YOU-CARE: YOUth Creating Action Research on Eco-anxiety

With partners, as part of the Erasmus+ program, we provide an opportunity for non-formal education through our initiative “YOU-CARE: YOUth Creating Action Research on Eco-anxiety” – a 25-month cooperation in the field of youth, including three activities, which are:

• training for youth workers and teachers to be held in Italy from 27 September to 29 September 2024.
• youth-led collaborative research workshops and learning exchanges
• A Youth Open Assembly to be held in Belgium and will bring together decision makers, youth communities and other civil society actors to share the key results of the project

The overall goal of the YOU-CARE project is to enable young people in Europe to explore and evaluate the emotions related to the environmental crisis and to move from environmental care to active participation. The project involves developing their emotional, pedagogical, scientific and advocacy skills. The concrete results use the following created by young people for policy, as well as compatible research results and video materials documenting the research workshops in each country. YOU-CARE embraces environmental health research and policy for and by youth, creating a space for young Europeans to define, share experiences and find solutions to emotions related to the environmental crisis.

Eco-anxiety can be defined as a chronic fear of ecological cataclysm arising from the observation of the negative effects of climate change and concern for the future of future generations. According to Special Euroatmosphere No. 513 (2021) and Special Euroatmosphere Seeker for the Future of Europe (2022), climate change is a very serious problem for almost eight out of ten Europeans, and almost one in five consider it the most serious problem in the world. Over half of young Europeans (aged 15-24) see climate change as a major global challenge for the future of the EU, and nine out of ten (91%) believe that tackling it will improve their mental health and well-being.

In September of this year, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child published a General Comment on the Rights of Children in a Healthy Environment, known as Comment No. 26. This document emphasizes the importance of building universal standards for the protection of children’s rights to counter the environmental crisis . However, the effects of climate change on young people’s mental health remain underestimated and understudied. YOU-CARE aims to build a bridge between young people and the needs they will identify during the project and decision-makers at all levels. The project seeks to increase knowledge about eco-needs among young people in Europe by creating a framework for participation in research actions and exchange of experiences.

This project is implemented in partnership between 4 organizations from different countries, namely:

• Association FOR YOU, Bulgaria
• QUEST, Belgium
• Inovatyvi karta, Lithuania
• FELCOS, Italy
• Love and care for people, Ireland

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