The Region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol has recently won the prestigious MYFER (Most Youth Friendly European Region) for its project “Schools Beyond Regions and Borders” (SBRB). MYFER is awarded by the Assembly of European Regions, the largest independent network of regions in wider Europe, bringing together regions from 35 countries and 15 interregional organisations, to regions that stand out for their innovative youth projects/initiatives and spread the positive impact they’ve had on young people in their communities.
ARENAS was delighted to work with the team at Region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol to develop and deliver a seminar cycle which focused on Empowering Young People Against Hate Speech. The SBRB project has been coordinated since 2021 by Giuseppe Zorzi, assisted by Daniela Ferrari. Their network currently consists of 32 high schools from 12 different European countries.
When presenting the award, jury members cited the following aspects which made Schools Beyond Regions and Borders stand out:
– its pan-European dimension, including countries in wider Europe (EU + non-EU);
– the fact that the project targets and includes young people who are aged between 16-19 years old, so teenagers, early age, and at a core moment of their education (high school);
– the direct and concrete inclusion of young people in the project activities;
– the inclusion of high schools and high school students, reflecting that education, learning and educational exchanges are at the core of the project;
– the knowledge-sharing, peer-learning, exchange of best practices and capacity-building dimension, connecting European youth, regions, countries and high schools;
– valuing both youth mobility and teachers’ mobility;
– the multilingual and intercultural dimension;
– the social inclusion and gender equality components, especially with the inclusion of linguistic minorities, rural/remote areas, and young people with fewer opportunities.
The ARENAS team members who participated in this seminar series and supported the of the project welcomed the opportunity to share the work being done by ARENAS with an engaged and enthusiastic young audience across Europe. We congratulate Giuseppe, Daniela and the Region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol for winning this award in recognition of the excellent work they have done in the past few years.
