The project aimed to make authoritarian dynamics and attitudes visible within the context of youth work and democratic youth education, and to analyse their implications for professional practice. Core topics included polarisation, far-right movements, radicalisation and anti-democratic attitudes. Findings from research and policy were to be reflected upon and translated into practice-oriented insights relevant for the field of youth work. Through exchange with partner organisations in Austria and Germany, regional practices were compared, experiences consolidated and professional strategies for addressing authoritarian tendencies among young people further developed. In the medium term, the project sought to establish sustainable structures for professional development, monitoring and networking that link theory and practice, thereby strengthening democratic youth work on a transnational level.
The project was launched to strengthen and formalise the previously occasional cooperation between the partner organisations and to jointly address the rise of authoritarian developments in migration societies. It responds to growing authoritarian and anti-democratic tendencies across Europe, which are also reflected in the field of youth work. Increasing polarisation, radicalisation and isolation shape both public discourse and the everyday experiences of young people. Open youth work offers particular potential for democratic education, as it is grounded in voluntariness, participation and a life-world-oriented approach. It reaches young people who tend to stay away from more formal educational settings and enables experiential and participatory learning processes. To realise this potential, professionals need spaces for reflection, exchange and critical analysis of authoritarian dynamics. All partners are dedicated to creating such spaces through training, professional development and counselling. The project’s transnational exchange aimed to bring together these experiences, inspire new approaches in local practice and promote sustainable, cross-border collaboration in the field of democratic youth education.