Futures Thinking in International Youth Work

In March 2021, IJAB launched its new format DIY² Lab: Do-it-Yourself in Digital International Youth Work for experts, project managers and team leaders who want to explore the possibilities of hybrid and digital settings in international youth work. Today the DIY² Labs have evolved into an opportunity for experts and team leaders to try out innovative tools, ideas and methods and discuss practical as well as more fundamental issues associated with international youth work. The DIY² Lab takes place 3 to 4 times a year on Thursdays and is usually held on ZOOM.  

What is Futures Thinking all about, and why is it becoming increasingly important for (international) youth work? The European Academy on Youth Work (EAYW) has conducted research on Futures Thinking in Youth Work and recently launched a Futures of Youth Work Toolbox. In the international DIY² Lab on December 11th 2025 IJAB in cooperation with the European Academy on Youth Work explored together with over 30 practitioners, youth workers, and educators from 13 different countries what Futures Thinking can contribute to international youth work – and vice versa.

Together with Anita Silva in Portugal and Sonja Mitter Škulj in Slovenia, we dove into both the theory and practice of Futures Thinking in international youth work, discovering simple and creative tools that can easily be integrated into practice with young people, colleagues, or partner organizations. Together, we played and reflected on the game Window to the Future, a freely available tool developed by the European Academy on Youth Work (EAYW). It’s designed to spark meaningful conversations about the futures we want to imagine and co-create.