Hobby Lobby
Empowering young people to become youth leaders in Tyrol, Austria
Hobby Lobby is a non-profit organisation that provides free, high-quality leisure and educational courses to children and young people at risk of poverty and social exclusion. Their vision is that every child can discover and develop their potential, regardless of financial background. They reduce educational inequality by focusing on non-formal learning environments that are central to personal and social development.
Every fourth child in Europe is at risk of poverty or social exclusion, and therefore at risk of being marginalised and financially excluded from additional educational opportunities and nonformal support outside of school that come at a cost.
Sourced by Eurostat, 2025
In the first year of the Youth Leader programme in Innsbruck, the programme will aim to empower 10 young people to become confident, skilled leaders integrated in their communities and will then accompany another 240 children to support their own development.
Previous impact assessments have shown that 98 % of Youth Leaders improved in at least one measured area of competence, 91 % stated that the project has helped them to better understand their strengths, and 100 % say that they feel better mentally since participating.
Hobby Lobby ensures inclusive learning opportunities through free-of-cost courses lead by trained volunteers, supporting the development of core competencies.
Programme participants benefit by developing transferable skills, like communication, teamwork and resilience, as well as by receiving career guidance and exposure to apprenticeships, internships and further education, which supports early, supervised work-like experience.
Hobby Lobby also collaborates with schools, municipalities and corporate partners to scale their model across multiple European countries as well as to evaluate and improve programme delivery.
Image courtesy of Hobby Lobby
