Youth Unemployment and Psychological Wellbeing

The youth exchange focuses on youth unemployment and its psychological effects, impact and the preventive measures. aimed to bring together young people from 7 program countries (Greece, Sweden, Estonia, Slovakia, Romania, Italy and Cyprus) and 3 partner countries (Kosovo, Albania and Turkey) with 3 participants from each country, 2 young people and 1 youth leader aged 18-30.

The issues and needs we are seeking to address through this project are :

Youth unemployment in the Europe has reached a crisis point, hitting a 20-year high threatening to leave an entire generation behind. At the end of 2014, the unemployment rate for 18-24 year olds was over 13 percent; many young people are not in school and out of work; and many more were unable to secure full-time positions or jobs that matched their skills or drew on formal or informal training. Young people who are unable to transit to stable jobs by their early 20s face greater difficulty building a secure financial future for themselves and their families.

These challenges have devastating consequences and cause a major psychological health impact on individual but also in the society, jeopardizing the lives and livelihoods of an entire generation and putting the social and economic future of the EU nation as a whole on the line.

Our project is linked to the objectives of the Erasmus+ programme key Action 1, its focus on increasing mobility and skills .

The project’s main activity is "summer camp" which is a youth exchange.

The objective of the summer camp is to create healthy futures and improve the psychological wellbeing of young unemployed people, finding innovative ways to tackle the increasing psychological health damages cause by being long term young unemployed or underemployed. By experiencing activities in a safe and friendly atmosphere during the exchange, the participants will be able to transfer the new skills in their life and act as multiplier in the board community.

Aims:

• To decrease the psychological problems of unemployed young people especially youth with fewer opportunities in Europe.

• To offer social services for prevention and intervention. Opportunities for training and education regarding intervention and prevention in various socially relevant areas

• To enhance psychological awareness on youth unemployment and its psychological effects among young

An important beneficiary of our program will be the local communities of the participants, as they will pass their knowledge and gained skills to their peers, and in turn, encourage their further development and social activity.

Participation gives the young people the knowledge, skills and understanding to play an effective role in building bridges among diverse societies. It helps them to become informed, thoughtful and responsible citizens. It encourages them to play a helpful part in the life of their schools, neighborhoods, communities and the wider world. It also encourages learning about different cultures, traditions and values. This beginns in within each individual in terms of: “If you want to change the world in better way, you have to start with yourself”.