Empowering Young Patients

Empowering Young Patients (EYP) is a pilot project funded by the European CERV programme, aimed at ensuring the right of children to participate within hospital settings.

The project will involve 30 hospitalized children and adolescents in long-term care wards, aged between 7 and 17, as well as over 100 high school students and their teachers, to raise awareness about the challenges faced by their peers in hospital and to promote inclusion.

Project Objectives

The project runs from January 2025 to December 2026 and aims to:

Collect and share good practices at local and European level regarding the participation of hospitalized minors;
Offer children in long-term care wards opportunities for socialization, education, and civic engagement to improve their well-being and sense of belonging;
Provide educators, teachers, volunteers, and professionals in the field with skills and competences to foster greater involvement and inclusion of children in hospital settings;

Engage students and teachers outside the hospital environment in a process of life-skills acquisition and greater awareness of the challenges faced by their peers;
Carry out awareness-raising and dialogue activities at local and European level, and contribute to the creation of a Community of Practice that includes institutions, educators, families, hospital staff, and policymakers, to ensure the project’s long-term sustainability.

Activities

Needs analysis and collection of good practices (January – June 2025)
Debate and dialogue activities (4 Round Tables in person in Rome – or possibly elsewhere – between July and October/November 2025)
Dissemination and awareness-raising activities (6 Open Days in Milan, Rome and Lecce starting from autumn 2025)
Design of a Community of Practice (2 focus groups; interviews; 3 in-person meetings between March 2025 and June 2026)

Co-design of a new “Charter of Hospitalized Children” (questionnaires; 1 Community Lab in person in Rome between December 2025 and October/November 2026)
Engagement and institutional dialogue activities (1 Policy Lab in person in Rome between July and December 2026; online European meeting; final conference between November and December 2026)
Training activities for teachers, volunteers, and professionals in the field, both in person and online, between November 2025 and May/June 2026
Creativity Camp, in-person workshop events

Direct beneficiaries

hospitalized children and adolescents in long-term care wards, aged between 7 and 17

high school students and their teachers, to raise their awareness of the challenges faced by their peers in hospital and to promote inclusion

+ 0

Locations

Most of the activities—especially those involving direct contact with children—will take place in Rome, with the support of Policlinico Gemelli.

However, while the project was conceived to address local challenges, some awareness-raising, dialogue, and needs analysis activities will be carried out across Italy, both in person (mainly in Rome, Milan, and Lecce, with the possibility of including other locations if appropriate) and online.

Moreover, the involvement of international partners will support the engagement of organizations and institutions at the European level.

Seconda tavola rotonda del progetto EYP

Terza tavola rotonda del progetto EYP

EYP is an initiative carried out in partnership with JAI, ActionAid, Project School, and Hope, in collaboration with the Policlinico Gemelli Hospital in Rome.
It is funded by the European Commission through the CERV Programme (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme).