The collaboration between INJUVE and the PROEM Network was forged within the framework of the organization of the conference ‘Youth, well-being and emotional health in the era of the coronavirus’.
06/11/2020.- The main head of the PROEM Network and professor at the University of Jaén (UJA), Luis Joaquín García, and the director of the Spanish Youth Institute (INJUVE), Mª Teresa Pérez, met as part of the organization of the conference ‘Youth, well-being and emotional health in the era of the coronavirus’, so that both entities work together.
Luis Joaquín García explained the keys to the PROCARE and DAREMOS projects, two initiatives that aim to provide free emotional support to adolescents with emotional problems at this stage of the pandemic. In this way, they agreed on the incorporation of INJUVE as part of the External Advisory Board of PROCARE and DAREMOS.
INJUVE is a public agency, attached to the Ministry of Social Rights and Agenda 2030, whose main activity is aimed at promoting actions for the benefit of young people. Its objectives are: to promote equal opportunities among young people, to encourage the free and effective participation of young people in the political, social, economic and cultural development of Spain and to promote collaboration with other ministerial departments and other public administrations whose activities affect this sector of the population.
The UJA Professor of Psychology emphasized “the urgent need to invest in mental health given the risk of a massive increase in emotional problems in young people over the coming months due to the impact of the pandemic.” “It is crucial to help young people at risk of (or with) emotional problems to help them manage their emotions and prevent risky behaviors. They are not only our future, they are also our present. For this reason, the University of Jaén is leading two initiatives, DAREMOS and PROCARE, which offer a rapid emotional screening test, an emotional PCR and an emotional vaccine to provide young people with resilience and emotional strength,” he said.
For her part, María Teresa Pérez, director of INJUVE, defended the role of most young people during the pandemic and the “marginalization” they suffer lately in advertising campaigns and public messages. “The stigmatization of young people in the coronavirus is a very dangerous breeding ground,” she commented. In this regard, he praised the work done by PROEM Network researchers through PROCARE and DAREMOS and pledged to contribute the vision of this entity as an active member of the External Advisory Board of these two initiatives to promote mental health and emotional well-being in youth.
The DAREMOS project (1260378) has been co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Consejería de Economía y Conocimiento de la Junta de Andalucía; while the PROCARE project (PID 2019-111138RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) has been funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation.
