Quiet Hands

Our approach

What we will do

Quiet Hands starts from the voices and experiences of these young women. Together, five partner organisations from Germany, Bulgaria, Sweden, Italy and Greece will:

  • Research the legal, social and personal dimensions of young women’s informal care across five countries, and publish the findings in a comparative report, The Quiet Manifesto;

  • Develop a toolkit for youth workers, Scripts of Solidarity, based on bibliotherapy, creative writing and narrative methods, together with an Ethical Safeguarding Protocol for recognising burnout and referring young carers to support safely;

  • Create accessible audio resources: Quiet Hands Voices, a six-episode podcast series, and The Living Voice Library, an interactive audio-book, both with full transcripts;

  • Share the results through this website, social media, local multiplier events in each partner country and a final conference in Greece.

All outputs are free, open-access and designed to be read, listened to and used in the way that suits you best, including on a phone during a short break.

2026–2028

Project timeline

Oct 2026

Online kick-off

Partners meet online to start the project. The website, visual identity and communication plan are launched, and communication activities run throughout the project.

Nov 2026 – Jul 2027

Research phase

  • Desk research on legal frameworks and social policies in the five countries
  • Surveys, focus groups and narrative interviews with young women carers and youth workers
  • Mapping of structural barriers and community best practices
  • The Quiet Manifesto: the comparative transnational report
  • International web-seminar with youth workers to define the toolkit’s priorities

Dec 2026

First transnational meeting in Sweden

Partners meet in person in Sweden to review the first research steps and agree on the work ahead.

Aug 2027 – Apr 2028

Toolkit development

  • Pedagogical blueprint based on the research findings
  • Bibliotherapy and creative writing modules
  • Ethical Safeguarding Protocol
  • Guides for using audio storytelling in youth work
  • Living Laboratory: a five-day field-testing event in Germany with 25 youth workers
  • Final Scripts of Solidarity toolkit

Jan 2028 – Sep 2028

Audio resources

  • Quiet Hands Voices podcast series, co-created with young women
  • The Living Voice Library interactive audio-book
  • Transcripts, subtitles and inclusive-language protocols
  • Online pilot testing with young women and practitioners, and final refinements

Apr – Sep 2028

Sharing the results

  • Local multiplier events in Germany, Bulgaria, Sweden, Italy and Greece
  • Sustainability and Exploitation Plan, to keep the results in use after the project ends
  • Final conference in Greece, with youth organisations, researchers and decision-makers