Brussels
06 November 2020

Under Pressure – Trade Union Support for Young People Facing Stress and Anxiety - Webinar

UNDER PRESSURE

Trade Union Support for Young People Facing Stress and Anxiety

November 6th, 10.30 – 12.00 (CET), English only
Venue: GoToMeeting platform

According to Eurofound data, during the first wave of the virus, social distancing and lockdown have negatively affected the mental health of youth more than any other age group. As we now witness a second surge of COVID-19 cases and the restrictions of social life that come with it, we will likely see again a heavy toll on the well-being of young people across Europe. Before this background, on November 6th, from 10.30 to 12.00, the EPSU Youth Network is organising a webinar to discuss and exchange among trade unionists on which measures are needed to support young people facing mounting stress, anxiety and depression. This is an opportunity to listen to experts and practitioners from different fields who give their perspective on this very relevant and timely topic. Following this, we will exchange experiences and discuss among us what we have done or can do to address this issue.

To do justice to the complex issue and approach as much as possible a complete panorama, we have invited speakers from different fields offering varying perspectives. We will hear testimonies from a young trade unionist working in the health sector, two researchers with profound expertise on this topic and a young Trade Union official. We are proud to announce the following panel:

  • Hanushe Liabjani works in a hospital in Kosovo. She is also an active unionist in the national health union federation and is a cherished member of the EPSU Youth Network. In her hospital, Hanushe has witnessed the battle with the COVID-19 pandemic, mostly without sufficient equipment. She will speak about her own and her colleagues personal experience with increasing stress and pressure in hospitals as well as her unions initiatives to offer support and relief.
  • Massimiliano Mascherini is head of the unit for Social Policy at Eurofound. He will present, explain and put in context Eurofound’s data on mental health during the COVID19 pandemic. Eurofound’s Living, Working and COVID19 surveys have shown dramatic effects on the well-being of young people, with particularly worrying results on loneliness and depression.
  • Prof. Judit Balazs from ELTE university in Budapest is the Chair of the European Psychiatrist Association’s Section on Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She will share her profound expertise on concrete policies to improve prevention of mental health problems for young people as well as measures to improve access to mental health services.
  • Josef Holnburger, from the German Trade Union Confederation’s (DGB) Youth Committee, will conclude the panel by explaining the DGB’s actions and demands to better support young trainees, students and workers coping with psychological pressure at work. He will speak of student and trainee counselling as immediate help for those affected, but also of the DGB’s political demands for more effective protection against stress at work.
  • Following this panel we will open the floor for debate among speakers and participants.

Please feel free to also forward this to colleagues who might be interested. A link to the gotomeeting platform will be sent to registered participants in the days before the event.

Event type

06 November 2020

GoToMeeting
1000 Brussels
Belgium