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"Connect, Share & Stay Well" Youth Exchange
Start date: Jun 20, 2014, End date: Nov 1, 2014 PROJECT  FINISHED 

The #StayWell project arose out of an awareness of the dangers of social media for young people. There has been a lot of media attention lately on the negative impact on young people's mental health and risks of suicide by various social media. This project brings together youths from Ireland and Holland to research and discuss this theme. Our objective is to find positive ways to counteract such negative impacts, assessing to what extent leading a balanced lifestyle and adhering to a responsible behaviour on-line, as well as off-line, can counteract any negative impact from social media on mental health. Some ideas from the Covey method to achieve a balanced lifestyle will be utilised during the project. There will be about 30 youths aged 13 to 17 taking part in the #StayWell project, which will include a youth exchange in Rathkeale (mid-west of Ireland) for 8 days during July. During the months of the project several research activities will be carried out in each country (surveys, interviews, consultations, fact-finding sessions, etc) to explore the impact of social media on young people's mental health. The findings and learning outcomes from this research will be brought to the youth exchange in Rathkeale, and several workshops and discussion sessions will be carried out to analyse the material. There will also be workshops to explore healthy lifestyles (applying the Covey method) and about responsible behaviour on-line, as well as the essentials of Internet Safety. Given the location of the venue for the exchange, participants will also have an opportunity to dedicate some time to engage and play sport with children from nearby travelling communities. This will allow them find out more about this social group and their experience at using social media. From this engagement, participants will derive a more inclusive attitude towards minorities in general, and travelling peoples in particular. There will be also be an opportunity for several intercultural exchanges between the youths from both countries: learn about each other's language, food, history, music, heritage, sports, etc. The benefits for the participants will be enormous, in terms of developing positive attitudes and learning new skills. The findings and learning outcomes from the project will also be of interest to a wider audience: other youth groups, local authorities, parents and teachers, and even experts of social media usage at national and international level.
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