I don't disagree with much of it. I too believe that the principle of voluntary engagement is important. And that the best youth work starts from where young people are at and ensures they play the fullest part in decision making.
But where is the evidence to show that youth work is more at risk now than any time in the past 30 years?
When I started out as a part-time youth worker I can remember being told there was no future in youth work. Twenty years on and we're still here.
Yes, some areas are facing funding cuts. And yes, in some areas the push towards integrating services has meant that the youth work process is not properly understood. But can anyone really claim that the government "wishes to confine to the scrapbook the idea that youth work is volatile, voluntary, creative and collective"?
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