Hi, I’m Daniela. I’m 31 years old. I got married when I was 23 and had my first daughter when I was 24. Everyone had always told me that I did everything too quickly, but let’s just say that everyone is free to think what they think is right for their own life.
Since I became a mother, I’m no longer characterised as a young lady, a girl, a group, an evening out, but I’m seen as desperate, constrained, limited. When people don’t know that since I had my children, I do many more things and I feel much freer than before. I’ve questioned myself a lot and I’ve had the opportunity to confront myself as a woman, a mother, a partner.
The Erasmus+ project “We care..but who cares for us?” has given me the opportunity to not feel wrong, but free to express my vision both as a young mother and as a girl. The project focuses on youth policies for young parents. It is a youth participation project co-constructed together with a group of young women, mothers, who met in the children’s services of the territories involved. The project aims to support the participation in democratic life of young parents under 30, creating synergies between youth policies and policies supporting the family, childhood and social welfare.
The young parents involved have been accompanied on a path of training and reflection on their youth identity and had the opportunity to become active and mobilise for a cause that touches them closely: the need to combine youth and family policies. The objectives pursued, specifically were
- To offer an experience of youth activation, mobilisation and participation, increasing the sense of empowerment of the young people involved;
- Accompanying young people on a path of self-discovery and personal, educational and professional development, as well as creating a space for listening and recreation;
- Raise awareness of local and international opportunities and increase the level of youth advocacy.
Since I started on this path, I’ve had the opportunity to travel and see other realities of where I live, where they manage to make you feel you’re not wrong or discriminated against because you’re young but also a parent, where you can do what you like and know that your children in the next room are doing something they like.
During this journey I asked myself some questions:
What do I think about the future?
How do I see the future of the world?
How do I see my future?
What am I doing for my future?
What is the State doing or should it be doing for a better future?
What should Europe and international organizations be doing for the future?
All these questions brought to mind some key words:
Inclusion
Family
Wellbeing
Participation
Let’s say that alone we go faster but together we go further.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
About the author: Mother and participant in the “We care…but who cares for us?” Erasmus+ project.
**DISCLAIMER: All opinions in this article reflect the views of the author, not of COFACE Families Europe**
