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SolidarityNow organized yesterday the launch event of its new program entitled “Empower YOUth”<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The program aims to empower young people<\/strong>, especially those from different vulnerable groups, such as Roma, migrants\/asylum seekers, refugees, young people with disabilities, people living in remote areas and below the poverty line, LGBTQI+, in order to take the lead and bring positive change to their communities.<\/strong><\/p>\n Through the targeted actions of the program – workshops, small-scale interventions activities at community level, education -, the aim is for young people to acquire the skills and confidence needed to take initiatives and influence their communities, on the road to a society without discrimination and exclusion.<\/p>\n Empower YOUth was presented by Thodoris Bogeas and George Tsitiridis\u00a0 from SolidarityNow, while Maria Tsene from\u00a0 the Bodossaki Foundation underlined the importance of developing initiatives for young people and highlighted them as a priority of the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism (EEA Grants).<\/p>\n The meeting was attended by Babis Papaioannou, National Youth Expert at the European Commission, who stressed:<\/strong> “In 2023, the European Commission with the participation of all civil society actors aims to take action for the benefit of young people, focusing on their new needs as they are dynamically shaped across Europe.”<\/em><\/p>\n Representatives and people working for the social groups to which the program is addressed took the floor at the event, emphasizing the need to implement such actions for young people.<\/p>\n Stavros Giouvannis, from the Lighthouse of the World, stated:<\/em> “It is an honor and a great pleasure for me to participate in this meeting, because we cannot talk about the future of young people without us, the young people themselves, participating.”<\/em> Then, Dimitra Adamantidou, from the Association\u00a0 for the Care of Minors & Youth (SMAN)<\/strong> pointed out that “The need to continue the protection and care of young refugees after the age of 18 is essential,\u00a0 especially for unaccompanied minors who come of age and are without a protection network”<\/em>, while Alexandra Panagiotakopoulou, from Colour Youth,<\/strong> highlighted the critical issue of supporting the LGBTQI+ community: “It is particularly important to support the LGBTQI+ community, as it has the highest rates of depression, due to a lack of a supportive framework. The daily hostility experienced by LGBTQI+ people both at school and in their family environment dramatically burdens their daily lives”.<\/em><\/p>\n Finally, Vedat Sevincer, representative of the Norwegian organization Norsensus Mediaforum<\/strong>, with which SolidarityNow collaborates on the project, concluded: “It is a very interesting program and we are glad to be part of it. The stories that will emerge from this and social media will give a voice to the young people they lack.”<\/em><\/p>\n