Erasmus+ training course “You&Me” took place in Kaunas, Lithuania on 14th – 22nd of May, 2019. The mobility gathered 24 participants coming from Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, France, Slovenia and Turkey. The project aimed to enhance youth’s ability to make conscious decisions about their sexuality and relationships, as well as their well-being and health. This was done by equipping youth workers with tangible tools & information, which will help to positively impact younger people in their youth centre, organisations, etc.
The inspiration for the Project
Youth can get a lot of unreliable/insufficient information from their parents and peers on sex-related topics. It’s an issue to be addressed.
Good-quality sexuality education is needed as there is an increasing fear of STIs (sexually transmitted infections), teenage pregnancies (because of the lack of knowledge about contraception and responsibility), and sexual abuse. The sexual behaviour and attitudes towards sexuality are rapidly changing, as young people are experiencing more freedom in their sexuality (European Expert Group, 2015). In addition, there is a widespread of internet and media coverage which can distort a perception of sexuality (for example, youth watching pornographic content on the internet). A lot of times people do not understand their own sexuality; thus, it is hard to pass the knowledge to the younger generations.
Sexuality education is a lifelong learning. It includes physical and emotional well-being, sexual health, respect for yourself and others, as well as learning about sexual orientation, gender identity, and relationships. “Good quality sexuality education is grounded in internationally accepted human rights, in particular, the right to access appropriate health-related information” (WHO, 2013). For those reasons, sexuality education needs to be presented (in an acceptable way) to the youth to give them the right knowledge to live a healthy and happy life.
Objectives of the Project
1) exchange knowledge and practices on sexuality education in the participating countries;
2) find implementable ways to incorporate it into the youth work;
3) raise social awareness about the importance of sexuality education;
4) break the taboos and myths surrounding the human sexuality.
24 active people from 6 different countries came to the training course which was held in Kaunas, Lithuania. During the mobility, participants have improved their empathy, creativity, communication, teamwork and problem-solving skills and knowledge about sexuality education. Moreover, they have got more information about the dangers of irrational sexual intercourse, which includes sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancies, abortion, etc
Project’s Activities
- Country workshops – sharing information and facts about sexuality education in the participating countries. Interactive presentation/discussions were encouraged;
- World café non-formal discussions + presentations of the different topics within sexuality to learn various arguments for/against;
- Workshop about sexuality education where the participants have learned about the importance of it for youngsters’ well-being;
- Pop quiz with topic-related questions;
- Interactive games related to the topic (presenting the ways how you can introduce sexuality in a fun way);
- Workshop (sex and language): participants got to know different words about sexuality to later incorporate into their youth work;
- Workshop to brainstorm ideas on how to present sexuality to youth;
- Making a survey to find out the public opinion about certain issues of the topic and distributing free condoms, raising awareness on protected sex.
Project’s Success
Project “You&Me” proved to be a success. This mobility promoted a new attitude towards sexuality education. The participants learned how a lack of sexuality education can have negative effects, for example, sexual abuse, low self-esteem and premature sex. Furthermore, they tried to break the myths and misassumptions about sexuality education while being simultaneously introduced to the facts and information, which gave them guidance.
In addition, participating organisations have learned new NFE methods/tools through workshops, activities, which could be used in the future projects, seminars, workshops that promote comprehensive sexuality education. Also, they had the chance to meet with the partners from different countries. All of which enabled them to build potential partnerships and further develop projects on similar topics.