Context of the project: With the project HeCoN we intend to increase the health awareness and the health competences of NEET´s in Europe. To achieve this objective, we would like to set up transnational partner meetings among three European countries who work with the group of NEET´s in different contexts. All partners have an already existing pedagogical knowledge of coaching NEETs in case work or group activities. With the project HeCoN we would like to discuss issues, gain shared values, developed Tools for professionals to work with NEET´s on their health competences and thus support NEET´s. Objectives of the project: The project aims to develop two innovative intellectual outputs for professionals (e.g. trainers, social workers, adult educators) who work with NEETs in different cotexts. It serves to ensure that the direct target group intensively deals with influencing factors for maintaining health in training sessions and thus evokes health awareness in order to develop their own health literacy of NEET´s in the long term. The intellectual outputs (IOs) contain a collection of theoretical input and application-related methods for acquiring health skills. The (IOs) are divided into three different focal points, which should be worked out by each partner organizations and then will be discussed and supplemented together, always fed from the experience and current knowledge of the partners. The following topics are planned: 1) Nutrition 2) Physical Activities 3) Mindfulness. Number and profile of participants: After the development of each module referring to a specific health competence for NEET´s, the generated input and methods of the Tool-Box will be tested on the indirect target group of NEET´s in workshops by each partner. Throughout that, the project addresses 72 participants. Description of activities: - exchange of different situations of NEET´s in each country - exchange of different approaches to health - elaboration of inputs and methods for trainings for NEET´s - testing trainings with NEET´s - implementing a Tool-Box for trainers to educate NEET´s - implementing a digital Tool-Box as virtual platform. Methodology to be used in carrying out the project: All partners set up two Intellectual Outputs as a guideline of "how to make NEET´s aware of their own health situation" and to "educate and support NEET´s". Within the project we do not only focus on the physical side of health competences, because this is mostly an issue for medicals and doctors if we are talking about severe physical health. Hence, the psychosocial context is taken into higher consideration as well as the mind-set of NEET´s. Short description of the results and impact envisaged: We would like to set up an innovative topic as a chance to rise the competences of NEET´s and impart methods/tools to stay in good health or to become healthier, even if other conditions (like a lack of job vacancies, less qualification...) of being NEET won´t be changeable easily. All organization are working on different projects in adult education and different European projects. All of us face the similar topics in our daily work. To improve our own knowledge with the knowledge of other EU Member states, facing the same issues, we would like to start carrying out this topic transnationally. There are NEET´s in every European Country. Only the highness of the rates differs. Nevertheless, the social and vocational exclusion is the same in general. We would like to point out similarities as well as differences and work on a common strategy for supporting NEET´s in general and in their health well-being in special. With the project HeCoN we would like to discuss issues, gain shared values, train professionals such as social workers, trainers etc. and thus support NEET´s. Potential longer term benefits: At an individual level, the project serves to promote health awareness and gain skills for maintaining physical and mental health in the direct and indirect target group. The project results and the IO can help to have a common basis on health awareness at the group of NEET´s and improve skills and competences of staff in adult education and the health literacy of all employees. The developed tool box for health literacy is also disseminated at local and regional level through the involvement of stakeholders who work with NEET´s, e.g. other adult education centres, NGO´s, public health offices, health insurances, Jobcentres and so on. Due to the impacts of the project, the establishment of a network of health literacy for NEET´s can begin. If applicable, the impacts can be expanded in follow-up projects. In a next step, the results obtained can be viewed and, if necessary, also checked for applications in other areas or an adaptation of the developed Intellectual Outputs of health literacy for other target groups.
With the HeCoN project, we discussed strategic issues, gained shared values and developed tools for professionals to work with and support NEETs on their health skills. The project aimed to develop two innovative intellectual outputs for professionals (e.g. trainers, social workers, adult educators) working with NEETs in different contexts. It was intended that the direct target group would intensively deal with factors influencing the maintenance of health in training sessions and thus raise health awareness, which would strengthen NEETs' own health literacy in the long term. The intellectual outputs (IOs) were intended as a collection of theoretical input and applied methods for acquiring health literacy. The (IOs) were divided into three different focus areas to be elaborated by the individual partner organisations, to be discussed and completed together, always fed by the experience and current knowledge of the partners. Plannend topics were: 1) Nutrition 2) Physical activities 3) Mindfulness.
All partner organisations have found in their work with NEETs (i.e. young people who are not in employment, education or training) that inclusion depends not only on structural factors, but also on soft factors such as their health and health literacy. This seems to be a modifiable factor and can at the same time strengthen their inclusion, in that through increased well-being, fitness and/or mindfulness NEETs have more energy to change their personal situation and can also deal with their situation in a stronger way by gaining resilience. All partners felt the need to develop easy-to-use tools that can be used in daily practice when working with NEETs. As all partners also work in European programmes for NEET mobility, it was essential to include the European context and to find the lowest common denominator in order to develop fluid, designable exercises that do justice to the diversity of NEETs. With the HeCoN project, we intended to increase the health awareness and health competences of NEETs in Europe.