The aims of the BE UNIT project, in line with the logical framework developed during the design phase and updated throughout the project implementation, were defined in the form of objectives, thus identifying the intended areas of change the project sought to achieve. In particular, the objectives were to:1. increase the employability of a number of young people by strengthening their technical and transversal skills; 2. engage young people with more vulnerable profiles, who are further removed from the labour market and from high-level opportunities for active involvement; 3.promote youth activation and participation in a transnational context, encouraging exchange and reflection on current issues that are also priorities in the European debate; 4. foster positive interaction among different groups of young people from different countries, with different perspectives and opinions; 5.stimulate debate on EU values that are relevant to young people, creating an opportunity for advocacy towards the European institutions;6. empower young people to take a leading role in organizing an international short film festival.
We decided to submit this project in response to two sets of needs: 1) some young people have low employability profiles, even when they have interests and skills in specific fields close to their own world (audio-video production, event organisation); 2) many young people, including NEETs, need opportunities to become active and engaged in initiatives that can strengthen their sense of self, promote their active citizenship, and encourage discussion around the democratic values on which the European Union is founded. These needs were identified by the partner organisations through their many years of experience working with young people. The BE Unit project also aimed to respond to young people’s need to play a leading role, by creating a meaningful experience in terms of participation and engagement, as well as a high-quality training experience on the audio-video labour market, giving the 45 young people involved the opportunity to design and deliver a real international short film festival. The involvement of other young people in the project’s additional activities also addressed the need to include them and to offer high-quality opportunities for participation and peer exchange.