The pandemic's effect and youth work's impact in the time of COVID-19

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic and the effects it brought on the youth work field, whilst also the youth work’s impact itself during the pandemic are thoroughly examined in this dissertation. The primary subject of this study's local context investigation was the Maltese National Youth Agency (“Aġenzija Żgħażagħ”). A better knowledge of the youth work methods that emerged from the pandemic was gained, through the youth workers’ perspectives and experiences. The research showed the effects the Covid-19 pandemic had on youth work, as well as how youth work had operated within The National Youth Agency during the pandemic. The advantages and challenges of shifting towards a virtual world was also shown through this study. The study was observed from six (6) youth workers coming from different units within the National Youth Agency through individual face-to-face semi-structured interviews. The research enlisted the new tools and newly emerged youth work methods that needed to be adopted. Consequently, the effects were discussed thoroughly, and recommendations were made by both the youth workers and the researcher for further studies. Additionally, the impact of youth work on young people was discussed, whilst the relevance of youth work during the Covid-19 pandemic was also explored and considered. Finally, after analysing all the results, it was determined that youth work did in fact remain relevant during the pandemic, the effects that the pandemic had were mitigated accordingly, youth work’s impact was still measured and conclusively, the youth workers agreed that the physical faceto-face youth work method is still the most effective.