Launch event for the digital focus series ‘Committed under pressure’
Together with Prof. Dr Gunda Voigts from the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW Hamburg), the approximately 100 participants examined current developments, pressures and processes of change in young people’s engagement. The occasion and basis for the discussion was the presentation of the publication “Young People’s Voluntary Engagement in Youth Organisations: A Practice-Based Research Project on the Future of Youth Organisation Work after the Pandemic” by Gunda Voigts, Sureija Gotzmann and Maja Reifegerst, which emerged from the joint practice-based research project between the DBJR and HAW Hamburg. “The study highlights what we have been observing in practice for years. It provides an important basis for ensuring that the interests of young people involved in voluntary work are given greater weight in political decision-making,” emphasised Daniela Broda, Chair of the Bundesjugendring.
Link to the research project’s Padlet and the findings
Link to the HAW Hamburg press release
Following the presentation by Prof. Dr Gunda Voigts, a group discussion session provided an opportunity for in-depth exchange. The participants discussed key challenges facing voluntary work in youth organisations: the need for greater appreciation and recognition of young volunteers; recruiting new members and volunteers whilst taking social inequalities into account; the balancing act between the level of commitment youth organisations require to survive, and the level of commitment that young people are willing to provide, ways of reducing and managing bureaucracy, and supporting young volunteers in dealing with challenging participants from an educational perspective.
At the same time, the group discussions focused on how to build on the findings of the practice-based research project and what youth organisations need to do so. The participants discussed which challenges are currently particularly pressing, which approaches to date have been effective or have reached their limits, and where there is a need for further research or development. In addition, feedback, assessments and calls for action were gathered from academia, the political sphere, the Bundesjugendring and the youth organisations themselves.
The kick-off event also provided an opportunity to contribute ideas and topics for the subsequent instalments of the focus series.
The follow-up documentation includes the input, as well as the statements, findings and feedback from the groups:
Link to the documentation
28 September 2026, 4–6 pm, online | Next instalment of the Focus Series on the topic
‘(Un)democratic engagement? On the suitability and responsibility of youth leaders’
This digital event provides a space to discuss together how to deal with inhuman and, in particular, far-right attitudes and borderline cases. How do we deal with the statements and behaviour of individuals in Juleica training courses or in the context of their voluntary work? What criteria apply for the award of the Juleica? What role does the criterion of suitability play? What options do organisations and funding bodies have for making decisions, and where must clear boundaries be drawn? Together, we will discuss experiences, uncertainties and possible approaches. Building on this, we will jointly outline criteria for suitability, as well as for dealing with borderline cases and young people with right-wing leanings.