This publication, produced in the framework of the Europe Goes Local project, provides a clear and comprehensive overview of the literature on the characteristics and impacts of youth work. The text contributes to the understanding and appreciation of the added value of youth work at both national and local level. It can serve as a set of arguments in advocacy for youth work that urgently needs to be strengthened, it can serve as a guide for youth workers for their quality youth work and, of course, it can also serve as a resource for further research on the impact of quality youth work. It is written in Slovenian. The English version is accessible under the following link: https://observe360.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Truths_about_the_impact_202005_web.pdf

This publication is the result of an inventory of the situation, planned reforms and initiatives of youth work in Slovenia and, due to its comprehensiveness and international comparability, it represents an important contribution to the knowledge of youth work both in Slovenia and in the wider European area. The Youth Wiki platform also allows for a direct comparison of individual areas of youth policies between the inventoried countries. In addition to the aforementioned area of youth work, the platform also includes chapters on Youth Policy Governance, Voluntary Activities, Employment and Entrepreneurship, Social Inclusion, Participation, Education and Training, Health and Well-being, Creativity and Culture, and Youth and the World.

At the local level, youth work brings mutual development between young people and the local community (Baizerman, 1996; Devlin and Gunning, 2009; YouthLink Scotland, 2017). It offers a space for coming together, diverse activities and dialogue between different social groups. At its core, it is a social practice that connects young people and the environment in which they live, as well as addressing and significantly influencing the resolution of socio-economic problems in the local community (Idecon, 2012). Local youth work can offer a wide range of activities, such as activities related to sport and culture, activities related to personal, social and spiritual development, and activities that in other ways foster creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship, engagement, etc. Local youth work can offer a wide range of activities, such as activities related to sport and culture, activities related to personal, social and spiritual development, and activities that promote creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship, engagement, etc., as well as activities related to social, cultural and cultural development. Accordingly, local youth work organisations have been shown in practice to be "inclusive, welcoming, fun and safe environments that offer opportunities for young people to express themselves and provide new experiences for learning and development through structured educational and leisure activities" (Fyfe, Biggs, Hunter, McAteer and Milne, 2018). Through participation, young people are encouraged to make positive choices for their personal development as well as for the positive development of society, and such choices also have a positive impact on the development of the local community (Devlin and Gunning, 2009; Williamson, 2017). The publication is written in Slovenian.

The CIVICUS Civil Society Index (CSI) is a participatory action-research project that assesses the state of civil society in various countries.