Neets: relationship as a driving force

Background The AMO Reliance team applied for this project because young NEETS (young people between the ages of 16 and 25 who are not in school, work or training) are part of the public with whom we work. We started from the observation that, for several years, these young people no longer really find meaning in their existence and do not place their trust or interest in traditional reference systems (family, school, work). Over the course of meetings and interventions with these young people, we have found that what seems to work is an approach that combines individual support for the young person, in partnership with other professionals who are part of their ecosystem or who can enable them to consider new paths and meeting other young people who are or have been in the same situation. To support these young people as well as possible, we wanted to develop, test and evaluate a support process which focuses first on the relationship and the reflection of the young person in relation to their life needs and which does not primarily target the absolute “reactivation”. Objectives One of the objectives of the project was the methodological and pedagogical exchange between Belgian, French and Luxembourgian partners in order to offer group and personalised individual support to young people who have dropped out of school. As a result, our aim was to directly follow-up with 30 young people in serious drop-out cases, and more indirectly, through awareness-raising activities in schools for an additional 240 young people. Another objective was to develop a NEET committee within each country, bringing together local actors in order to create a collaborative and coordinated approach for these young NEETs. In this way, we wanted to break down the walls between the different actions of formal and non-formal education actors, as well as those involved in training and socio-professional integration. We also aimed to increase media coverage of the project so as to reach young NEETs who would not have had the opportunity to be supported by this project, as well as the adults and professionals who were likely to be supervising them. Implementation As soon as the project was accepted, a first meeting took place in videoconference with the European partners in order to launch the project and agree on the different stages of setting up the project. A face-to-face transnational meeting in the premises of Reliance, in Belgium, allowed us to share the tools that everyone uses in their structure and see how we could adapt them in the learning activities. Unfortunately, the arrival of new restrictions related to covid-19 has upset the planning of meetings and upcoming activities, which have nevertheless been maintained but in video. We also tried to set up a local commission, which consisted of bringing together all the local players in Basse-Meuse interested in employment and training for young people. For the same reasons as mentioned above, few partners attended these meetings. Achievements For the participants, it was possible to observe the following results as a result of their mobility: - Better interaction and organization in the context of collective life. Staying in a youth hostel required adaptation and flexibility on everyone's part. - Mobility and curiosity have been boosted: for most, this group project was the first mobility outside France and/or without the family. After this experience, 3 young French people then embarked on a project to go to Canada, life in a youth hostel having been an important element for them to take an interest in interculturality. - Confidence building: several participants were afraid to speak to strangers and were able to establish relationships quickly, which gave them confidence. - Improved speaking. - Several young people have started work placements or got involved in the search for work after the various training courses.