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The history of youth work goes back to the birth of the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
in the 18th century, which was the first time that young men left their own homes and
cottage industries The putting-out system is a means of subcontracting work. Historically, it was also known as the workshop system and the domestic system. In putting-out, work is contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who complete the project via remote ...
to migrate to the big towns. The result of this migration was an emergent
youth culture Youth culture refers to the societal norms of children, adolescents, and young adults. Specifically, it comprises the processes and symbolic systems that are shared by the youth and are distinct from those of adults in the community. An emphasis ...
in urban areas, which was responded to by the efforts of local people.


1844–1900

In 1844 the first organisation whose sole aim was to address the needs of young men was founded. The
YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...
was set up by George Williams. Williams was from London and his goal was to create an organisation that catered for the spiritual and emotional needs as well as the physical needs of the young men that he saw around him. The delivery of Williams' work was mainly through
missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
working on the streets of London though it wasn't long before the first
hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared b ...
was founded. Work with young women however was seen as less important because young women's needs at this time were seen as being centred on
homemaking Homemaking is mainly an American and Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational, day-to-day operations of a house o ...
, which were already (supposedly) provided for in the home. This changed in 1878 when youth work pioneer
Maude Stanley The Hon. Maude Alethea Stanley (May 1833 –14 July 1915) was a British youth work pioneer and women's welfare activist. Early life and family Stanley was born at Alderley Park, Chelford in Cheshire, the third daughter and fourth of ten c ...
developed work with young women around the Five Dials area of London. She went on to establish the
Girls Club Union A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary ...
. Later that century in 1883 the
Boys' Brigade The Boys' Brigade (BB) is an international interdenominational Christian youth organisation, conceived by the Scottish businessman Sir William Alexander Smith to combine drill and fun activities with Christian values. Following its inception ...
was founded by William Alexander Smith. He was a teacher and like Williams in 1844 his aim was to provide for the needs of young men that he worked with. His organisation was based more around the military than the YMCA was, though it was still mainly a Christian organisation. Still staying within London in 1896
Lily Montagu The Hon. Lilian Helen "Lily" Montagu, CBE (22 December 1873 – 22 January 1963) was the first woman to play a major role in Progressive Judaism. Life Lily Montagu was the sixth of 10 children born to Ellen Cohen Montagu (1843–1919) and Samu ...
contacted young
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
ish people from Eastern European families in the east end and set up an organisation called Children's Synagogue Services. Montagu went on to become a founder member of the ''National Organisation of Girls' Clubs'' (now called
UK Youth UK Youth is a national youth work charity founded in 1911 that delivers national programmes to provide opportunities to young people. The charity is an umbrella body with 40 local youth associations from across England. UK Youth's national programm ...
) and was a key figure in the development of Jewish youth work.


1900–1950

In 1902, in the US, the
Woodcraft Indians Woodcraft League of America, originally called the Woodcraft Indians and League of Woodcraft Indians, is a youth program, established by Ernest Thompson Seton in 1901. Despite the name, the program was created for non-Native American in the United ...
was set up by
Ernest Thompson Seton Ernest Thompson Seton (born Ernest Evan Thompson August 14, 1860 – October 23, 1946) was an English-born Canadian-American author, wildlife artist, founder of the Woodcraft Indians in 1902 (renamed Woodcraft League of America), and one of ...
. Despite the name, the program was created for non-Indian children. At first the group was for boys only, but later it would also include girls. Seton instructed the children in his town in Connecticut in outdoor "Woodcraft" – knowledge and skills of life in the woods – and based much of the group's terminology and structure on the misconceptions about Native Americans that were common in that era. The program spread internationally to become the Woodcraft Movement and many of these programs still exist. Seton's Woodcraft scheme also had a strong influence on later youth programs and organizations, particularly, the
Scout Movement Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...
. In 1907
Scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...
was founded by
Robert Baden-Powell Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; (Commonly pronounced by others as ) 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder and first Chief Scout of the worl ...
following the success of his book ''Aids to Scouting''. His inspiration for this organisation was his experience during the
Siege of Mafeking The siege of Mafeking was a 217-day siege battle for the town of Mafeking (now called Mafikeng) in South Africa during the Second Boer War from October 1899 to May 1900. The siege received considerable attention as Lord Edward Cecil, the son of ...
in the
Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
(1899–1902). Like Smith's Boys' Brigade, the organisation was uniformed, being heavily influenced by the military, though it has changed tremendously as a movement since that time. For the first time youth work in the UK was taken out of the streets of London as Scouting was made into a national (and before long international) organisation. A year later in 1908, Charles Russell began his work with young men on the streets in deprived areas of
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, leading to the foundation of the
National association of boys' clubs National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...
movement. In 1910 the
Girl Guides Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909 when girls requested to join the then-grassroot ...
(and later Girl Scouts in the United States) were founded by Baden-Powell with the aid of his sister Agnes. This was because young women were approaching Scout leaders asking if they would be able to join the organisation, and Baden-Powell responded to this but he felt having girls and boys in the same scout troops would be an unnecessary distraction for both groups. Contemporaneous with the development of Scouting was the creation of the
TUXIS TUXIS was a boys’ program similar to the Scouting movement promoted by Canadian Protestant churches. There are a number of variations of what the acronym "TUXIS" is said to stand for. Most commonly, it is said to stand for "'you' ('U') and 'I' ...
movement in Canada. Originally developed through the
YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...
and later governed by the Boys' Work Board, the TUXIS program for boys aged 15 to 17 focused on Christian values, leadership, the outdoors, and camping. The Boys' Work Board also created the
Trail Rangers A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. T ...
program for boys aged 12 – 14. A parallel program was established for girls, called the
Canadian Girls in Training Canadian Girls in Training, or CGIT, is a church-based program for girls and young women aged 11–17 throughout Canada. Girls who join the CGIT vow to "Cherish Health, Seek Truth, Know God, Serve Others and thus, with esus'help, become the girl ...
(CGIT). Later in the 20th century concerns were raised about the number of young people not in membership of youth organisations. This led to the first (unsuccessful) attempt to register all young people in Britain in 1941. The next approach to develop was that by arts worker Marie Paneth in 1944. She went out onto the streets of London to address issues such as health, family breakdown and poverty in war-torn parts of the city, using a disused
air raid shelter Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but many ...
as her base. Her aim was to make ''good, independent citizens for a good community''. During the second world war, leaders were looking for strategies to prevent a World War III – which would probably be fought with nuclear bombs and annihilate humanity. One of the strategies put in place was to set-up youth organisations worldwide and have youth with similar fields of interest organize and participate in youth exchanges. At these events, youth from different countries and cultures would get to know each other, come together around constructive activities and bring back positive experiences to their societies. These youngsters and young adults would eventually become adults in places of responsibilities and in case of a crisis, it was hoped that this civil network would resist war mongering rhetorics, lies and disinformation. Thus, e.g. in 1956,
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
's
IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
– since called the
World Conservation Union The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
, created a youth section, the IYFInternational Youth Federation for the Study and Conservation of Nature – renamed to International Youth Federation for Environmental Studies and Conservation. In 1983, because of growing success, regional branches were created s.a. the European branch YEE= Youth Environment Europe.


1950–2000

By 1959 widespread
moral panic A moral panic is a widespread feeling of fear, often an irrational one, that some evil person or thing threatens the values, interests, or well-being of a community or society. It is "the process of arousing social concern over an issue", usua ...
in the press about teenage delinquency led the British government to look into a national response to catering for the needs of young people. In 1960 a government report known as ''The Albemarle Report'' was released, which outlined the need for local government agencies to take on responsibility for providing extracurricular activities for young people. Out of this the statutory sector of the
youth service Youth service refers to non-military, intensive engagement of young people in organized activity that contributes to the local, national, or world community. Youth service is widely recognized and valued by society, with minimal or no compensation ...
was born. For the first time youth centres and fully paid full-time
youth workers A Youth worker is a person that works with young people to facilitate their personal, social and educational development through informal education, care (e.g. preventive) or leisure approaches. All types of educative approaches are not ethical fo ...
made an appearance across the whole of
Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
. Five years later the '' National Association of Youth Clubs'' (now
UK Youth UK Youth is a national youth work charity founded in 1911 that delivers national programmes to provide opportunities to young people. The charity is an umbrella body with 40 local youth associations from across England. UK Youth's national programm ...
) published a report called ''The Unattached'' about experimental street projects that were taking place up and down the country. It outlined the need for something more than youth centres in certain parts of the country because young people were still being excluded, and it sold tens of thousands of copies.


2000–present

A further government report in 2001 entitled ''Transforming Youth Work'' for the first time outlined the statutory responsibility for all local government organisations to provide targeted youth work activities within their region. With targets published in 2003 set on 2001 census information many local authorities were given the push they needed to establish quality services.


See also

*
Youth-led media Youth-led media is any effort created, planned, implemented, and reflected upon by young people in the form of media, including websites, newspapers, television shows and publications. Movement These efforts form the basis of an international move ...
*
Youth activism Youth activism is the participation in community organizing for social change by persons between the ages of 15–24. Youth activism has led to a shift in political participation and activism. A notable shift within youth activism is the rise of ...
*
Youth voice Youth voice refers to the distinct ideas, opinions, attitudes, knowledge, and actions of young people as a collective body. The term youth voice often groups together a diversity of perspectives and experiences, regardless of backgrounds, identit ...
*
Youth rights The youth rights movement (also known as youth liberation) seeks to grant the rights to young people that are traditionally reserved for adults, due to having reached a specific age or sufficient maturity. This is closely akin to the notion ...
*
Youth participation ''Youth participation'' is the active engagement of young people throughout their own communities. It is often used as a shorthand for youth participation in any many forms, including decision-making, sports, schools and any activity where young p ...
*
List of youth organizations The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for Minor (law), minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted othe ...
* The European Youth Portal is the starting place for the European Union's youth policy, with
Erasmus+ Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his Christian name, baptismal name, given after Erasmus of Formia, Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used fro ...
as one of its key initiatives.


References


External links

*{{in lang, de}
Harold Hill: A People's History – The Albemarle Report leads to the First Youth Club
Youth Work, History of Youth work History of youth