The project aimed to empower both young people who menstruate,and those who don´t inviting both groups to the much-needed-conversation and reflections. As partnership ( 5 organisations from 5 countries) for 18 months we were actively promoting menstrual education as a tool for inclusion, health equity, and social transformation. We have raised awareness about menstrual health beyond the gender binary, challenge taboos and stigma, and foster safe spaces for dialogue and (un)learning. Through non-formal,and informal, education activities, we sought to equip participants and our youth workers with knowledge and competences, confidence and critical thinking in order to (start ) loooking at period from an intersectional&holistic point of view. Both for thir own experiences and in their communities and cultures.By connecting youth workers and organizations across Europe, we also aimed to exchange good practices, co-create inclusive educational materials, and strengthen the capacity of the youth sector to address menstruation as a human rights and public health issue, that shows as how we treat those who menstruate in our socioeconomic and cultures spheres.
AndPERIOD – menstrual education against taboos, addressed the lack of inclusive menstrual conversations and education among young people. We identified that menstruation is still surrounded by stigma, misinformation, and gendered assumptions, which negatively affect the wellbeing of people who menstruate**. In our local communities, we noticed that many young people lacked safe spaces to talk openly about menstruation, especially those who do not identify as women. Thanks to framework of ERASMUS+,we as partnership aimed to create an international (un)learning experience that would empower youth workers and young people to challenge taboos, share knowledge, and challnage the narratives surrounding the period. Through this project, we responded to the need for inclusive and safe spaces for our participants, that need to embrace the menstruation as a natural and diverse experience, not limited to a single gender identity, presenting it as only hygenic and/or reproductive process. We also wanted to strengthen youth participation and cooperation across Europe in tackling health-related inequalities.