EUropean Collective nArratives for Reconciliation and trauma hEaling through youth engagement and Storytelling – EU-CARES
The idea of the EU-CARES project is to emphasise that there are different ways in which the past can be translated into the present, with the help of memories and storytelling. The process of self-healing from traumatic events is a steep climb. To heal entire communities is even harder, since collective trauma leaves intergenerational scars and causes divisions in society. In the reconciliation process, storytelling – with its many techniques – can be an effective tool providing a social space to bring people together and elaborate each other’s experiences.
The EU-CARES project aims to address collective trauma, aid the recognition of remembrance and support the reconciliation process among disadvantaged young people in the Western Balkans, and transfer the knowledge about the process to the organisations working with displaced and disadvantaged young people of the Eastern Balkans. In order to achieve these objectives, the project will use different storytelling techniques to foster active participation, constructive dialogue and critical thinking.
EU-CARES specific objectives are:
➢ Empower and increase the competences of youth workers to contribute to the reconciliation process in the Western Balkans by fostering youth participation and engagement, intercultural understanding and solidarity through storytelling;
➢ Foster a European identity among young people by promoting intercultural dialogue, democracy and respect of human rights, including the rights of displaced people, refugees, and national minorities through creative youth work practices;
➢ Engage young people from different regions in meaningful dialogue through different storytelling techniques, by enhancing their social and emotional intelligence in order to increase mutual understanding and heal collective trauma;
➢ Increase networking between youth organisations, and policymakers in the youth field to create synergies between different kinds of expertise and approaches in the reconciliation, collective trauma healing processes and refugee integration in order to redefine the future by building resilient communities.
The Consortium gathers 8 partners from the following countries: Belgium (1), Bosnia and Hercegovina (2), Italy (1), Albania (1), Poland (1), Montenegro (1), and Serbia (1), with varied and complementary profiles which will allow the successful achievement of EUCARES objectives. The project will be implemented with respect to a balanced division of work packages between partners, taking into account their experiences, which will bring in different realities and a wide scope of expertise that has already served in the needs analysis and will provide the perfect set-up for long-term cooperation. Furthermore, the partnership comprises organisations with vastly different realities, bringing in a fresh flow to the activities planned. The Consortium has been developed on a basis of respect, common values and a desire to innovate.
