Vol’Go! Project Result 1: Desk and field research
Read the whole State of the art -report in English here.
In the nowadays society that is based on mainly economy and individualism, it can be surprising how few genuine opportunities for participation and influence are still offered to youngsters, that are marginalized for one reason or another. It is frequently observed, that young people with different social problems and reasons to exclusion, e.g. mental health issues, are not economically contributing members of society. Therefore, they are not the first target group getting resources for personal development, even if they are young and have their entire lives ahead of them. These young individuals would have a lot of potential; it just sometimes has to be harnessed with assistance from professionals like youth workers.
Giving young people the opportunity to participate, express themselves, and engage in activities in a safe environment, is one of the finest methods to motivate them. When a person’s inspiration comes from the inside, it will carry them far and last a long time. Inclusive volunteering is one tool to support the youngsters capacity-building. In the two-way process of volunteering, both the volunteer and the person receiving the volunteer work develop their capacities and utilize their inherent potential. Therefore, in the Vol`Go! project (2022-2024) the partner organizations have made desk and field research in Cyprus, Finland, Portugal and Slovenia, to development methodology and guidelines (PR2) as well as create a handbook about mental-health sensitivity (PR3), to enhance young adults’ possibilities to participate and volunteer in the EU area.
