HOW TO SURVIVE A PANDEMIC: Young People Dealing with Crises

The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken to combat its spread were an enormous burden for families and young people. The assessments of the parents surveyed in the basic project "Parents and the COVID-19 pandemic", as well as numerous studies, show that young people were particularly burdened, and that their concerns were hardly heard. Young people experienced educational disadvantages as well as impairments to their emotional, psychological, physical and social well-being. At the same time, they developed creative ways of dealing with the burdens as well as new strategies and problem-solving skills that can also be used to overcome other crises. The participatory project "How to Survive a Pandemic (How2SaP): Young People Dealing with Crisis" makes the young peoples experiences and knowledge accessible, initiates a future-oriented discourse on the topic of "Surviving pandemics and crises well" and promotes participation in scientific research. Together with young people, we develop and distribute a digitally and physically available survival guide booklet that will be published exactly five years after the start of the pandemic, in spring 2025. The project comprises the following objectives and work packages: (1) How2SaP reflexive: We discuss our research results with young people and invite them to reflect on their experiences during the pandemic, and their learnings for the future. (2) How2SaP creative: Together with young people, we develop a survival guide booklet to make their experiences, strategies, and visions for the future accessible to themselves and to other young people, in an attractive form and with the aim to contribute to overcoming future crises. (3) How2SaP goes public: We disseminate the young people`s experiences and the survival guide booklet via target group-specific social media channels (TikTok, Instagram) and a final event. This also serves to promote dialogue between young people, parents, professionals, and scientists. The main target group are 14- to 19-year-old young people who reflect on their experiences of the pandemic, strengthen their resilience with regard to future crises, discuss their coping strategies, and share them with other young people. We also reach out to parents, professionals and scientists, who gain insights into the perceptions and realities of young people`s lives. In implementing the project, we cooperate with four schools in Vienna and Lower Austria as well as the Sindbad association, which supports young people regardless of their social background. In addition, cooperation partners from the field support us in our public relations work and project dissemination. Project team (University of Vienna): Ulrike Zartler (PI), Vera Dafert, Petra Dirnberger, Daniela Schimek, Sarah Sirka (project staff)