HÉTFA’s colleague, Eszter Szőnyi, recently travelled to Jordan for a scientific mission to represent HÉTFA. The aim of the mission was to engage in mutual learning in the field of youth research, youth policy and evaluation, as well as to build connections. Throughout multiple meetings and roundtable discussions with Jordanian experts, researchers, CSO representatives and youth, HÉTFA’s colleague has shared experience in the field of youth research and policy and evaluation.
The mission to Jordan was made possible through the support and funding of the Profeedback COST Action (PlatfoRm OF policy Evaluation community for improvED EU policies and Better ACKnowledgement). The Action, under the lead of HÉTFA, aims to foster the networking of the policy evaluation community at EU-level, raise awareness on the importance of evaluation policy research and improve its impact on policy-making. Jordan counts as a target country in COST Actions, therefore the mission has been of high importance for the Profeedback network.
During the mission, HÉTFA’s colleague shared insights from the ongoing Lost Millennials project. This initiative, led by HÉTFA and funded by the Fund for Youth Employment of the EEA and Norway Grants, focuses on a commonly neglected target group of the generation of Millennials – young people aged between 25 and 29 years, who are out of employment or education and training (NEETs), live in small towns in rural areas and face multiple barriers to their inclusion in labour market. In the framework of the project, the evaluations of selected initiatives addressing 25+ NEETs in nine European countries are soon to be concluded. The already published results of the project are available here.
The mission proved fruitful, laying the groundwork for potential future collaborations in policy evaluation. HÉTFA’s representative contributed to productive discussions and built connections, strengthening HÉTFA’s commitment to advancing youth research at international level.