Ambassador: Jan Peloza , Slovenia
Jan founded The Youth Network No Excuse Slovenia to encourage the active involvement of all young people in society, as he believes many are vulnerable and at risk of being left behind. Slovenia is known as the suicide nation and studies show that difficult family environments and substance abuse among peers or family, might lead to young people having behavioural issues later in life themselves. No Excuse Slovenia encourages and prepares young people to become more employable and active citizens in their community, by giving them an environment where they can grow and develop personally, where their opinions are considered and their self-confidence is boosted to avoid such issues.
By raising awareness about topics, such as substance abuse, alcoholism and about their local community it encourages the development of critical thinking and opinion forming, which enables their personal growth through peer-to-peer and inter-generational learning. The No Excuse campaign combines all activities of the organisation and promotes sustainable development, tolerance, communication, healthy life style, involvement of young people with fewer opportunities and active citizenship.
No Excuse has three main programs, where young people get actively involved:
1) Activists Programme for YP between the age of 15 and 19
2) Leaders Program for YP between the age of 19 and 25
3) Mentors Program for YP above the age of 25. The No Excuse campaign has mentored and tutored 430 young people, called activists and reached over 100,000 young people in Slovenian schools in the course of the last 10 years.