MAIN IDEA Connections has been an educational project with a clear focus on improving the mental, social, and physical well-being of young people within group settings. It provided educators with practical tools to consider both the group and the individual, and to foster personal and social connection in both professional and personal contexts. The project combined Nonviolent Communication (NVC) with body awareness methodologies—such as Contact Improvisation and Body-Mind Centering—to promote connection and enhance resources in educational and relational settings. One of its main objectives was to address the growing disconnection among young people, which is linked to excessive screen time and its effects on mental and physical health. The project offered methods and techniques to confront this issue, while also generating discussion to better understand the isolating effects of today’s social networks. All of the educators involved confirmed that this isolation and communication difficulty are serious and growing problems among the youth they work with. PROJECT OBJECTIVES Specifically, through participation in the project, youth workers: - Gained understanding of Nonviolent Communication and its principles as a method that supports connection between people, including the young individuals they work with. - Expanded their capacity to understand the feelings and needs behind actions, and to communicate them to others. - Developed their empathetic skills and learned how to integrate empathy into their work with youth. - Became better equipped to manage conflicts and misunderstandings, applying the approach of "connection before correction." - Became familiar with various body awareness methods, such as Contact Improvisation and Body-Mind Centering, as tools to connect with their own physical bodies and to help others do the same. - Felt motivated to address mental and physical well-being through youth work. - Acquired tools to work with young people and explored how to implement them in their professional practice.