Open youth work has been active in Flanders, Belgium for 50 years and Formaat took this as an opportunity to celebrate the work in youth clubs and recognise the efforts of the volunteers and Don’t Hype was born.

On Friday 16 November 2012 three hundred volunteers from youth clubs across Flanders organised big parties and activities to celebrate the anniversary. This included concerts, parties, youth clubs coming together, and a special show on the leading radio station for young people in Flanders. The volunteers in the different youth clubs were connected via a twitter wall and Formaat visited over a hundred youth clubs in one night.

The next day a thousand young people gathered at the Vooruit in Ghent for a inspiring festival for fans of youth clubs. Young people could enjoy more than 20 concerts and bands and discover young musicians. It was superb party … the youth club vibes took over the Vooruit and in fact the whole city of Ghent.

Youth clubs were on everyone’s lips and dominated the local and Flemish news flashes, newspapers and even TV shows.

But Don’t Hype was more than just a festival, it was a 2 year project that really put the youth clubs and their volunteers in the picture the culmination of which was a publication “young Gold” which explores the history and the future of youth clubs in Flanders, with contributions from different experts from within and outside the youth work sector.