Moreover, these problems can affect everyone – directly or indirectly, regardless of age, gender or social status. This issue was already difficult before the Coronavirus pandemic. In addition to the previous challenges in this area, there are also the potential consequences of the coronavirus crisis. What consequences this crisis will have is not yet foreseeable today. However, we already know that because of current experiences of isolation, social distancing and loss of people who died from Covid-19, new fears and feeling of uncertainty may become part of everyday life.
New approaches to mental health and well-being are needed as never before. In order to be able to develop these, 12 partner organisations from Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Croatia and Estonia are working together with us in the project "Youth Work Together. For Mental Health". Using methods of non-formal education, the mental health of young people, especially those with disabilities and underprivileged, and of educators working with them, is promoted as a basis for social well-being. In addition, the project aims at prevention – both at the individual and structural level.
Structure of the project
The project consists of ten international activities: three inclusive youth exchanges for young people aged 13-30, three preparatory planning visits and four seminars for youth workers.
The following project activities are offered to the participants:
1. seminars for youth workers:
Mental health in youth work – challenges and solutions – is a collection of the biggest challenges in the field of mental health that arise at the institutional level in the partner institutions and a joint search for realistic solutions to these problems; for participants from Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Croatia, Turkey and Estonia.
Self-care during international education activities – serves to discover and work on one's own methods and techniques, which can be used in the roles of trainers, translators, workshop leaders during youth exchanges in order to pay attention to one's needs and fulfil them; for participants from Germany and Poland.
Self-care in youth work – aims to analyse the most demanding challenges in the daily work of youth workers and to develop different methods for supporting their everyday life's mental health; for participants from Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Croatia, Turkey and Estonia.
Psychological support for young people – makes youth workers familiar with diseases of a psychological nature that frequently occur in young peoples lives. We will develop ideas on how to counteract them; for participants from Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Turkey and Estonia.
2. Three inclusive youth exchanges under the title „How Are You?”, each including a preparatory meeting.
The exchanges serve to observe their own emotions and thoughts and to try out various relaxation and expression techniques (e.g. through music and movement). The youth meetings will take place in different constellations of partner institutions and countries (DE, PL, TUR; DE, PL, HRV, CZ; DE, PL, CZ, EST). One encounter is planned for girls and young women only.
Realization and time frame
The seminars and youth exchanges will be held in the International Youth Meeting Center in Krzyżowa or in the Trebnitz Castle Education and Exchange Centre. The project duration is planned for the period from 1.08.2020 to 31.07.2022.
Funding and partners
The project is co-financed by the European Union programme Erasmus+.
Partners:
Fundacja „Krzyżowa” dla Porozumienia Europejskiego, Krzyżowa, Poland
Szkoła Podstawowa nr 13, Szczecin, Poland
II Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Dabrowki, Gniezno, Poland
Zespół Szkół im. gen. Sylwestra Kaliskiego, Góra, Poland
Szkoła Podstawowa im. Mikołaja Kopernika, Bralin, Poland
Haus der offenen Tür, Sinzig, Germany
Genc Hayat Vakfi, Istanbul, Turkey
Prostor pro rozvoj, Bordovice, Czech Republic
INEX – Sdruzeni dobrovolnych aktivit zs, Prag, Czech Republic
Ugostiteljsko-turisticko uciliste, Zagreb, Croatia
Estonian Association of Persons with Disabilities, Tallinn, Estonia
