Young people are growing up in a world that changes faster than many of us can explain it: new technologies, climate anxiety, misinformation, unclear career paths, social pressure, global crises and questions that often sound like: What comes next? Where do I fit in? How do I prepare?
The FutureMe: Skills for the Future Handbook was created for this moment.
Developed through an Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnership in the youth field, FutureMe brings together European partners Gemeinsam leben und lernen in Europa e.V. (Germany), BACKSLASH (Spain), Centrul de Voluntariat Cluj-Napoca (Romania) and Associazione di Promozione Sociale JOINT (Italy). Together, they designed a practical methodology to help youth workers support young people not only to cope with uncertainty, but to imagine, choose and shape their futures.
The handbook turns future-readiness into something concrete. Across 13 sets of skills, grouped around self-management, problem solving, working with people, and technology use, it offers activities youth workers can use directly: quests, reflection tools, storytelling, creative challenges, outdoor tasks, digital exercises, emotional check-ins and real-life scenarios. No passive learning. No heavy theory. Just practical, inclusive, non-formal education methods that help young people learn by doing, reflecting and applying.
Why does this matter?
Future-ready young people are not those who have all the answers. They are young people who can stay curious, adapt, think critically, manage emotions, collaborate, use technology responsibly, make decisions and keep hope alive when life becomes complex. And youth workers need these skills too, because the way we respond to uncertainty becomes a model for the young people we support.
The methodology has already started travelling beyond the training room. Youth workers have used FutureMe tools in schools, universities, volunteer teams, community centres and libraries. The Walt Disney method sparked strong engagement in Romania. A city quest helped participants explore how to cope without internet. A session on reliability led volunteers to reflect deeply on what one “simple” word can mean in everyday life. In another example, an educational escape room transformed a rural library into an active learning space and won recognition for innovation.
FutureMe does not promise a perfect map of tomorrow. It offers something better: tools, confidence and inspiration to keep learning with young people, step by step. Because the future is not something that simply happens to us. It is something we build together.
Future Me (project number 2024-2-DE04-KA220-YOU-000287434) is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, under Key Action 2 – Cooperation Partnerships in Youth, with a total project budget of €250,000.
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the National Agency and Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein
