Visit Finland

8. On the way to work
12.00 Photo: Markus Spiske / www.temporausch.com

9. At the office
12.30

10. Grocery store
13.00

11. Meeting
14.00

12. Afternoon club
15.00

13. Bus
16.00

14. At the youth house
18.00

15. • Verke’s mission: Youth
workers know, how to
use digital media and
technology in their every
day work

17. 1) Training and consulting
youth workers

18. 2) Producing material and
information

19. 3) Building bridges

20. 4) Innovating new solutions

21. ICT in Finnish Youth Work
Survey for municipal youth workers
on use of the Internet in youth work

22. Background
The aim was to establish...
• how and how much the Internet is used in work and
activities with young people
• what kind of know-how and resource needs the work
involves
• what kind of changes have taken place in youth workers’
Internet use since 2013

23. Structure of the survey
• Introduction
• Attitudes and views
• Use of the Internet in youth work
– Reasons for using the Internet
– Utilisation of Internet services
– Why is the Internet not used in youth work
• Resources and working culture
– Management
– Evaluation
– Tools
• Expertise and know-how
– Personal know-how
– Professional know-how
• Challenges and targets for development
• Future expectations
• Background information

24. Overview
• Quantity of query retrievers ca. 3000
• Quantity of answers 945
• Answer percentage ~ 32 %
• Sample (N) 915
• Quantity of municipalities answered 232/317 (73,2 %)

25. Practice

26. Do you use the Internet in youth work?
8
92
6
94
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
En
Kyllä
En
Kyllä
20132015
Comparison, 2015 (N=915) / 2013 (N=872)
Kyllä = Yes
En = No

27. 5%
11%
18%
20%
22%
40%
77%
81%
33%
38%
70%
63%
66%
45%
21%
18%
62 %
50 %
12 %
17 %
12 %
15 %
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Gaming
Group activities
Media education
Participation / influencing
activities
Supporting young people's
own activities
Advice and guidance
Spreading information
Communication with young
people
Internet usage in youth work
Weekly or
more often
Monthly or less
often
Never

28. Which of the following services do you use in youth work, and how often? (N=864, %)
Daily Weekly Monthly Less often Never Total, %
Blog services (e.g. WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr) 1
(0,7)
6
(6)
10
(8)
24
(25)
59
(61)
100
Discussion forums (e.g. Suomi24, Demi) 0,6
(0,4)
4
(5)
10
(12)
33
(29)
53
(54)
100
Link and news sharing services (e.g. Delicious) 2
(2)
7
(7)
8
(9)
22
(23)
61
(60)
100
Augmented reality based services (e.g. Ingress; Zombies,
Run!)
0,1 0,5 2 13 82 100
Microblogging services (e.g. Twitter) 5
(0,6)
10
(3)
11
(7)
23
(22)
51
(67)
100
Web-based youth information and counselling work
services (e.g. nuortenelama.fi)
3 14 23 33 27 100
Recommendation services (e.g. Yelp) 0,4
(-)
2
(2)
5
(3)
24
(19)
69
(76)
100
The organisation’s own website 29
(15)
44
(40)
18
(27)
6
(12)
3
(6)
100
E-mail 73
(56)
13
(20)
7
(13)
5
(7)
3
(4)
100
Location information services (e.g. Foursquare,
ActionTrack)
0,7
(1)
5
(5)
9
(8)
21
(20)
65
(66)
100
eParticipation platforms (e.g. nuortenideat.fi) 1
(1)
11
(8)
22
(18)
38
(36)
28
(36)
100
Cloud storage services (e.g. Google Drive, Dropbox) 8
(4)
13
(5)
16
(8)
29
(21)
34
(63)
100
Online games (e.g. Minecraft, Counter-Strike, League of
Legends)
2
(0,7)
3
(1)
5
(2)
19
(14)
72
(82)
100
VoIP services (e.g. Skype) 0,6
(-)
5
(3)
9
(5)
30
(23)
55
(69)
100
Wiki and other collaboration services (e.g. Wikipedia,
Basecamp)
5
(3)
22
(15)
25
(26)
26
(28)
23
(28)
100
(2013 survey results, N=806.)

29. Which of the following social networking services and social media applications do you use in youth work, and how often?
(N=864, %)
Daily Weekly Monthly Less often Never Total, %
Ask.fm 1 5 8 17 69 100
Blogger 0,5 2 6 16 75 100
Facebook 67 22 5 2 4 100
Facebook Messenger 38 26 9 8 19 100
Flickr 0,6 1 3 11 84 100
Google+ 7 9 7 12 65 100
GoSupermodel 0,1 - 0,6 6 94 100
Habbo Hotel 0,4 1 1 7 91 100
Instagram 15 21 10 14 40 100
IRC-Galleria 0,2 1 2 12 84 100
Kik Messenger 0,4 0,6 2 8 90 100
Minecraft 0,6 2 2 8 87 100
Pinterest 0,9 4 7 9 79 100
PlayStation Network 1 3 3 8 85 100
Snapchat 0,5 0,8 2 6 90 100
Steam 0,7 0,9 2 5 92 100
Telegram Messenger - 0,1 0,6 3 96 100
Tumblr - 0,2 0,5 6 94 100
Twitch 0,1 0,5 1 5 93 100
Vimeo 0,4 0,7 3 10 86 100
Vine 0,1 0,2 0,5 7 92 100
WhatsApp 27 20 10 6 37 100
Yo 0,7 2 2 4 92 100
YouTube 7 24 28 18 23 100

30. Policy

31. Are you currently working in a supervisory role? (N=915)
Yes
No
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Yes
No
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Has a strategy or action plan been drawn up in your work community regarding
use of the Internet in youth work? (N=117)

32. Have you drawn up aims for use of the Internet in youth work with
your supervisor/work community within the last year? (N=798)
29
71
Yes
No
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

33. Professional Guidelines

34. Have you received instructions regarding the use of the Internet in
youth work from your supervisor/employer within the last
year?(N=798)
43
57
Yes
No
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

35. Resource

36. What kind of tools are provided for your use during your working hours by
your employer? (N=915, %)
Own use Shared use Not used at all Total, %
Mobile phone 64
(78)
14
(14)
23
(8)
100
Smart phone 62
(18)
10
(0,6)
28
(81)
100
Tablet (e.g. iPad) 12
(4)
23
(5)
65
(91)
100
Laptop computer 43
(38)
31
(28)
26
(34)
100
Desktop computer 40
(44)
36
(33)
24
(23)
100
Games console 7 50 43 100
Digital camera / digital
video camera
13 60 27 100
(2013 survey results, N=872.)

37. Please estimate how many hours a week you spend carrying out youth work
on the Internet as part of your working hours. (N=864)
Less than 1 hr
1-2 hrs
3-5 hrs
6-10 hrs
11-15 hrs
16-20 hrs
21-25 hrs
26-30 hrs
Over 30 hrs
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

38. Evaluation

39. Have the following means been used in your organisation to monitor the
realisation of aims set for Internet use in youth work? (N=915, %)
Yes No Can’t say Total, %
Compilation of statistics
(e.g. nutitilastot.fi, Google
Analytics)
19 51 30 100
Indicators set by the
organisation
24 47 28 100
Self and peer evaluation
(e.g. audits)
25 51 24 100
Work community
discussions
46 37 16 100
External expert evaluation
(e.g. reports)
10 60 30 100
Feedback and satisfaction
surveys aimed at young
people
42 41 17 100
Feedback and satisfaction
surveys aimed at
employees
24 58 18 100
Interactive evaluations
carried out with young
people
16 58 26 100

40. Learning and
Development

41. During the last year, have you taken part in training during your
working hours relating to the online world of young people or use
of the Internet in youth work? (N=915)
32
68
Yes
No
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

42. How would you evaluate your expertise on the following Internet-related topics?
(N=915, %)
Excellent Good Satisfactory Weak Total, %
Digital games and online
gaming
6
(5)
15
(18)
33
(32)
47
(45)
100
Production of media content
(e.g. animation, blogs, music,
videos, games)
4
(5)
20
(20)
37
(35)
40
(41)
100
Media criticism 21 54 19 7 100
Programming 0,6
(1)
3
(5)
17
(22)
79
(72)
100
Social media 22
(28)
48
(48)
25
(18)
5
(6)
100
Copyright 7 39 37 17 100
Technical expertise (e.g.
hardware, software)
7 26 41 26 100
Online cultures 3
(6)
25
(31)
45
(39)
27
(24)
100
Online safety (e.g.
information security, privacy)
11
(13)
47
(50)
33
(30)
10
(8)
100
Online participation and
activism
4
(5)
26
(32)
47
(42)
24
(20)
100
(2013 survey results, N=872)

43. How would you evaluate your know-how in the following areas relating to
Internet use in youth work? (N=915, %)
Excellent Good Satisfactory Weak Total, %
Professional ethics and
methodological special
characteristics on the Internet
12
(12)
52
(57)
28
(24)
8
(7)
100
Utilisation of digital games in
youth work
3
(0,8)
10
(10)
28
(29)
59
(60)
100
Media education and
supporting media literacy skills
in young people*
6
(6)
42
(47)
40
(37)
13
(10)
100
Utilisation of mobile devices in
youth work
9 41 36 15 100
Supporting young people’s own
initiative based activities and
expression on the Internet*
4
(4)
33
(44)
46
(37)
17
(14)
100
Online cultures and behaviour
of young people
3
(4)
34
(39)
44
(42)
19
(16)
100
Advice and guidance for young
people
14 52 27 7 100
Utilisation of social media tools
in youth work
13
(12)
42
(48)
36
(29)
9
(11)
100
Interaction and meeting on
the Internet
16
(14)
51
(55)
26
(24)
7
(7)
100
(2013 survey results, N=872)
* not fully comparable with the 2013 survey results

44. In which of the following areas would you particularly like to develop your own
professional know-how? (Select a maximum of 3) (N=915)
Professional ethics and methodological special characteristics…
Utilisation of digital games in youth work
Media education and supporting media literacy skills in young…
Production of media content (e.g. animation, blogs, music,…
Utilisation of mobile devices in youth work
Supporting young people’s own initiative based activities and…
Online cultures and behaviour of young people
Advice and guidance for young people
Programming
Utilisation of social media tools in youth work
Copyright online and in the media
Technical know-how (e.g. equipment, programmes)
Interaction and meeting on the Internet
Something else, please state what
I don’t feel that I need to develop my know-how
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

45. What are the key factors causing you to not use the Internet in youth work at all?
(N=51)
I feel that work carried out online isn’t real/genuine youth work.
I feel that the Internet does not bring added value to my work.
I feel that I do not have sufficient know-how.
I do not have sufficient tools available.
I do not have sufficient infrastructure available (e.g. Internet connection).
I reach young people by other means.
My employer has prevented access to some websites (e.g. firewall).
I don’t have enough time to use the Internet during my working hours.
My supervisor does not support using the Internet.
My organisation does not support using the Internet.
Sufficiently clear aims have not been set for the work.
In my work community use of the Internet is the responsibility of another
employee(s).
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

46. What are the most significant factors in your work that hinder use of the Internet in
youth work? (Select a maximum of 3) (N=465) *
I feel that the Internet does not bring added value to
my work.
I feel that I do not have sufficient know-how.
I do not have sufficient tools available.
I do not have sufficient infrastructure available (e.g.
Internet connection).
My employer has prevented access to some websites
(e.g. firewall).
I don’t have enough time to use the Internet during my
working hours.
In my work community use of the Internet is the
responsibility of another employee(s).
Sufficiently clear aims have not been set for the work.
My supervisor does not support using the Internet.
My organisation does not support using the Internet.
Another factor, please state.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

47. What are the most significant factors in your work that promote use of the Internet in
youth work? (Select a maximum of 3)(N=864)
I feel that the internet is a central part of young
people's lives.
I want to utilise the possibilities of the Internet in
youth work.
I have opportunities to update/develop my know-
how.
I have opportunities to organise my work flexibly (e.g.
working hours).
Sufficiently clear aims have been set for the work.
I have sufficient tools available.
I have sufficient infrastructure available (e.g. Internet
connection).
My supervisor supports use of the Internet.
My organisation supports use of the Internet.
Another factor, please state.
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

48. Guidelines for how to use Instagram
Social media guidelines for Happi
Guidelines for media education
Guide on publishing photos taken in youth houses
Guide on how to update a youth house’s website
Guidelines for talking to young people online
Nusuvefo’s ethical guidelines

50. • Internet of things
• Virtual reality
• Augmented reality
• Robotics
• Wearables

52. How do you keep up to date
with new technologies and
how young people are using
them?

54. Government policies
affecting digital youth work
• Youth act (2016)
• Local government act (2016)
• Child and youth policy programme (2016)
• Government programme (2015)
• Child welfare act (2007)
• Guidelines for good media literacy (2013)

55. Cycle of strategic planning
Monitoring the
surrounding world
Setting the goals
for using
technology
Implementing
actions
Evaluating the
actions

56. How do you evaluate
digital youth work?

57. Study visit in Helsinki
The aim is to get to know
some good practices of
digital youth work

58. Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday
Catch up: Where are
we with the Scottish
/ Finnish principles?
(Hietaniemenkatu 9)
Study visit 3 Departures
Scottish group:
Study visit 1
Finnish group: Work
on the Finnish
principles
Study visit 4
Arrivals. Someone
from Verke will
come meet you at
the airport.
Study visit 2 Study visit 5
Accommodation at
Hotel Finn,
Kalevankatu 3B
Conclusion: What
have we learned?
Possible next steps?
(Hietaniemenkatu 9)

59. Some possible themes for study visits
• Evaluation of web-based services
• Branding youth services online
• Guidelines for using social media in yw
• Ethical guidelines for web-based work
• Gaming
• Online peer support
• Online councelling
• Supporting yp to produce online media
• Supporting yp with sexual health orientated
questions online