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Impact of COVID-19 on Deaf Youth Work in Europe

2021-1-EE01-KA153-YOU-0000207902021Mobility of youth workersfinalized
Countries: EE|SK|BG|SE|BE|IT|ES · Grant: €16,827.34
Digital youth workInclusion of marginalised young peoplePromotion of alternative forms of participation

Objectives

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on everyone worldwide, with young people being the hardest hit. However, the situation was even direr for deaf and young people, who were already facing challenges such as unemployment, lack of education, and exclusion from communities. The situation has only become worse with the crisis. A global survey conducted by LIO showed that young people have been the worst affected and will take the longest to recover. However, the survey did not consider the impact on disabled young people, particularly the deaf, and thus, there is a significant information gap. The project aims to shed light on the situation of deaf young people during the COVID-19 crisis. The project objectives were: to map the impact of COVID-19 on youth work with deaf young people, to exchange experiences and best practices in areas affected by COVID-19 such as finances, online activities, and online outreach, to create a list of recommendations for deaf youth organizations, national associations of the deaf, national youth councils, and other public bodies responsible for the well-being of deaf young people, to develop a toolkit to help participating organizations and other deaf youth organizations soften the impact of COVID-19 by providing tips for online activities, outreach activities, and advocacy skills. Deaf youth workers involved in national deaf youth organizations needed to better understand the situation of deaf young people in order to support them effectively. Questions such as whether they have been traumatized, what they miss the most, and how to organize quality online activities needed to be addressed.

Project partners (8)