The Science of Sexuality Education and Youth Work – SafeYouth

An Erasmus+ project that focuses on supporting and empowering youth workers combating the social obstacles that young people face on the basis of their gender, sexual orientation and mental health status, and helping youth to build resilience and improve their well-being.

Grant Agreement Number: 2020-1-CY02 KA 205-001795

Funded by: Erasmus+        Duration: 01/09/2020 – 31/08/2022     

Challenge

According to Eurostat (2017), 28% of young people aged 16- 29 years were at risk of social exclusion in the EU in 2017. Young people may enter the process of social inclusion at different points and move toward either pole – marginalisation or autonomy, depending on the choices they make, the support and opportunities they have. The development of essential socio-emotional life skills may act as a protective factor for youth empowerment. Quality development of youth work is interconnected with competence development among youth workers.

Sexuality Education responds to this challenge by empowering youth workers in providing young people with the knowledge to make informed decisions about their sexuality, well- being and lifestyle and thus feel more included in their social environment, be more confident about who they are and to become active citizens. Specifically, youth work enables young people to develop holistically- their voice, influence and place in society and to reach their full potential, something that formal educational systems cannot achieve alone.

Innovation

SAFE YOUTH aims at empowering youth workers to act as ‘first- aiders’ on sexuality education, mental health and well- being topics when interacting and connecting with youth, especially marginalised youth. To achieve this, SAFE YOUTH implements an innovative and fun process based on visual narratives and online attractive content, such as challenge-based learning in the form of digital escape rooms, on topics related to sexuality education, mental health and well-being. Visual narratives include photography, illustration, and video and can be enhanced through the use of visual media.

Action

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Project Partners