Description of the challenge you will be working with and its context.
We know that being a teenager is already a difficult time in anyone's life. In some countries this stage is made even harder if we add the social pressure to be a successful person during their studies or in the workplace, which in some cases leads to the development of illnesses such as anxiety or depression at an early age. My aim is to help young people find a way to feel supported and understood by other people of the same age in another part of the world. To get to know other realities, to foster international friendships based on understanding and support in difficult times.
I have come to this challenge because of a video from a TikTok influencer that caught my attention . This girl called Soojin tells that her best friend, who lives in South Korea, had been on the verge of committing suicide because she couldn't find a way out of her life, seeing that her only future lay in studying to be able to work in the best company in the country or being a civil servant.
On the other hand, the situation in Spain is not much better. Suicide rates in young people after the confinement of Covid-19 have increased considerably, along with anxiety, lack of socialisation and uncertainty about the future.
Putting these two problems together in such young people in two very different parts of the world, I have come to the conclusion that perhaps there may be a way to solve both problems, by helping and making these young people see that they are not alone. That there is a world beyond their current problems and that there is a way out for everything.
What specific measures will be implemented?
In order to achieve this challenge, we would need at least one Spanish school, one school in an Asian country willing to participate, the help of Burgos University and the support of the Eurasia Foundation.
The points that I would like to implement would be through workshops in the school itself via Skype, Zoom or any other type of communication app, creating a support network.
I would like to use round tables where the teenagers can feel free to express what they feel, what worries them, what they need to or how could they improve their self-esteem and mental health. In fact, to help them to understand their feelings and manage them in the best way.
All this ideas seen from an international perspective to help them understand how other people of their age feel in another part of the world.
The points to work with them would be:
- Be aware of other realities.
- Break down prejudices and stereotypes about mentalhealth.
- Open up the possibility of creating international links between young people who may be able to work together in the future.