Because of the economic crisis, which has arisen in 2008, we are today facing a global challenge of youth unemployment. Due to difficulties in gaining a foothold in the labour market, young people are now the group at highest risk of social exclusion in Europe.
In contemporary societies engagement in the labour market and education represents not only a possibility for accumulating human, social and economic capital, but also an access to a number of activities, which all influence an individual’s skills, abilities and social standing. On the contrary, young people who are disengaged from the labour market and education are therefore more likely to be excluded from relationships and social networks created in the work or educational environment. Such exclusion often results in psychological distress, such as loneliness, feeling powerless or useless, anxiety and even depression.
The guidebook - one of the main results of the COMP-PASS project, a two year long KA2 Erasmus+ project (Strategic partnership in the field of youth) which consists of the activities focused on developing new working approaches, fostering social inclusion with special emphasis on those who are not in education, employment or training (NEETs).
This guidebook therefore explores a powerful educational and pedagogical tool, digital storytelling, which is a very common technique used in many areas, including marketing or journalism, but also politics, either be consisting of telling stories about a product, a situation or a person. Storytelling, furthermore, proves to be a very useful in the field of youth work, as very therapeutic method for self-revealing and improvement, both for the receiver and the teller of the story.
In order for NEETs to realize their potential within society and to gain recognition by the society for contribution that they make, it is very important to foster social inclusion which goes beyond the labour market and education. One of the possibilities is to reintegrate young people by encouraging them to participate in the society through the quality non-formal education or other forms of voluntary participation, which creates a space for developing skills, knowledge and attitudes that emphasize motivation and the active engagement, which is very significant for entering the labour market.
The guidebook is a capacity building tool for youth workers and other professionals working with socially excluded young people. It aims to support youth workers in delivering training course for NEETs through the storytelling methodology.
The Guidebook is meant for youth workers, motivated to encourage, support and assist NEET to develop their self-esteem and self-knowing, to valorise their potential through storytelling and to develop their stories with the use of multimedia to enhance their future opportunities and their social inclusion.