Story Makers - Many Voices Many Lives will develop materials that enable youth workers to use the power of story-making to engage and work with socially excluded young people, equipping them with resilience, confidence, self-esteem and life skills. It aims to foster the inclusion and employability of young people with fewer opportunities, through the promotion of quality youth work The project has been designed in the context of increasing concern about the growing gap between young people who engage in social, civic and cultural life and are confident about finding a job, and those with little hope of leading a fulfilling life, and risk exclusion and marginalisation. 13.7m young people aged 15-29 are neither in employment, education or training (NEET), and close to 27m are at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Young people with a migrant background, low educational achievement and health issues are most likely to become NEET and are least likely to participate in social and civic activities. Number and profile of beneficiaries: The project will engage and support 50 youth workers and 600 young people, of whom at least 500 will be NEET, and face particular barriers to engagement, such as mental and physical health and complex behavioural issues. Based on past courses, we expect approximately 80% of the young people to complete the training and tell their story The results of the project will be 1. A manual for youth workers, containing the following modules: • the characteristics of socially excluded young people in each participating country. • Using story-making to engage and motivate socially excluded young people: Building on the notion that people connect with stories, young people will co-develop stories accessible through digital media and artefacts, which will push the boundaries of both literature and literacy. The opportunity to engage with story-making and -listening, can be expected to lead to improved engagement and self-esteem and provide opportunities for practising oral literacy • Using mentors to enhance the story-making approach: Mentors will largely be drawn from the local business community and will receive training to act as role models and ongoing support. Mentors will be a critical factor in helping mentees to think about and learn from the story that they are telling. • Where next: supporting young people to access further employment/education/support services. • Building partnerships across sectors: A model for developing and strengthening links between youth organisations, schools, VET, HE and the labour market • A measurement tool that can be used by youth workers to assess young people’s progress 2. A multi-media film, produced by young people, presenting the project and its impact on them. 3. An open access multi-lingual e-learning portal, targeting youth workers 4. A minimum of four multiplier events and a number of local dissemination activities. The immediate impact will be a) Youth workers will increase their skills to engage socially excluded young people b) Young people’s creativity and initiative will be stimulated, motivating them about their future c) Young people will become aware of services, support networks, and means of accessing qualifications for further education and/or employment d) Participating organisations will gain skills and a wider European network, supporting internationalisation strategies. Longer-term benefits will be a reduction in youth social exclusion; a positive impact on the partners’ reputation, which can be expected to bring further financial support. At wider level: we expect to feed the lessons of the project into policy development at national and European levels. Future funding is expected to be acquired through mainstreaming and multiplying the project both at national and European levels.
The main achievement for the project was to equip professionals with the skills to engage socially excluded young people. To ensure young people’s creativity and initiative will be stimulated, motivating them about their future To make young people aware of services, support networks, and means of accessing qualifications for further education and/or employment Enable participating organisations to gain skills and encourage a wider European network, supporting internationalisation strategies. Longer-term benefits will be a reduction in youth social exclusion; a positive impact on the partners’ reputation, which can be expected to bring further financial support. At wider level: we expect to feed the lessons of the project into policy development at national and European levels. Future funding is expected to be acquired through mainstreaming and multiplying the project both at national and European levels.
The project was designed in the context of increasing concern about the widening gap between young people who engage in social, civic and cultural life and are confident about finding a job, and those with little hope of leading a fulfilling life, and potentially at risk of exclusion and marginalisation. Our research showed that many young people aged 14-29 are neither in employment, education or training (NEET), and are at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Young people with a migrant background, low educational achievement and health issues are most likely to become NEET and are least likely to participate in social and civic activities. The project aimed to develop materials to enable youth workers to use the power of story-making to engage and work with socially excluded young people, equipping them with resilience, confidence, self-esteem, and life skills, with the objective of fostering the inclusion and employability of young people with fewer opportunities, through the promotion of quality youth work.