Within the framework of the youth budget of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, young people had the idea to develop a platform that enables young people in Europe to exchange views on youth-relevant topics and issues. The IJAB project "Challenge accepted - Europe" has been supporting a group of young people in the conception and development of the platform and in the virtual exchange on the developed topics since October 2021.
The link to existing networks of European youth work was realised, among others, through cooperation partners of IJAB, Eurodesk and Cities and Regions of Learning. In this way, young people from many European countries could be reached. The young people who have participated so far come from Norway, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Lithuania, Spain, Ireland, Serbia, Slovenia, Italy and Turkey.
Content and technical conception of the platform
On 06 November and 04 December 2022, IJAB and EJBM/GOEUROPE! together with young people from eight European countries organised the two events "Shaping Europe for young people. Let's create challenges to explore your ideas" and "Challenge accepted - Europe. Let's create challenges to explore your ideas".
t the kick-off event on 6 November, the participatory aspect "Being young in Europe. My topics. My future" was the focus of the event. The naming of the project was also a participatory process. During the workshops, the young people collected ideas for possible project names, which could be selected via Nuudel by 04 December. The decision was made for "Challenge accepted - Europe".
In terms of content, the young people discussed via Mentimeter which topics and challenges are of central importance for their generation. From the many suggestions, topic groups were clustered. Depending on their interests, the participants could choose one of these topics:
- Feminism
- Migration
- Mental health
- Digitalisation
- Sustainability
- Youth unemployment
- Participation
Playlists were created from these topics, in which small challenges can be completed in addition to a monthly meeting.
In the follow-up event "Challenge accepted - Europe. Let's create challenges to explore your ideas", the programme included getting to know the technical infrastructure and explaining the website.
Each playlist includes four steps: learn more about the topic, challenge yourself (first challenge to the topic), challenge others (second challenge to the topic) and an online discussion.
In January, Badgecraft implemented the further development and content ideas on the Challenge accepted - Europe platform. On 17 Feb 2022, the platform was officially launched during an Instagram live event on rausvonzuhaus.
Feminism
Gender diversity, gender bias, equality. These are buzzwords we hear a lot these days. But what do they mean? In this playlist, young people can explore these topics, which are summarised and examined in more detail under the term feminism. In the monthly meeting on 19 January 2022, Veronica Tieri from Italy could be won as a speaker. She reported on the project BWTS - BEYOND WHAT THEY SELL and discussed prejudices against feminism with the group.
Migration
Since the earliest times, humanity has been on the move. Some people move away in search of work or economic opportunities, to join their family or to study. Others move to escape conflict, persecution, terrorism or human rights abuses. Still others flee in response to the negative impacts of climate change, natural disasters or other environmental factors. While many people migrate of their own free will, many others migrate out of necessity. On 23 February 2022, we hosted Mhd Amer Alshwekani from Magdeburg, who told the young people about his flight 5 years ago and the challenges of integration in Germany.
Mental health
Mental health encompasses our emotional, psychological and social well-being. It influences how we think, feel and act. It also influences how we respond to stress, how we relate to others and how we make healthy choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence to adulthood. It is important to remember that a person's mental health can change over time, depending on many factors. If the demands placed on a person exceed their resources, their mental health can be affected. Thomas and Mert were guests at the monthly meeting on 16 March 2022 and told the young people about their work with #IKBENOPEN in the Netherlands.
The participatory and voluntary character in the project has so far proven to have a particularly positive impact on international youth participation in the project. In the meantime, a network of over 200 young people has been established, whose participants have taken part in the workshops, challenges or monthly meetings. On 21-22 May, the networking meeting of the projects from the youth budget will take place. "Challenge accepted - Europe" is looking forward to presenting the results so far together with 2 young people from the project.
