European Citizenship

Young people from the UK have the lowest feeling of trust and belonging — and Norwegian youth the highest — in comparison to 16-24 year olds in other European countries, a new study based on data by the European Social Survey by the New Economics Foundation reveals.

Many more insights await the curious among you at the interactive website accompanying the NEF’s report “National Accounts of Well-being: bringing real wealth onto the balance sheet.”

Trust and belonging is one of the indicators for social well-being. It measures experiences of trusting other people, being treated fairly and respectfully, and feeling a sense of belonging with and support from people in your community.

NEF was created in 1986 by the leaders of The Other Economic Summit (TOES) — among others Ed Mayo — and describes itself as an independent think-and-do tank. In 2006, the foundation introduced the Happy Planet Index, an index of human well-being and environmental impact, as an alternative to measuring development and success, which is commonly expressed through the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or the Human Development Index (HDI).

This post is filed under youth policy and youth reflections and youth research and is tagged with european social survey, happy planet index, nef, trust and belonging, well-being.