This recommendation applies to youth work in all its diversity. It aims to encourage member States to develop their youth work policy and practice within their sphere of competence and invites them to adopt a range of measures that will strengthen the necessary support for youth work at local, regional, national and European levels. Youth work is a broad term covering a wide variety of activities of a social, cultural, educational, environmental and/or political nature by, with and for young people, in groups or individually. Youth work is delivered by paid and volunteer youth workers and is based on non-formal and informal learning processes focused on young people and on voluntary participation. Youth work is quintessentially a social practice, working with young people and the societies in which they live, facilitating young people's active participation and inclusion in their communities and in decision making.