download - Deutsches Jugendinstitut e.V.

conventional aspirations in illegal ways. Others (a significant minority) give up, and retreat
into alcohol and drug dependency. Others (though very few!) challenge the system through
political action. This theoretical position resonated loud and clear in my study of the
Milltown Boys. It point to the need for positive structures of legitimate opportunity,
wherever possible, to be supported through a partnership of private and public policy.
Conclusion
There is no magic wand for social inclusion and cohesion at the local level, any more than
there is any natural blueprint for a youth policy framework at a European level. But there is
an integral link between the two: local initiatives cannot ignore the wider policy framework
any more than the European agenda can deny its need for effective local delivery.
There are, however, some fundamental pre-requisites if we are to produce appropriate
measures in both policy and practice. First, it is imperative to understand the specifics of
youth transitions and their implications. These operate in different and complex ways in
terms of both their influences and outcomes. We need to grasp the nature and experiences of
the challenges faced by different young people, and the real and anticipated consequences of
those processes, at personal and cultural levels as well as social and economic levels. Criteria
that is often hidden from outsiders can be critical in informing choices and motivating
engagement.
The related second point is that grand strategies, based on ‘objective’ top-down
aspirations and analysis (such as to establish a ‘knowledge-based economy’) must be tuned
and attuned to more ‘subjective’ bottom-up expectations and perspectives. In short, the
structural must meet the cultural.
If we want a Europe characterised by inclusion and cohesion, it will be essential to
construct routes of access and opportunity for young people who cannot secure them with
the support of their families. And we will have to make sure that we reach the right young
people in the right places and make them a sensible and credible offer, otherwise we will
inadvertantly be contributing to the social divide by enlarging opportunities only for them to
be taken disproportionately by young people who are already largely on the right side of the
tracks, leaving those on the other side still left a long way behind.
Literature
Cloward, L. and Ohlin, R. (1960), Delinquency and Opportunity, London: Routledge and
Kegan Paul
Lauritzen, P. and Guidikova, I. (2002), 'European Youth Development and Policy: The Role
of NGOs and Public Authority in the Making of the European Citizen', in R. Lerner, F.
Jacobs and D. Wertlieb (eds), Handbook of Applied Developmental Science 3, London:
Sage pp 363-382
Marris, P. and Rein, M. (1972), Dilemmas of Social Reform, Harmondsworth: Penguin
Williamson, H. and Weatherspoon, K. (1985), Strategies for Intervention: an approach to
youth and community work in an area of social deprivation, University College Cardiff:
Social Research Unit
Williamson, H. (2002), Supporting young people in Europe: principles, policy and practice,
Strasbourg: Council of Europe
Williamson, H. (2004), The Milltown Boys Revisited, Oxford: Berg
104