The DYME project used a digital storytelling approach to raise awareness and empower young people to cope with challenges and mental health issues, supporting them in building resilience among peers in their communities. For this, we equipped youth workers with modern communication and development tools. Through applying digital storytelling, featuring first-person stories at the country and local levels, the project allows youth to share and learn from peers’ experiences. We supported young people in designing and delivering awareness campaigns and initiatives that will enable them to be actively engaged in health promotion. Goals achieved: - Competence development of youth workers in digital storytelling and video-making - Development of educational resources, methods and tools for youth workers and young people - Provide educational and peer learning opportunities for young people - Bring mental health issues out of the taboo topics among young people, raise their awareness on mental health - Capacity building of the youth sector in Europe with educational and communication tools adapted to the needs of our time
Young people nowadays face multiple challenges: social inequalities are rising, social mobility is decreasing; the labour market requires new skills and public education cannot always keep up with these needs; while environmental sustainability is becoming a more and more burning issue. It is not surprising that feelings of anxiety, helplessness, loss of personal integrity are more and more common problems among young people in Europe, made even worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. Young people do not always know how to cope with the rapid changes in digitalisation and social media. All of the partner organisations have been facing issues regarding the digitalization and alienation, and at the same time, we are committed to develop their own digital activities and also contribute to the quality of youth work in Europe. DYME project had a unique approach on coping with challenges of the 21st century, by using digital storytelling and video making to raise awareness about mental health, develop agency of young people in digital environments and support them in building resilience among peers in their communities and last but not least, build the capacity of youth organisations in digital spaces, especially in social media.