Yesterday Greece astonished Europe. Like Paul Mason in this video I was gobsmacked at the Greek people’s courageous response to an orchestrated wave of intimidating propaganda.

At the heart of the pluralist alliance of ΟΧΙ voters were young people. Up to 70% of the young people voting said NO to the demands of the Troika of the IMF, EU and ECB. At the very least this crucial involvement challenges the taken-for-granted stereotype of a generation disinterested in politics. It mirrors the animated participation of young people in the Scottish referendum.  It reflects a growing anger at the precarious and exploited future offered to them.

As far as youth work goes it challenges us to reflect upon an increasingly conformist practice, which seeks to fit young people into the status quo. It challenges us to reclaim a practice committed to radical social change. It revitalises a commitment to the creation of critically conscious citizens rather than to the manufacturing of emotionally resilient consumers. It’s time to learn from young people that neo-liberalism and social justice are incompatible. It’s time to put politics back into our work.