Social Empowerment Hub is pleased to announce the launch of YW4offenders, an Erasmus+ project aiming to strengthen the role of youth work in supporting young people who have come into conflict with the law.
Titled “From the Margins: Introducing Youth Work to Treatment of Youth Offenders”, the project seeks to improve the quality and availability of youth work programmes for young offenders in both community-based and institutional settings. Through international cooperation and an interdisciplinary approach, the project will explore how youth work can support young people’s personal development, social inclusion and positive participation in their communities.
Running from December 2025 to June 2028, YW4offenders brings together four partner organisations from Serbia, Portugal and Greece, combining expertise in youth work, research, prison education, social protection and the justice system. The partnership is coordinated by CEPORA – Center for Positive Youth Development (Serbia), with the participation of the Institute of Criminological and Sociological Research (Serbia), the Portuguese Prison Education Association (APEnP) and Social Empowerment Hub (Greece).
What does the project aim to achieve?
YW4offenders will develop and implement a dedicated youth work programme tailored to the needs of young offenders. The programme will focus on three key areas: emotional regulation, soft skills development and youth participation, using interactive and non-formal learning methodologies.
The project will also strengthen the capacities of professionals working with young offenders and raise awareness among youth workers and experts in education, social protection and justice about the potential of youth work to support rehabilitation, empowerment and social inclusion.
From research to practice
Over the course of the project, the partners will conduct study visits, explore existing approaches and develop a comprehensive youth work programme toolkit. This will include a curriculum for direct work with young offenders, two training modules for professionals working in community-based and institutional settings, and guidelines for programme management.
The programme will then be implemented and evaluated in Serbia, Portugal and Greece, with the aim of empowering at least 30 young people and training at least 36 professionals. The project will also produce publications on the potential of youth work in supporting young offenders and on the outcomes of the programme’s implementation.
By bringing together professionals from different sectors and countries, YW4offenders aims to promote stronger cooperation, encourage the exchange of knowledge and practices, and contribute to more inclusive and effective approaches to supporting young people.
The role of Social Empowerment Hub
As a project partner, Social Empowerment Hub will contribute its experience in social inclusion, youth empowerment and support for vulnerable groups. Building on its previous work with young people facing barriers to integration, the organisation will participate in the development and implementation of the youth work programme in Greece, as well as in activities to strengthen professional capacities and promote the project’s results.
Through YW4offenders, Social Empowerment Hub reaffirms its commitment to creating opportunities for young people, fostering inclusion and supporting approaches that recognise their potential for growth and positive change.
YW4offenders is co-funded by the European Union through the Erasmus+ Programme.