Young Messengers of European Memory

Background The project started from the problem relating to the lack of awareness of European history, and the weakening of the sense of belonging to Europe, as a phenomenon which is unfortunately expanding in European society itself. A phenomenon that therefore affects all social groups and all generations. The oblivion of the memory of European history and the removal of the memories of the individual stories that constitute it, unfortunately also leads to an oblivion of the founding values of Europe. In turn, the weakening of European values, together with the economic, environmental and employment crisis, has contributed significantly to young people's distrust in politics and active participation in European society. All this becomes even more compelling if, on the other hand, we focus on the importance of the historical events that characterized the birth of the idea of Europe, starting from the two world wars, the extermination of the Jews and other ethnic minorities and cultural, up to the affirmation of Europe as a unique political entity on the global scene. The recent and current history of Europe represents an essential heritage of knowledge for the construction of a shared identity. Objectives The objective of the YoMEM project, consistently with the premises, was to affirm a vision of memory not as a mere nostalgic memory of a past, but as a tool aimed at increasing awareness of European history and values, to recover the sense of a better and possible; in particular the project aimed to support the important role that young people can play in this profound cultural action. To this end, the project aimed to create tools and methodologies aimed at youth workers and young Europeans of different ages and social backgrounds. The purpose of these educational tools and activities was, precisely, to make young people "messengers" of the positive values on which Europe was founded, such as democracy, intercultural dialogue, social justice. The YoMEM project was aimed at a target composed of: - youth workers, with particular attention to operators who work with young people in informal contexts; at the same time the methodologies and tools are also useful in formal contexts, such as school; - young people of different ages and backgrounds; - youth educational organizations and policy makers. Implementation The project has carried out the following activities over its lifespan: - 3 transnational coordination meetings in person, and 8 remotely; - local and transnational activities for the creation of intellectual products; - creation of a joint staff training event, for the staff of partner organisations, dedicated to the development of project outputs and the planning of piloting activities; - implementation of mixed mobility of young people; - implementation of local pilot activities, aimed at testing the methodologies created by the project; - creation of multiplier events. Achievements The project generated the following outputs: IO1 - YoMEM Toolkit 1 - Workshops in presence – An handbook for youth workers, for the creation of workshops based on autobiographical and digital storytelling methodologies, for the narration and sharing of personal experiences related to the theme of Europe. IO2 - YoMEM Toolkit 2 - Remote Cooperative Storytelling Activities - An handbook for youth workers, for the creation of remote workshops, based on autobiographical and digital storytelling methodologies, for the narration and sharing of personal experiences related to the theme of Europe. This output introduced the approach of "Remote cooperative storytelling activities", which allow young people from different European countries to cooperate together, in "remote" mode, creating narratives that concern the different themes of the project. IO3 - YoMEM Tutorials, which saw the creation of video tutorials on the storytelling methodologies defined by the project, intended for direct use by young people. IO6 – YoMEM Massive Open Online Course – The course represents an open resource, aimed at youth workers, aimed at animating educational activities for young people on the theme of memory as an opportunity to explore their own experience of Europe, explore and strengthen the values underlying the 'United Europe.