Lower franconia: what does corona do with youth work??

Under the heading "education is more than school young people, parents and teachers discussed the impact of the corona pandemic on youth work. Tina muck, executive director of the bezirkjugendring unterfranken, moderated the summer discussion. She criticizes the ban on class trips and demands more room for maneuver for youth work starting in the fall.

Ms. Muck, what does the corona pandemic mean for youth work in lower franconia??

Tina muck: it was and is a rough challenge with many restrictions, because youth work could not take place up and down the country – be it on the volkersberg, in open youth work or in youth associations. But it has also involved a lot of creativity in keeping in touch with young people during the lockdown. This went for example in the free or online.

What is the financial situation of the youth organizations??

This is very different. Many events have been cancelled, so that important income for youth work has been lost in various places. Just think of the sale of bratwurst by an association at the local community festival of the carnival association, for example. This income was normally used for the youth work again. In addition, there have been fewer reductions in the number of state-demanded measures. This could give the impression that less money will be needed in the years to come. This is wrong.

What about short-time work?

Regrettably, short-time work is also an issue in youth work. In the region, the volkersberg had to apply for short-time work for the employees in the conference area. For the educational sector, this has not happened; here, work is available and new paths of educational work have been taken.

The bavarian ministry of education has banned class trips until the end of january 2021. You criticize this clearly. Why?

The youth rings are not the only ones to criticize this decision. Parents, schools and teachers' associations also view this critically. School is more than education. Self-determined learning and helping to shape society are skills that young people learn in youth work. Class trips are an important part of this. If all that falls away, the young people will be missing even more than they are already missing in this respect. From the point of view of the various youth houses, this is of course also an economic reason.