This video looks back at “MEET NEET”, one of RESMYLE’s eco-innovative educational projects that provides small grants to local organisations, like the Agora Cultural Association in Campania, Italy, to help them create new ways of engaging with young people to connect them to the subjects of the environment and sustainable development.

Held in September 2021, in the park in the small town of Cusano Mutri, some 80 north of Napoli, MEET NEET assembled 50 young people from Italy and abroad (Albania, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Somalia and Senegal), many in vulnerable situations (asylum seekers or under special protection orders) to step away from their everyday lives and take part in an environmental awareness initiative with a contemporary touch through street art, music and exchange.

The focus was on preserving the environment we live in, but the event was really about introducing young people to the concept of sustainability and getting them to think about the bigger picture. So, the activities provided the opportunity, for instance, to highlight economic issues (consumption, poverty and the North-South divide) and societal matters (human rights, peace, health, inclusion and cultural diversity).

It was not difficult as young people, especially those from vulnerable groups, are more exposed to issues of economic and social exclusion in these increasingly challenging times. While, the aim of MEET NEET was not to find the magic solution to problems but just getting young people from different backgrounds and cultures to channel their thoughts through street art, including a series of panels and murals, it already helps communicate messages and fosters a feeling of being involved, instead of feeling powerless.

The inspiring slogan for the MEET NEET project was “Time is up! We don’t have a Planet B” and the video charts the stages of the project, all the contributors and supervisors, including our Italian RESMYLE project partner, AMESCI, that helped the young NEETs produce a lasting legacy for the local community of their time in Cusano Mutri.