WELLTEENS
EU Programme: Erasmus+ KA2 Cooperation Partnership YOUTH
Reference: 2023-2-IT03-KA220-YOU-000176636
Start date: 01/04/2024
End date: 30/09/2026
The WELLTEENS project aims to create free, accessible and user-friendly psychoeducational materials including videos and APP for teenagers with refugee background in Europe, now notably from Ukraine, addressing their trauma coping, emotions tracking, sense of belonging, peers support and well-being needs. The project aims at self-help, peer-support and examining the challenges of teens as GEN Z.
- To support the well-being of those who are forced to flee their country because of war at times.
- To address the needs of refugee teenagers through a combination of research, community support, and digital tools and therefore improve the mental health and well-being of refugee teenagers.
- To provide refugee teenagers with a sense of community and support, and to encourage them to reach out for help when needed.
- To offer basic psychological support to children awaiting professional counselling, reducing waiting times, and improving accessibility to necessary services.
- Collaborative video creation: Engage teenagers with migration experience and their peers from host countries in the co-creation of video series, aiming to gain deeper insights into their lives.
- Psychoeducational app development: Design and develop an app to aid teenagers in addressing their issues, focusing on fostering healthier emotional coping strategies and enhancing self-understanding.
- Pilot implementation and evaluation: Conduct pilot testing to rigorously assess the effectiveness, usability, and cultural relevance of the developed mental health resources, including the app and videos, involving teenagers from diverse backgrounds.
Mobile APP, videos and educational resources:
- Social issues: Addressing causes like climate change, racial justice, and gender equality, reflecting Gen Z’s activism.
- Mental health: Exploring challenges such as loneliness exacerbated by social media and coping strategies.
- Education: Highlighting student debt and changing job markets.
- Work and career: Discussing the impact of technology on work and personal identity.
- Culture and identity: Exploring diverse identities including race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and religion.
- Technology and media: Investigating the effects of smartphones and social media on relationships and society.
Results
- Established a novel narrative titled “Teenagers to Teenagers” aimed at increasing awareness of Gen Z’s perspective on adolescence, addressing their issues, challenges, fears, doubts, as well as their excitements and opportunities.
- Equipped teenagers with resources and support to cultivate essential skills for stress management, resilience building, and the maintenance of good mental health.
- Improved the quality and efficacy of digital and responsive resources, specifically tailored to meet the distinctive needs of teenage (non)refugees, thereby enhancing their potential to positively impact mental well-being.
Co-experts
- Teenagers (12-18 years old) with migration backgrounds experiencing distress upon arrival in a new country.
- Refugee children relocating to partner countries due to the war and crisis in Ukraine.
- Youth workers, Educators, Professionals in sociology, pedagogy, psychology, and psychiatry benefiting from understanding this specific teenage demographic.
- Parents of migrant and refugee children providing support, facilitating professional help if needed, and fostering open communication and empathy.
Keywords
…
Website
Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. The European Union cannot be held responsible for them.