Our diligent young teams from Međimurje marked the three days of the UPSHIFT workshop with true team spirit and innovative solutions aimed at improving local communities. On 15. UPSHIFT workshops ten teams of young people between the ages of 13 and 19 were given the opportunity to develop ideas for better local communities under the guidance of expert mentors.
Primary and secondary school students, eager for good changes in society, worked on these problems:
TEAM 1 (Mia, Tena, Helena, Hana): Grandparents who do not know how to use mobile phones/computers
TEAM 2 (Paris, Noah, Sven): Loss of social (soft) skills
TEAM 3 (Dolores, Viktoria, Adela, Katarina): “fast fashion” or fast fashion, because of which more than 10.5 million tons of clothes are thrown away in the world every year
TEAM 4 Lana, Tara, Elvin, Fran, Viktorija): lack of activities for students who prefer literature, art and dramatic expression
TEAM 5 (Emili, Aleksandra, Monika, Sandro): Inaccessibility of books/picture books and not reading books to young children
TEAM 6 (Karlo, Nataša, Sandi, Aleks, Nikolina): Peer violence
TEAM 7 (Laura, Karla, Rea, Lucija): Lack of knowledge of financial literacy among young people.
TEAM 8 (Karla, Mia, Paola, Tia, Magdalena): Insufficient level of physical activity of children and adolescents
TEAM 9 (Franka, Deja, Vanessa, Vita): The feeling of helplessness that young people experience because they do not know how to do everyday things without the help of older people.
TEAM 10 (Eva, Hana, Keti, Katja, Tamara): Excessive use of mobile devices by young people
After an intensive three-day workshop where young people learn to develop creative skills , how to put an idea into action, work in a team , and think critically , three teams won further mentoring and financial support by the decision of an expert jury to continue with the implementation of their projects. They are:
TEAM 3 (Dolores, Viktoria, Adela, Katarina): “fast fashion” or fast fashion, because of which more than 10.5 million tons of clothes are thrown away in the world every year
TEAM 4 Lana, Tara, Elvin, Fran, Viktorija): lack of activities for students who prefer literature, art and dramatic expression
TEAM 5 (Emili, Aleksandra, Monika, Sandro): Inaccessibility of books/picture books and not reading books to young children
MORE THAN 500 STUDENTS FROM ALL OVER CROATIA PARTICIPATED
To date , more than 500 students from all over Croatia have participated in the UPSHIFT program, who gathered in teams to develop their solutions, and more than 50 of them received financial and mentoring support for further implementation . By participating in the program, young people aged 13 to 19 created solutions for challenges in the field of ecology and environmental protection, education, inclusion and the fight against discrimination, the quality of life of young people, and many other topics that are important to young people.
The UPSHIFT workshop is conducted by the UNICEF Office for Croatia in cooperation with the Croatian Office for Creativity and Innovation (HUKI) as part of the ZABUM – For the Future of Youth program.