Youth Minded- Mental Health of the Youth in the Social Media Era

Aims & objectives

The overall aim was to promote the mental health of the young people by means of equipping the participants with improved competences linked to their profes-sional (youth training/youth work) and volunteering profile in order to:
- Support the development of healthy youth identity through youth work, youth training and volunteering
- Prevent potential mental health issues among their target group and to ask for support from other specialists

Target group & international/intercultural composition of the group & team

Leading organisation:
SEAL CYPRUS- CYPRUS ORGANISATION FOR SUSTAINABLE EDUCATION & ACTIVE LEARNING
Partner organisations:
-EVROPSKE CENTRUM MLADEZE BRECLAV/EUROPEAN YOUTH CENTREBRECLAV Z.S., Czech Republic
-FUNDACJA ”RA I DO” MIĘDZYNARODOWE CENTRUM WSPARCIA MŁODZIEŻYI DOROSŁYC, Poland
-A.D.E.L. - ASSOCIATION FOR DEVELOPMENT, EDUCATION AND LABOUR, Slovakia
-ASSOCIACAO JUVENIL DA ILHA TERCEIRA, Portugal -LUUPUSE SELTS, Estonia
ASOCIACIJA APKABINK EUROPA, Lithuania -YOUTH MOBILITY CENTER, Greece
ASOCIACIÓN DIAGONAL ESPAÑA, Spain -ENNEA cultura territorio società, Italy

Training methods used & main activities

The non-formal education participatory methods that were used during the training included simulation games, role play, plenary debates, interactive lectures, audio-visual presentations, brainstorming, small and large group discussions, self-assessment and more. All working activities aimed at fostering intercultural learning and exchange between youth workers and young people with fewer opportunities. The project was supported by preparation and dissemination activities with the use of digital media.

Outcomes of the activity

The project created high-quality learning outcomes. The participants in the training course improved their skills and competences which were certified with the Youthpass. With their participation in this training, the partici-pants were enabled to support their organisations, to multiply the impact of youth work and to raise the visibility of their work. During the project a publication was created summarizing the activities and the results.
Apart from the benefits for individuals, good mental health is increasingly important for economic growth and social development in Europe. Mental health and well-being of the youth will affect the prosperity as well as so-cial and economic stability of European countries over the coming decades. Investing in the mental health pro-motion of young people is an investment in the present and the future. Partner organisations are expected to ex-tend the international dimension of their work, to learn about non-formal methods of entrepreneurial education, to strengthen their relationships with their stakeholders. The training provided an opportunity to establish sus-tainable partnerships for further cooperation and projects.
On the long run the project will bring benefits to communities, which participants are coming from, as well as an international community, since after the training, the participants are going to implement transnational initia-tives based on the network of the partner organisations.

Your tasks and responsibilities within the team

Main trainer, Educational Adviser. I designed the working program and the evaluation process.

I worked on this training for 7 days as a full time trainer.