OUR VOICES

General information

Code: OUR VOICES
Period: 1.5.2025 - 30.4.2027
Range on year: 0.76 FTE | 0
Project leader at FDV: prof.dr. Valentina Hlebec
Research activity: Sociology

Abstract

OUR VOICES is a project dedicated to supporting young carers – children and adolescents under the age of 18 who provide care for a parent or relative, usually in the home environment. They represent a vulnerable and often overlooked group of children, frequently exposed to multiple risks, including poor mental and physical health, limited educational opportunitie, social isolation and economic hardship, violations of their fundamental child rights.

Despite increasing recognition of the challenges faced by young carers, support across EU Member States remains fragmented and uneven. Existing policies are dispersed across several domains – health, social care, education, child protection, digital inclusion, and economic support – yet they seldom adopt an integrated or coordinated approach. As a result, the specific needs of young carers are not systematically addressed, and opportunities for their meaningful participation in the design of policies that directly affect their lives are often limited.

Project Objectives
The OUR VOICES project seeks to foster inclusive and systemic participation of young carers at the local, national, and EU levels, with the aim of ensuring that they are not only heard but that their views are genuinely taken into account in the development of policies and concrete measures affecting their lives.

Through this project, we aim to:

• Establish conditions that enable the active participation of young carers,
• Develop tools and strategies to support their involvement in policymaking,
• Advocate for more inclusive and responsive public policies,
• Facilitate the exchange of good practices among EU Member States.

Through coordinated action and a strong commitment to children’s rights, the project envisions a future in which young carers are recognised, valued, and empowered, and where they are actively involved in shaping the systems that affect their daily lives. The project seeks to achieve sustainable change by empowering young carers, professionals, and the systems that provide them with support.

The project activities will contribute to the following key results:

1. Empowered young carers
   Young carers will gain a stronger understanding of the importance of participation and will develop enhanced advocacy skills to represent their interests in decisions that impact their lives.
2. Strengthened knowledge and competences of professionals working with young carers
   Professionals who interact with young carers will improve their awareness, skills, and capacities to better identify and support this vulnerable group.Professionals in health, social care, and education will enhance their ability to identify young carers and will learn and implement effective practices that enable young carers to actively participate in decision-making processes.
3. Strengthened collaboration among key stakeholders and policy influence
   Enhancing collaboration among key stakeholders – including young carers, policymakers, professionals, and educators – will foster the development of a sustainable and comprehensive model of support for young carers, which can be successfully applied in other EU Member States. In the long term, this will contribute to greater inclusion and influence of young carers within participatory mechanisms at local, national, and European levels.

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