This year’s programme for the Health Business Week of Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management included the symposium 'De maatschappij aan zet? Zorg en ondersteuning aan jeugdigen' (asking whether the ball is now in society’s court in respect of care and support for young people) on Thursday 6 March. It was organised in partnership with Erasmus Centrum voor Zorgbestuur (Erasmus Center for Healthcare Management), in honour of its 20th anniversary. The symposium was prompted by the growing need to gain a better understanding of youth care from the perspective of young people, professionals and administrators against the harsh backdrop of policy and politics. This reflection offers a brief overview of the event, in which different generations spent the afternoon interacting with each other.
In recent years, care and support for young people has been the subject of increased attention in the media, policymaking and politics. News reports, opinion articles and documentaries regularly highlight the urgent financial shortages at national and local authorities, the impact of waiting lists on clients and their families, growing staff shortages, high work pressure and administrative costs. There is an increasing recognition that the underlying problems go beyond youth care alone. A broader social view of care and support for young people considers the various factors that influence demand for care and support, such as housing, financial security, increasing pressure to achieve, complex divorces and mental health issues. Consequently, the focus of the symposium was on the involvement and expertise of a broad network (including schools, youth workers, welfare organisations, childcare centres, sports clubs, GPs, youth care professionals and specialist youth care providers).
Given the developments mentioned above, there has been a growing need to learn more about youth care 'from the inside out'. Which specific challenges have been identified and how are stakeholders responding to them? How are connections being made between different domains, perspectives and experiences in the care and support that is available for the young people of today and the future? Given that youth care experiences are currently barely incorporated into the Health Policy & Management programme, it was high time to learn from different perspectives and engage with experts during the symposium.
Ronnie van Diemen (Youth Care The Netherlands) reflected on the following question: what does looking through the eyes of a child involve? Her advice to students: “Dare to dream and look at things differently.”
Laura Nooteboom (LUMC Curium) zoomed in on the reality of an ‘integrated approach’. How can professionals put this into practice? “An integrated approach is a real skill. It requires the ability to work outside existing frameworks.”
Margo van Rheenen (Xtra Welzijn and rondomJou) gave students a taste of the intricacies of navigating between local, regional and national developments and the ‘administrative grit’ needed.
Esther van Eijk-de Geus (Ombudsman Committee for Rotterdam-Rijnmond) spoke about the work of the Netherlands’ child ombudsman, which includes research on children who stay or are kept out of school and how the ombudsman engages with the media and society.
To summarise, the afternoon aimed to encourage different generations actively to seek each other out – in this case, to gain a better understanding of youth care from multiple perspectives. On the other hand, the afternoon less explicitly addressed other perspectives, like those of the young people themselves. Nevertheless, an important start was made, judging by the surprise expressed and the generous sharing of experiences. Many thanks to the speakers for their openness to engage with students and the Health Business Week Committee (particularly Carlinde Meijer, Lieke Sandee and Milovan Jovanovic); it was a pleasure to work with them.
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Health Business Week is the leading healthcare-related event where students, companies, organisations, thought leaders, and keynote speakers come together. The impact of the event extends beyond the approximately 1,300 invited bachelor’s, pre-master’s, and master’s students from the Erasmus School of Health Policy and Management (ESHPM). Students from other faculties and universities with an interest in the healthcare sector are also warmly welcomed.
