Opinion: An uneven playing field for youth work

I was in Riga the day Latvia beat Turkey at home: the same day Wales drew away to Russia, but failed to capitalise on that success a few days later in the return leg. The Latvian Youth Council was holding a seminar on the development of youth policy and the establishment of a youth law.

It hopes a law will secure a stronger footing for more robust and diverse youth policy. Throughout the debate, the parallels and contrasts with Wales were striking. The population of young people is pretty much the same (around 500,000). The political and administrative structures are similar, with a specific youth policy department within the central government and 26 municipalities - compared with Wales' 22 local authorities. The youth policy challenges are also similar: school inclusion, training and labour market opportunities, youth offending and substance misuse.