DSH Positive Choices Erasmus Project

Project Title

DSH Positive Choices

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: Early School Leaving / combating failure in education; Health and wellbeing

Project Summary

Aims:
The aim of the project was to create a best practice training resource representing a synergy between partners from different cultural backgrounds, working in different fields of education, training and youth. The Best Practice Training Resource Handbook will be useful for all working in Higher Education, Youth Work, School Education, in addition to those who work in a clinical setting.

Six participants from UK, Greece (x2), Lithuania, Romania and Turkey, exchanged workshops (x2) to develop a common understanding of Alexithymia, Deliberate Self Harm and Suicide in Young People and up-skilled those working with young people in different fields of education, training and youth, in order to address the Europe 2020 agenda regarding poverty and social exclusion, in terms of the reduction of early school leaving and improvement of academic attainment in young people.

Objectives:
We created a resource of best practice non-formal training that brought together different approaches in young people’s well being support within the participant countries. The project produced a comprehensive evaluation of the different practices exchanged and exploited during the lifetime of the project. At each partnership meeting (6 in total), the host partner presented 2 one-day workshops of best training practice in terms of how they help young people explore their feelings and empower them to make positive choices – to take more control in their lives. Each meeting included a contribution from a young person to talk about their lived experience, having been the recipient of the host’s workshops prior to the meeting. This resource was presented at a final international conference in March 2017 in Siauliai, Lithuania.

Context / Background:
Early School Leaving and Low Academic Achievement is a priority of the Europe 2020 agenda, in terms of addressing issues of poverty and social exclusion.

Six participants:
PADMA (UK): Mental Health Charity working with young people in schools
ZISPB (Lt): an NGO providing social and educational initiatives in the field of vocational rehabilitation for disadvantaged groups, especially young adults
SSP&MH (El): Non-profit scientific organisation providing high quality psychiatric support services and promotion of social inclusion in young people, particularly those with mental health issues
BEHDER (Tr): NGO working in field of Youth to improve health at local, regional and national levels
AUTH (El): Higher Education Institute using art therapies and workshops in the field of youth
BUCOVINA (Ro): NGO working in the field of education and young people

Description of Activities:
Each partner brought an average of 3 persons to each externally hosted learning activity / transnational meeting – each partner hosting a learning / transnational meeting.

Methodology in carrying out the project:
Each partner prepared 2 one-day workshops in presenting their best training practice; emphasis being on the “bite-size” learning activities that can be practised, taken away, implemented and then evaluated prior to the next round of learning activity.

Evaluation took place immediately after each meeting. Partners shared their learning with colleagues, who also evaluated the shared learning. Each participant completed “learner diaries” as part of the evaluation following each partnership meeting to record the impact of the learning on their own personal and professional development. Local delivery of the workshops (translated into own language) also shared with local Stakeholder Committees in order to address “fitness for purpose”.

Description of results:
Short bite-size learning workshops & implementing the workshops upon return from the partnership meeting and evaluating them, built substantive records regarding the impact of delivering the shared workshops within partners’ own working practices, and further afield to stakeholders in the fields of education training and youth.

Impact:
We presented an evaluated resource of shared best training practice at the final international conference and made it available on the project web site. Each partner made recommendations and report of activities to supplement the impact shared training has had and looked to explore the potential for developing an accredited common training programme that can be mapped to the EQF.
Each partner created an informal stakeholder committee to include a mental health professional, teacher, parent association member, young person (from school committee or youth committee) and a local authority young people service to build bridges between people in need and our specialised services to support future sustainability initiatives.

Longer term benefits:
We will explore the potential for the project to become a development of innovation in its own right, following completion of the project.

Long term, we have already seen the outputs of the project to have become embedded in the daily practices of each partner organisation.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 154436 Eur

Project Coordinator

Plymouth & District Mind & Country: UK

Project Partners

• Etairia Koinonikis Psixiatrikis kai Psixikis Ygeias
• ARISTOTELIO PANEPISTIMIO THESSALONIKIS
• Asociatia Institutul pentru Parteneriat Social Bucovina
• VsI Zmogiskuju istekliu stebesenos ir pletros biuras
• Behcet Hastalari ve Saglikli Yasam Dernegi