Confessions Erasmus Project

Project Title

Confessions

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for youth

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2014

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Entrepreneurial learning – entrepreneurship education; Creativity and culture; Labour market issues incl. career guidance / youth unemployment

Project Summary

Today’s world is in a state of constant change. In the European Union this change can be felt in the high numbers of unemployed young people under the age of 30. In some member states the unemployment rate for young people is as high as 50%. These statistics indicate that there is a real disconnect between the systems in place (such as educational, political and employment) and the opportunities available to youth today.
This is a multilevel concern and problematic in many ways. One of which is that large majority of young people have an unfortunate beginning to their career and young adult life. Unemployment has often been seen as a failure in today’s society and this will reflect negatively on those that are affected and leave them without much optimism for their future options. This is a real problem for the many unemployed individuals under the age of 30 in Europe but it’s at the same time a potential future problem for the many young people still enrolled in the educational systems.

The aim of MEMORY30’s project ‘Confessions’ is to provide different perspectives to these young people (enrolled in education or recently graduated) through online video interviews.
We have through research, identified a diverse group of international individuals. We have interviewed 12 diverse individuals that have both encountered obstacles like failure, unemployment, illness, career change and unexpected life occurrences before achieving great success on their career path and personal life. Examples of these are: Nobel Peace Prize winner and social business advocate Muhammed Yunus, astronaut and activist Ron Garan and other individuals like a doctor, artist, journalist, meditation teacher etc. The 12 interviews were conducted in the various participating countries and represent a diverse and reflected mix of people. After the interview process the interviews were edited and shown online and to students and youth. With this project we wish to spread the different perspectives of a career can take shape and how young people can be pro-active in shaping their future. The interviews can be seen online for anyone who is interested. We have also made a panel of young students and included them in the process. They will also in the future help to develop the project further so that as many people as possible can get use of the interviews as well as expanding the number of interviews.
The group members have challenged and developed their existing skill set throughout this project. These skills are not only relevant to this project but also to the general employability of each group member.

The interviews have been published on our online platform along with the news, educational material and other relevant information. The interviews show individuals at different stages at their career that have faced difficulties and turned failure into an advantage. We give young people the chance to learn from those more experienced through a modern and simple online presence. Many people have been involved including the core members of the Memory30 groups, the 12 interviewees, educational organisations, youths and friends & family.

As part of the project we were invited to give a presentation at a conference on use of digital media in education in Nurnberg, Germany. This was a great experience for us and a really good way to get our project presented to professionals, teachers, ministry of education and so on. This encounter also confirmed that there is interest for the project and we will develop and professionalise it further.

The title ‘Confessions’ is derived from the Jean-Jacques Rousseau autobiography: Confessions from 1782. It was the first autobiography in history and stood out because of it’s honest style not shying away from showing himself in situations of failure and difficulties. By doing so he shied away from showing a polished hard-to-retain image of himself. We feel this relates well to our project, as young people need to understand that behind most success failure can be found and that everyone will experience it at some point it their life.
Rousseau further more seems relevant reference as he is known for his educational philosophy at a previous time of change in Europe.

Memory30 is a North European informal youth network consisting of members in four different countries; Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Germany. With a background in entrepreneurship, social projects, film and media. We are passionate about innovation within education and using social entrepreneurial methods to achieve change.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 29515 Eur

Project Coordinator

Memory30-DK (Kintsugi / Pangea) & Country: DK

Project Partners

• Memory30-DE
• MEMORY30
• MEMORY30-SE