The project made participants sensitive regarding pressing issues leading to unemployment and therefore increased the awareness and encouraged them to find possible solutions. We achieved a better understanding of unemployment dynamics worldwide and also regional specificities. Best practices or lessons from other countries as well as the international institutional involvement were discussed. In addition, a simulation game of the European Conference on Youth Unemployment which encompassed several days lead to better understanding of the situation through empathy and roleplay. The simulation game was aimed to create awareness and understanding of unemployed youth, reflect upon own situations, privileges and disadvantages and foster empathy toward unemployed youth. The simulation game created a sense of community and trust which lasted throughout the rest of the seminar.
Target Group
The target group of this project was youth from countries which are at the center of the problem of youth unemployment today. Greece, Tunisia and Egypt all have to deal with high youth unemployment and these issues also played a big role during the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt in Winter 2010/11, and continually do so during transition phases. In this regard we were able to work with a group of people with diverse background, in terms of region, sex, religion, age, organizations etc. Also, it was our goal to deepen cooperation between the four partner organizations Intercultural Youth Dialogue Association, PADIL and Institouto Metanasteutikou Dikaiou and CRISP which organized this workshop together in Berlin.
Project Goals
In the course of this project the participants discussed, how they themselves are situated within the situation of youth unemployment and how they can participate actively in addressing and constructively talk about the issues. The project was highly outcome oriented, meaning it pursues practical, constructive and sound proposals for solutions to the simulated social/political problem. Furthermore, the dynamics and procedures of the currently ongoing social processes and also political processes were experienced by the participants through the simulation of the lectures and the simulation of the European Conference on Youth Unemployment. Moreover the participants gained deeper insights into the interests, relationships and strategies of the involved stakeholders. By this, the participants got a better understanding of the political processes that are at work in countries burdened by youth unemployment.