Central government funding for youth work

Budget items for the youth sector and their appropriations in 2020:

• Proceeds of gaming activities used to promote youth work (EUR 54,2 million)
• Youth workshop activities and youth outreach work (EUR 23,5 million)
• Certain transfers (EUR 1,9 million)

The majority of the funding is channelled through central government transfers and grants. Some of the funding is allocated to youth activities in municipalities as central government transfers used at the municipalities’ discretion. Targeted central government transfers are also granted to municipalities.

Transfers are granted to support either activities (general transfers) or projects and investments (special transfers). Central government transfers for youth work are granted by the Ministry of Education and Culture or the Regional State Administrative Agencies.

Almost 30% of the proceeds of gaming activities used to promote youth work are allocated to the activities of youth sector organisations with the aim of strengthening the preconditions for civic activities and the youth work of NGOs.

In addition to securing the preconditions for youth work carried out by municipalities and NGOs, the Ministry strives to promote the Government’s youth policy objectives through resource-based management, for example by supporting youth workshop activities and outreach youth work, which have close links with the Government’s key project on developing the Youth Guarantee towards a community guarantee. These work forms support the civic agency and life management skills of young people at risk of exclusion. The Ministry also supports individual projects that aim to develop the youth sector at the national, regional or local level.

So-called performance management is applied to certain significant groups of actors that are beneficiaries of central government transfers with the aim of strengthening the strategic nature and impact of state aid.

These include:

• the centres of excellence in the youth sector
• national youth centres