The overall aim of the project was to strengthen the capacity of the five participating organisations in addressing the increasing mental health challenges faced by young people, particularly in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Through this strategic partnership, the project sought to achieve the following core objectives: • To build the educational and organisational capacity of all five partner organisations in supporting young people experiencing mental health difficulties. • To enhance the competences of 30 youth workers by equipping them with innovative educational tools, methods, and approaches relevant to youth work in the field of mental health. • To develop the participating organisations’ ability to use the Erasmus+ programme as a strategic instrument to support mental health initiatives in youth work at both local and international levels. • To strengthen the partners' capacity for international cooperation, enabling them to jointly develop, exchange, and implement effective practices and frameworks for mental health support in youth work. By achieving these objectives, the project was intended and succeded to contribute to the long-term improvement of the quality and impact of youth work related to mental health.
Following the Covid-19 pandemic, both our organisation and our project partners had witnessed a marked escalation in mental health-related difficulties among young people within our respective organisations. Increased level of anxiety, discomfort in group activities, germaphobia and difficulty establishing balance between school and social life being amongst several challenges. Through mutual exchange and dialogue, the group identified a series of shared mental health challenges affecting youth across our regions. These joint concerns highlighted a clear and urgent need to strengthen the competences of youth workers and to adopt complementary methods in engaging effectively with young beneficiaries. All participating organisations recognised the necessity of structured capacity-building measures aimed at enhancing the ability of youth workers to address and manage mental health-related issues. The Erasmus+ programme was accordingly identified as a strategic framework through which to foster transnational cooperation, facilitate the exchange of best practices, and develop innovative models for the improved support and inclusion of young individuals experiencing mental health challenges.