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Accredited project in the field of youth

2023-1-HU01-KA151-YOU-0001422892023Mobility of young people for accredited organisationsfinalizedGood practice
Countries: HU · Grant: €38,900

Objectives

The project aimed to promote the physical, mental, and social well-being of young people while enhancing their environmental awareness and commitment to sustainability. To achieve this, we implemented a comprehensive initiative consisting of two interrelated activities: the “Bricks: From Which We Build Ourselves” training course in Budapest, which focused on developing youth workers' competencies, and the “GreenGen - Empowering Youth for a Sustainable Future” youth exchange in Armenia, which directly targeted young people's environmental consciousness. During the project development, we recognized that young people’s well-being and commitment to sustainability are closely connected: balanced and mentally strong young people are more likely to take an active role in their communities and protect their environment, while an active awareness of sustainability and a responsible lifestyle positively influence mental well-being, reducing stress and enhancing self-esteem. Based on this insight, we designed the program so that the two activities would complement each other and support the young people’s development at both individual and community levels. By training youth workers, we aimed to equip professionals to guide young people towards a more sustainable, healthier lifestyle, while the youth exchange allowed participants to acquire concrete knowledge and practices in sustainability that they could apply in their own lives. More specifically, the youth worker training aimed to introduce participants to methods and tools to support young people in building mental resilience, forming positive habits, and engaging in community activities. The training emphasized the importance of resilience, stress management, and forming healthy habits—essential for a generation facing the challenges of the modern world. The participating youth workers acquired practical methodological tools that they could use within their local communities. Thus, the long-term goal of the project was for the knowledge shared through the training to reach a broader audience of young people, thereby improving community mental well-being and supporting positive lifestyle changes. Commitment to sustainability was the other key element of the project. The youth exchange in Armenia aimed to encourage young people to adopt a responsible, conscious attitude toward their environment. During the “GreenGen: Empowering Youth for a Sustainable Future” program, participants delved into the principles of sustainability, especially in areas they encounter in their daily lives, such as waste management, energy conservation, and responsible consumption. Through hands-on activities—such as waste sorting, developing recycling ideas, organizing community clean-ups, and other environmental practices—the participants learned environmental protection principles. The program helped young people directly experience the impact they could have on their immediate environment and, more broadly, the global ecosystem, while learning how they could actively contribute to their community's sustainable development. The coordinated implementation of these two activities allowed the project to have a positive impact both individually and communally. In the long term, the youth worker training can help more young people cope mentally and emotionally with the challenges of modern life, while the knowledge gained in the youth exchange directly influenced participants’ lifestyles and attitudes, fostering environmental awareness and commitment to a sustainable future. Overall, the long-term goal of the project was to support the development of participating young people and youth workers at both the individual and community levels and to help shape a conscious, sustainability-oriented young generation committed to a sustainable future.

Project partners (1)