Today, many young Europeans experience their life marked by multiple crises. This year's publication of our educational network Understanding Europe explores the concept of resilience as a means to deal with crises – featuring suggestions by a psychologist, educational scientists, and young voices from the network members.
While young people across Europe are still struggling to recover from isolation during the Covid-19-pandemic, inflation hits hard, and the terrifying news of the Russian war against Ukraine are a daily reminder of how fragile peace is. Fear, numbness, or anger are common reactions to this crisis mode.
In this year’s Educational Briefing we are therefore tackling the question ‘how can we develop resilience in the face of crises that threaten to overwhelm us?’. We can define resilience as the capacity to adapt to changing circumstances and respond constructively to crises.
This publication shows that resilient societies need learning spaces where democracy and participation can be truly experienced. In Europe, we need to empower young volunteers and committed youth workers in their daily fight for critical thinking and against polarisation.
We wish you a strengthening and thought-provoking read!