Benjamin Franklin Transatlantic Institute webpage

Barbara - Slovak Republic 

Information Platform for High School Students 

In our country, there is a significant lack of information on college majors available for high school students to make an informed decision. This creates confusion and frustration among young people when it comes to picking a major and can lead to rushed decisions and quite frequently, a high dropout rate. Also, with little information on possible career positions available for pursuit after graduation, the unemployment rate of 20-somethings is increasing alarmingly. If we could solve this problem, we believe that we could help students start their higher education with more comfort and confidence. 

Batoul - Germany 

Truth Introduced by Youth (TIY) 

In Germany we have a high rate of racism. People begin to judge and insult each other in public on the basis of what they see in media. Unfortunately, this type of behavior is also extremely shown up in schools. Youth see the behavior of adults and copy it. Sometimes not only words will be used and it ends in a fight. This situation is happening daily in my school and if those kids want to excuse themselves, they will always mention some stereotypes or things which they saw in the news lately. For that reason I want to work on the topic: Stereotypes and media analysis.

I want to invite youth, no matter where they are from, who may have good or bad experiences about stereotypes and how to deal with them. I would love to create a stage play combined with music, arts and poems, which show feelings and expressions of those youngsters. 

Frishta - 
Anaheim, California

Melinda -
San Diego, California    

Youth Health Education

In the local community, health education is often not detailed enough, providing only a general overview. Even within high schools, comprehensive health education is not taught, leaving teens unaware of resources that can prevent and protect youth from several physical and mental health issues. Youth Health Education tries to raise awareness by involving teens as teachers for their peers and younger kids.

On a global scale, there are many areas in the world that do not meet health standards set by the UN or WHO. In order to lessen the problem, YHE plans on extending its outreach internationally. In addition to teaching healthy practices, YHE can also teach literacy, as these skills are necessary in attaining a healthy lifestyle. 

Iliana - Bulgaria 

Management of Stray Dogs

My project represents an approach to a current problem in Bulgaria and in many other countries all over the world – stray animals, particularly stray dogs. There are currently dozens of dogs roaming the streets of my hometown, Blagoevgrad. They gather in packs and sometimes attack innocent people while defending their territory. Due to lack of effective policies by the municipality, in the past 10 years, the number of attacks by stray dogs has increased. Stray dogs attacked about 170 people in Blagoevgrad in the first six months of 2014. This has created constant fear in citizens that they will be the next “victim” and some of them try to cope with the problem by themselves, using inhumane methods such as poisoning or killing.

In order to overcome this problem locally, I will conduct a dual campaign. The first part will be to neuter and spay the stray dogs in the most affected neighborhoods of the city. The second part will be to promote the adoption of stray dogs. A report published by “FOUR PAWS” shows that similar campaigns in Sofia decreased the number of accidents involving aggressive animals. Also, there were fewer offspring from stray dogs. While a “neuter and spay” policy has been applied successfully in other big cities like Sofia, it has never been tried in Blagoevgrad. 

It is important to carry out this project, since it will make my community safer and, in the long term, will decrease the number of stray animals in the city.

Jorge – Portugal

GPSC - GINI Portuguese Summer Camp

Bringing people together has a lot more to it than just making new friends. It is essential for high school students to get in contact with different ideals, opinions and ambitions. Sharing different stories, comparing perspectives, being culturally aware, and understanding the viewpoints of different people are important aspects. This is why we decided to create GINI.

Our mission is to stretch students’ horizons and vision concerning their academic path and help them become better citizens, through civic engagement and entrepreneurship.

This exchange, and all the shared knowledge, will provide candidates the tools they need to better choose their path and make their decisions. We also take civic engagement and entrepreneurship seriously. The combination of both approaches is essential for making our candidates well-rounded and experienced. This can be achieved through a variety of activities.

Kaja – Croatia

Remember the Fun

Although the age limit for consumption of alcohol in Croatia is 18 years, in the past few years, there has been an increasing amount of underage drinkers. The government does very little about that and although there are some controls, alcohol is still illegally sold to people under 18 in smaller shops, gas stations and bars. The situation got up to the point where the mindset of youth is that this is perfectly normal and some even feel pressured to drink, even if they don’t like alcohol, just to fit in. Most of the parents are also not educated about consequences of their children drinking, so they let them and even help them buy alcohol for the parties. Another factor that is also contributing is the fact that all the places, which are popular for going out during weekends, openly encourage drinking.

This project is important because, since it’s already easy to get alcohol, the least what can be done is prevention. Youth needs to be educated about the harm alcohol and underage drinking can do. There already are some campaigns all around the country, but just on the level where teachers and educators tell students alcohol is bad for them and their health and that they shouldn’t drink it. However, showing them real examples of what happened to some teenagers and offering them to experience fun without alcohol, could be more effective.

Lea – Serbia

People Against Cerebral Palsy

With this project we are helping children and young adults who struggle with cerebral palsy to start or continue with medical treatment, rehabilitation or necessary operations.
The right therapy can help them develop crucial skills and be more able to function on their own. Unfortunately, many families whose children have this condition are not able to afford it.

Michal - Poland

Project FUTURE

Young people in Poland are not prepared for their first job. It is stated in many articles that youth aged 18-25 have a lot of troubles with finding a job. According to them, it is not due to the current economy, but because of lack of self presenting skills and weak CVs. They are terrified of creating resumes; having the job interview is one of their worst nightmares. Almost none of the Polish teenagers have a clue about gaining valuable experience that possible future employer could appreciate. www.facebook.com/projektprzyszlosc 

Pablo – Spain

Sports and Facilities Restoration

Sports are important. I want to show Spanish people that you can live your life better if you get into sports. First I have to restore sports facilities. I’ll restore one basketball court in my town with volunteers. After, I will make a 3x3 basketball competition to make the project known. 

Theodor – Romania

Mathematica Club & Physica Club

In Romania students are required to take a set of exams and apply to different high schools after the 8th grade in order to continue their studies. I chose the “George Cosbuc” National Bilingual College because of the opportunities it offers. “George Cosbuc” allows its students to participate in many extracurricular activities that are almost nonexistent in any other high school.

Even though “George Cosbuc” offers a lot of extracurricular activities, there are no “clubs” for subjects like Math, Physics, Biology, History, etc., meaning that students who wish to study a subject more thoroughly are limited to options that are either private and very costly or badly administered.

Unnur – Iceland

Shorter High School – Ideal or Ignorant

This project is very much needed in the Icelandic community. The conference will be a way to allow students to listen to other people’s views on this topic, tell others what they want to change and come together to influence the decision. It is a way to tell student about new ideas and ways to develop the educational system. If the conference would not be held, students would not have much access to information on the government’s plans. It could lead to more dropouts of students and dissatisfaction among them.

Mihai - Moldova                              

Art of Manliness Club                                  

In the modern society, boys are not very respectful. The concept of the gentleman has disappeared or is totally misunderstood. They need strong development in order to be a future father, husband, grandfather and an accomplished role-model in the community. This project helps with personal development, social inovlement in addressing community problems, and building respect for society and the other gender specifically.

Mane - Armenia

Summer European Leaders Forum

Theproject is a youth exchange program, aiming at cross-cultural cooperation, and strengthening borders between EU and non-EU countries. It has a global benefit because 32 people from different countries and cultures will come together in order to shape them into more socially and politically active young citizens and leaders. The aim of the project is to create cooperation and cultural understanding across borders through the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and experiential learning.

Zhena - Belarus

Student Advisory Council

There are a lack of students participation in different social and academic activities, a lack of awareness about current university policy and daily life, and a gap in interrelations between the majority of students and their representatives in the University Council. The major goal of this project is to create an autonomous system of informing and creating school policies under student management.

Preetam - San Diego, CA

Education
Beyond the Classroom 

Disadvantaged children and youth do not have access to good after-school academic help during their elementary, middle and high school years. The goal is to provide disadvantaged students from kindergarten through 12th grade with free online tutoring lessons and homework assistance without the need for tutors to travel to students’ schools. The program will help pave the way to bridge the gap in educational disparity between the haves and have-nots.

Gresa - Kosovo

Step Up

Step Up is a project that aims to improve youth participation in Kosovo. Goals include to create a high school network throughout Kosovo, so that high school students can communicate and organize different activities together, to organize sports’ competitions in municipality and national level, and also competitions in art, literacy, math and other subjects, and to raise awareness on the importance of youth participation.

Flavia - Albania

Discovering diversity ‘’Learning about our Roma
population’’

The aim of the project is to learn and connect with the Roma populations in our respective communities and nations. In each of our countries, we have a significant Roma population that is often discriminated against and not properly understood. Indeed, Macedonia has the only Roma municipality in the world. Also our project aims to address this question: In a time of ultra-connectivity, with access to infinite information at our fingertips, why do we still lack a basic level of communication with and understanding of our neighbors?

Fellows from 26 different countries

GEO (Global Education Organization)

This project intends to provide free tutoring because we believe that education is a basic element for the development of people. We aim to decrease opportunity inequalities because not everybody has equal access to the educational resources they need to succeed in school, work, or to simply satisfy their thirst for knowledge. The ability to integrate oneself into the local and global society requires some basic abilities that include a solid command of the local and a global language. In order to achieve a better integration at the local and global level, we will focus on immigrants, in particular, who have just arrived to the country and do not speak the language and students who cannot access or afford afterschool tutoring.