Dr Howard Williamson
Dr Howard Williamson CVO CBE FRSA FHEA is Professor of European Youth Policy at the University of South Wales in the United Kingdom. Previously he worked at the Universities of Oxford, Cardiff and Copenhagen and has held visiting positions at universities and research institutes in Hong Kong, Malta, Croatia, China, France, Australia and Iran.
He is a nationally qualified youth worker and ran a youth centre for 25 years in parallel with his academic research that spanned issues such as youth crime, youth unemployment, vocational training, enterprise and entrepreneurship, substance misuse, homelessness, school curricula and youth work. He conducted the original ‘status zer0’ research that produced political attention to young people not in education, employment or training (‘NEET’) and has followed the lives of a group of men (The Milltown Boys), now approaching 60 years old, whom he first encountered when they were young offenders in the early 1970s.
He has advised many levels of governance on youth policy issues, from the Welsh and UK governments, the European Commission, the Council of Europe and the United Nations. He co-ordinated the Council of Europe’s international reviews of national youth policy and wrote three volumes on ‘Supporting Young People in Europe’ drawing lessons from the 21 country reviews. He is a trustee of Grassroots – the Cardiff City Centre Youth Project, the European Forum Alpbach Foundation, and the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award for Young People.
Howard Williamson writes prolifically, publishing not only academic books and journal articles but also columns for magazines and newspapers. His most recent work has been synthesising ideas about youth policy in Europe and co-editing the seven volumes of the History of Youth Work in Europe.
Since 2002, he has been Organisational Secretary of the International Sociological Association Research Committee 34, the global network for the sociology of youth. He was also chair of the European Network of Youth Research Correspondents until 2008.
In his spare time, he rides horses and motorbikes, plays the guitar and harmonica, and is a football coach and qualified referee, and Safeguarding Officer for Pontypridd Town Association Football Club.
In 2002, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and, in 2016, a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO). In 2019, he was presented with an ‘Outstanding Contribution to Youth Work’ Excellence Award by the First Minister of Wales.
Dr Duncan Holtom
Dr Duncan Holtom, joined People and Work in 2004 and is currently Head of Research. He has led a range of studies in the youth work field including:
- A study of the social value of youth organisations for the European Youth Forum.
- The impact and value of the youth service in Wales for the Welsh Government.
- Reviews of best practice in Youth Support Services and in work to support young people aged 16-24 who are not in employment, education or training, for the Welsh Government.
- Identifying Key Issues In Developing And Implementing Youth Policy Strategic Documents for the ”Better Strategies for Youth, Youth for Better Strategies” project.
He has a particular interest in youth policy and practice focused upon youth employment and youth mental health and is currently evaluating a number of projects addressing either young people’s unemployment or mental health difficulties.
Before joining People and Work, Duncan worked as a Research Associate and as a Tutor on the post-graduate and under-graduate courses, at the University of Wales Swansea; as an Associate of the University of Queensland; and as an English teacher in China.
Lianne Teder
Lianne Teder is a lecturer of youth work and non-formal education at Tallinn University. She has a long experience in volunteer youth work, and administration of youth work at local government and national level. Lianne has studied educational sciences. Her research areas have been the scouting youth movements, and teachers with multiple jobs. BIOS in Estonian Research Information System.
Janice Mc Garry
Janice Mc Garry has worked in the youth & community sector for almost 20 years. She has extensive experience in project management, & training at Local, National and European level. She has achieved an MA in equality studies which is closely connected to her passion for social inclusion. She also holds a degree in youth and community work, along with a number of other non-formal education related certificates including professional supervision. Besides running various training courses Janice’s Main role is Corporate Social Responsibility Project Manager with DPS. This has given me the opportunity to develop a broad range of new skills in the corporate sector. Finally Janice is the founder member and coordinator a voluntary led international sending organization called Beyond 96 Youth Club. This organization was set up by Janice & her peers in 1996 to provide leadership opportunities for young people. This work continues today, sending young people from her community on European Voluntary Service placements throughout Europe.
Niamh Smith
Niamh has worked and volunteered in the Community and Voluntary and Youth sector for over 15 years. She has experience working at local national and European levels. Niamh holds a degree in Community and Youth work, aswel as other non-formal education training such as advanced and drama facilitation and recently completed a certificate in project management in European Youth mobility’s. She now works in the public service supporting youth funded organisations through mid- level governance structures. Niamh is passionate about inclusion and innovation and volunteering. Niamh has experience supporting young people to participate in opportunities that support them to fulfil their potential through a variety of non-formal education methodologies.
Dr Svetlana Trbojevik
Prof. Dr. Svetlana Trbojevik was born in 1971 in Skopje. She graduated (1996) and received her master’s degree (2008) at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University “St. Cyril and Methodius” in Skopje. In December 2005 she was elected as a junior assistant at the Institute for Social Work and Social Policy. Master’s degree on “The impact of multiculturalism on social work and social policy.” She defended her doctoral dissertation on “The Christian spiritual perspective as a determinant for the development of social policy and social work in Western democracies” in October 2010 at the Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje, earning the title of Doctor of Science in Social Policy and Social Work. She was elected assistant professor in April 2011, in October 2015 she was elected as associate professor, and in September 2020 she was elected as full professor.
She has been a head of the Institute for Social Work and Social Policy since September 2017. Visiting professor at the University of Nis from October 2016 onwards, where she teaches the theories of Social Work and Group Social Work. In the summer semester of 2019 she was a visiting professor at the East Bavarian University of Applied Sciences in Regensburg, Germany where she teaches the subject Social Work in an Intercultural Environment.
National expert in the working group for social policy and employment at the National Convention for the EU in the Republic of Macedonia from April, 2018 – September, 2019. Document Assessment Consultant for project award under the World Bank Municipal Services Improvement Project. January 2019-January 2021. Coordinator of the Ex-ante and ex-post research on the assessment of the benefits and impact of road rehabilitation on users (qualitative analysis) within the Road Upgrade and Development Project (PNRP) (qualitative user assessment) of the World Bank and Public Enterprise for State Roads. (January 2017-January 2021). She is a member of the Licensing Commission at the Public Institution Institute for Social Activities from 2019-2024.
Dr Sofija Georgievska
Sofija Georgievska is a Ass. Prof. at the Institute for Social Work and Social Policy, Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje. She acquired the degree of Doctor of Social Work at the Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje. Her interest in didactic work and scientific research is in the area of: psychosocial work with children and youth, marginalized groups, counseling and coaching, methodology and statistics. She has participated in a large number of national and international conferences, workshops, study visits and non-formal trainings for enriching her vocational and professional knowledge. She has authored/co-authored more than 30 publications, which have been published in Macedonia and abroad (scientific works, monographies, expert analyses, reports, handbooks).
Biljana Vasilevska Trajkoska
Biljana Vasilevska Trajkoska, a social and youth worker experienced in the field of social and youth work in the area of improvement of access to social rights of young people, with particular focus on improvement of access to social rights of young people with fewer opportunities. Biljana is engaged in different processes related to youth work and young people, member of the National working group for development of youth work policies and is one of the people that drafted the vocational standard for youth workers. Biljana is a co-writer of the first National Quality Standards for Youth Work, National Youth Work Portfolio and the Quality Standards for Youth Centers in Macedonia. Biljana was also involved in the development of the Code of Ethics for youth workers.
Dragan Atanasov
Trainer, researcher, evaluator and author, specialized in youth work recognition, youth policy, cultural diversity and community development. Over 10 years of experience in conducting research and assessments in the field of youth work, designing and delivering non-formal education activities, developing policy documents, and monitoring and evaluating programs. Dragan has been actively involved in preparing and implementing long-term training programs for youth workers, as well as in drafting the first vocational standard for youth workers in North Macedonia. Dragan is a co-writer of the first National Quality Standards for Youth Work, National Youth Work Portfolio and the Quality Standards for Youth Centers in North Macedonia.