The letter argues that New Labour is "obsessed with the micro-management of problematic, often demonised youth", saying this government "wishes to confine to the scrapbook the idea that youth work is volatile and voluntary, creative and collective - an association and conversation without guarantees." Regional meetings are being arranged to explore how youth workers can support each other.
The powers that be ought to resist any temptation to dismiss this as a fringe movement of old-school mavericks. Rather, it signals a wider frustration that government policy of recent years has undermined youth work's core principles - namely, of young people's voluntary participation; and the importance of young people building relationships with youth workers on their terms and with their peers so they get provision that meets their needs. These are under threat, the argument goes, because of the emphasis on accredited outcomes and targeted interventions to cut antisocial behaviour.
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