How can children and young people be optimally prepared for the transitions they have to make in their lives – such as starting nursery or moving from school to vocational training? The National Prevention Conference (NPK) will be discussing this with experts from politics, civil society and academia at its ninth Prevention Forum.
The conference will also focus in particular on children and young people for whom such transitions pose particular challenges due to their life circumstances, for example because their parents have limited health or because they have few financial or time resources. In order for them to have the chance to emerge stronger from transitions, they need to have confidence in their own ability to cope with change themselves. This requires framework conditions that enable them to develop self-confidence and self-awareness and to act accordingly.
The responsibilities for ensuring healthy transitions for children and young people lie with health, education, family and labor market policies, among others. In the view of the NPK, the parameters must be set at federal, state and local level so that specialists in family facilities, educational establishments and training companies have sufficient resources to competently support children and young people during transition processes. If this is not achieved, it can have a negative impact on health as well as on further education and careers.

The NPK has also specifically invited organizations that represent the very people we are talking about, including pupils, students, parents and education professionals, to discuss this issue that affects society as a whole. The aim is to discuss with them the challenges they face in their everyday lives and what support services are needed. Following on from this, the participants will discuss how it can be possible to bundle the various responsibilities in such a way that all children and young people can make good transitions and thus grow up in a healthy way. The results of the discussion will be used to further develop the national prevention strategy for which the NPK is responsible. Further information can be found on the NPK website.