Training

Project Name: "Embracing Our Bodies: A Journey to Body Acceptance" (BODY-ACCEPT)

Duration: From 01/07/2023 till 31/06/2024 (duration 12 months)

Activity: Professional Development Activity KA153YOU. 4 participants from each organisation and we are going to have also 4 stakesholders a total of 40 participants which they work in different methods of Non Formal Education for their body acceptance and social enterpreuneurship through the improvement of their self consistence with improvization non formal educational methods.

Total number of participants: 36 (18 with fewer opportunities)

Topics: Physical and Mental Health, Well-Being; Quality And Innovation Of Youth Work;

Applicant organisation: Active Cypriot Programs and European Learning Into Acceptance, ACPELIA, email: acpeliacy@gmail.com

Management Team: Nikolas Nikolaou email: nicckolas44@gmail.com;

Trainers: Elena Tasheva, Erma Georgiou

Activity dates: 12 to 21 of April 2024 (including travelling dates)

Activity Place: Hylatio Tourist Village, Pissouri, Limassol, Cyprus  

Studies have shown that many young people, particularly teenagers and those in their early twenties, can struggle with body image and self-esteem issues. Research suggests that a significant proportion of young people (80% woman and 34% man) are dissatisfied with their physical appearance and may experience negative emotions such as anxiety, depression, and shame as a result. 

Several factors contribute to these concerns, including social media and media representation, peer pressure, and the influence of cultural beauty standards. Social media, in particular, has been criticized for promoting unrealistic beauty ideals and creating a culture of comparison, where people are constantly comparing themselves to others and finding themselves lacking. 

Despite these challenges, it is important to raise awareness on body acceptance among young people because negative body image can have serious consequences on an individual's physical and mental health and grow, and this training course will allow youth workers, educators, facilitators to get familiar with different tools and methods to work on the topic and bring closer this project to the target group of adolescents and young people.

Having a negative body image can lead to low self-esteem, which can in turn lead to poor mental health and even depression. It can also lead to unhealthy behaviors such as restrictive eating, over-exercising, or the use of unhealthy weight loss methods.

Two terms that will be used a lot during this projects are body image and body confidence. To define them: Body image refers to a person's perception of their own body, including their thoughts, feelings, and attitudes towards their physical appearance. Body image can be influenced by many factors, including cultural beauty standards, media representation, and personal experiences

Body confidence, on the other hand, refers to a positive and realistic perception of one's own body, regardless of its shape, size, or appearance; is characterized by self-acceptance, self-love, and a sense of security and comfort in one's own skin. People with high body confidence have a healthy self-esteem and are less likely to be influenced by societal beauty standards or media representation.

It's important to note that body image and body confidence are not the same thing. While some people may have a positive body image and high body confidence, others may struggle with negative body image and low body confidence. Addressing and improving body image and body confidence is a crucial aspect of promoting mental and emotional well-being.

Therefore, addressing body image is a crucial aspect of youth work and education, and that is what our project aims to achieve. Our MAIN OBJECTIVE is to enhance the quality of youth work practices by transforming current educational practices, where body image is often ignored or even negatively affected. The project also seeks to enhance the skills of youth workers and educators, by improving teaching and training methods, approaches, and tools through raising awareness about the significance of body confidence and incorporating movement-based activities into the learning process.

36 youth workers, educators, young people from 9 organizations will gather in a PDA activity in Cyprus to explore the topic of body positivity, to learn different tools and methods on the topic while learning from experienced trainers, learning from each other, testing different methods and gong through specific topics, sharing experiences as well as creating digital content to be promoted online and to reach young people in our local communities to spread the awareness.

Program of the training