This year’s IYW conference is taking place in Brighton, it will be an opportunity to both celebrate Youth Work Week and our conference theme: coastal youth work.

The conference is being co-hosted by the University of Brighton, and consequently one of the aims of the conference is to create a short paper on the unique nature of coastal youth work.  For example, how does the documented deprivation, higher unemployment and lower pay affect our work?  Are we recognising in our practice the reported higher rates of mental ill health?  What has been the local youth policy response to statistically high drug use in seaside communities? How is youth work tackling county lines operations that target coastal areas? 

We hope to create a positive and affirming conference that takes the opportunity to showcase opportunities the coast presents to deliver exciting and innovative youth work. It is then our hope to share the conference paper with Youth & Policy and the Professional Association of Lecturers in Youth and Community Work (AKA TAG) and present it at their Policy and Practice events.

The day will also be an opportunity for coastal Youth Workers to network, reflect and share their great practice, although youth workers from anywhere in the country are of course extremely welcome to be part of the conversation.