From the publication’s foreword:

Dr Howard Williamson Professor of European Youth Policy University of South Wale

“Nonetheless, the picture is promising. Youth organisations, in their many forms, have an important role to play, both for the personal and social development of individuals, and for the subsequent civic and ‘political’ contribution of those individuals to their communities and society. The distinctive feature of youth organisations is their anchoring philosophy of youth participation. It is within those contexts that young people’s voice is brought to bear on a range of issues of concern to them and then often articulated well beyond. Whatever else takes place in youth organisations (and it can be quite a list: education and learning, experience and opportunity, advice and guidance), they are associational spaces for young people to come together and learn and work together. Perhaps they should do more, broadening the territory on which they work (to address the pressing youth issues of our time, such as employment, health and housing) and motivating more young people to take part. But they do a great deal already – in service to others, campaigning, and informing better youth policy and practice. We just need to work harder to demonstrate those facts.”

http://www.youthforum.org/publication/study-on-the-social-value-of-youth-organisations/