This document discusses views on the future of youth work in Finland in the context of increasing digitalization. It provides an overview of key elements of current youth work in Finland, including that it focuses on voluntary activities for young people, facilitates peer group cooperation, and aims to promote youth participation and empowerment. The document discusses how digital technologies will continue shaping work, culture and society through 2030. It argues that youth workers must understand digitalization's importance and include digital elements in their work. Pillars of youth work, like its democratic, pedagogical and cultural roles, may be supported by artificial intelligence. While technology could increase equality, it also risks decreasing equality if not all young people can equally access and use it.

1. Youth Work in 2030 - Views of
Digitalization and Future of Youth Work
Tomi Kiilakoski
Suvi Tuominen

2. www.sitra.fi

3. Megatrendit

4. What impact does this trend
have on young people in the
future?
What impact does this
trend have on youth work
in the future?

5. On youth work in Finland
Senior researcher, adjunct professor Tomi Kiilakoski
Finnish Youth Research Network

6. Finland

7. Elements of youth work in Finland (Kiilakoski
2019)
• Firstly, youth work is an age-specific activity – the way youth work relates to the
target group is influenced by an understanding of what it means to be a young
person in society.
• Secondly, youth work is about creating activities for youth who engage in the
process of youth work on a voluntary basis.
• Thirdly, youth work creates spaces where young people can co-operate and have
fun with their peer group. Youth work is about facilitating group activities of the
young.
• Fourthly, the conception of youth work as education has been important in the
history of Finnish youth policy. Recent theoretical and practical studies also
emphasise this perspective; the discourse about youth work is thus influenced as
well.
• Fifthly, youth work aims at promoting youth participation both within youth work
and in society as a whole. This involves empowering youth and creating social
structures that help them express themselves.
• Sixthly, youth work creates conditions to help less well-to-do youth gain access to
services, be empowered and interact with other young people

8. Youth Barometer 2018 (Myllyniemi &
Kiilakoski 2019)

9. Youth work in the future ?

10. Youth work in the future ?
Creating Spaces

11. Youth work in the future ?
Creating Spaces
Building Bridges
Society

12. Youth work in the future ?
Creating Spaces
Building Bridges
Being Critical
?
Society

13. Youth work in the future ?
Creating Spaces
Building Bridges
Being Critical
?
Society Environment

14. Youth work in the future ?
Creating Spaces
Building Bridges
Being Critical
?
Society Environment
Technology

15. Youth work in the future ?
Creating Spaces
Building Bridges
Being Critical
?
Society Environment
Technology

16. Youth barometer 2018 (Myllyniemi &
Kiilakoski 2019)

17. 13
Literature on Finnish Youth Work in English
(open-access)
• Forkby, T. & Kiilakoski, T. (2014) Building capacity in youth work: Perspectives and practice in youth clubs in Finland and Sweden. Youth & policy 112. http://www.youthandpolicy.org/wp-
content/uploads/2017/06/yandp112.pdf
• Gretschel , A. (ed.) (2016) Studying the Impact of International Youth Work. http://www.nuorisotutkimusseura.fi/images/studying_the_impact_of_international_youth_work_www_78_pages.pdf
• Höylä, S. (2012) Youth Work in Finland. https://www.humak.fi/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/humak-verkko-hoyla-youth-work-englanti.pdf
• Kiilakoski, T. (2014) Entrepreneurial Learning and Ethos of Youth Work: reflections on a difficult relationship. In Pantea, M. (ed.) Young People, Entrepreuship & Non-formal learning.
https://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1440&context=intl
• Kiilakoski, T. (2017) Saying, doing, relating – thinking about youth work practice in Finland. in Thinking seriously about youth work. And how to prepare people to do it. https://pjp-
eu.coe.int/documents/1017981/1667851/Thinking+seriously+about+YW.pdf/6b620a71-f7be-cf80-7da9-17408a3960ba
• Kiilakoski, T. (2019) Youth Work Education in Finland. https://www.nuorisotutkimusseura.fi/images/youth_work_education_web.pdf
• Kiviniemi, J. & Tuominen, S. (eds. (2017) Digital Youth Work – A Finnish Perspective. https://www.verke.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Digital-youth-work-a-Finnish-perspective_web.pdf
• Nieminen, J. (2013) A Finnish perspective: features of the history of modern youth work and youth organisations. In History of Youth Work, Vol. 3. https://pjp-
eu.coe.int/documents/1017981/1667851/TheHistoryOfYouthWorkVol3.pdf/57009717-9c65-45c7-9714-df202038d607
• Nieminen, J. (2014) History of youth work as a profession in Finland. In History of Youth Work in Europe, vol. 4. https://pjp-eu.coe.int/documents/1017981/8437152/H4_Finland.pdf/dda3d481-87c1-42ff-
95c4-83fed0be14c0
• Nieminen, Juha & Gretschel, A. (2018) The "Social" in Youth Work: Snapshots of Finnish Youth Work Policy and History. In History of Youth Work, Vol. 6. https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/youth-
partnership/the-history-of-youth-work-volume-6
• Nöjd, T. & Siurala, L. (2015) Youth Work Quality Assessment. The Self and Peer Assessment Model.
http://www.nuorisokanuuna.fi/sites/default/files/filedepot/youth_work_quality_assessment_verkkoversio.pdf
• Peltola, M. (2010) Youth Work in Finland – Finding Ways for intercultural Opening. http://www.nuorisotutkimusseura.fi/images/julkaisuja/youthwork.pdf
• Siurala, Lasse (2018) Youth Work In Finland. In The Impact of Youth Work in Europe: A Study of Five European Countries. https://www.humak.fi/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/The-Impact-Of-Youth-
Work.pdf
• Siurala, Lasse & Sinisalo, Juha (2018) Impact of Youth Work in Finland. In The Impact of Youth Work in Europe: A Study of Five European Countries. https://www.humak.fi/wp-
content/uploads/2018/09/The-Impact-Of-Youth-Work.pdf
• Wrede-Jäntti, Matilda & Wester, Cecilia (2018) CSYP in Finland –Essential elements, strategies and functionality within the youth guidance and service networks. In Needles in Haystacks. https://pjp-
eu.coe.int/documents/1017981/1667851/Needles-In-Haystacks-WEB.pdf/b63de6f1-9dd6-66e6-9493-d1ed7aed6ec3
Ministry of Culture and Education on Youth Work: http://minedu.fi/en/youth
Finnish Youth Work Statistics: https://nuorisotilastot.fi/#!/en/frontpage/undefined/perus/choice-1/prosentit/whiteblue/Koko%20maa/Koko%20maa/table/suhde//null/kunta/donut/%5B%5D//%5B%5D//2016-
2017/0?2
Youth Wiki, Finland: https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/en/content/youthwiki/overview-finland

18. Youth Work in 2030 - Views of
Digitalization and Future of Youth Work
Suvi Tuominen
@suvimt
Manager, Verke

19. ”What we mean with ”digital” will change radically during the next 10 years.
Even now wearable technology, smart homes, etc break down the perception
of separate digital environments. Hanging on to old concepts limits our
capability to think about what digitalisation of youth work could be.”
Answer to edelfoi survey (Eriksson & Tuuva-Hongisto 2019)

20. Susan Eriksson &
Sari Tuuva-Hongisto
2019
Available at:
www.verke.org

21. Youth work 2030
• Work, culture, social relationships & economy will be shaped by
technology also in the future
• Every youth worker must understand the importance and broadness of
digitalisation
• The core of youth work will be to understand and support the lives of
young people - but in a changed context
• Most important is to be innovative in including digital elements in one’s
own work
-> plans and strategies for digital transformation of youth work are neededSusan Eriksson &
Sari Tuuva-Hongisto
2019

22. Council Conclusions on Digital Youth Work, 2019

26. • Digital cultures
• Artificial intelligence
• Social media
• Digital life skills
• Managing digital transformation
• Youth Work 2030: Possible futures
Available in Finnish at: www.verke.org

27. THE DEMOCRACY
PILLAR
THE PEDAGOGY
PILLAR
THE PUBLIC
HEALTH PILLAR
THE CULTURAL
PILLAR
THE SOCIO
POLITICAL
PILLAR
Role of youth
work: giving
young people a
stronger capacity
to act as citizens
Youth work should
strengthen the
growth of young
people and
support their
abilities
Youth work
focuses on
supporting healthy
lifestyles
Youth work takes
into consideration
the aesthetic needs
of young people and
helps them find ways
to express
themselves
Youth work
prevents social
problems
On pillars of youth work
Forkby & Kiilakoski 2014
Verke 2019And
artificial
intelligence
AI collects
young people’s
opinions from
various sources
Youth work
supports young people
to use AI as part of
their lives
AI helps to
analyze health and
wellbeing, self-care
bots like Woebot
AI tells
youth workers what
is ”in” in youth
cultures, AI as a
tool to create art
AI targets
services to young
people according to
their needs

28. Digital technology can increase equality
• Immersion through virtual
realities can help to see the
world through the eyes of
others
• Digital platforms and
robotics make it possible to
participate regardless of
location etc

31. Digital technology can decrease equality
• Social media echo chambers
limit our possibilities to
bump into people with
different opinions
• Not everyone has the same
possibilities, skills or
motivation to use digital
technologies
—> youth work should make
sure every young person has
some interest in technologies

32. www.digitalyouthwork.eu

33. ”If you want to
change the future,
you must change
what you are doing in
the present”
-Mark Twain

34. INNOBOKSI.FI - IN FINNISH
WWW.VERKE.ORG/INNOBOX - IN ENGLISH

35. Design Council, UK
DOUBLE DIAMOND

40. Thanks!