Spotlight on NET+ Association

Who are we?

The NET+ Association is a non-profit organization from Zagreb, Croatia. We work to improve quality of life in all segments, as well as to protect and preserve nature and the environment. We are active in three main domains: drug addiction prevention and rehabilitation, prevention and therapy of eating disorders and health/ecology promotion.

Who do we represent?

NET+ is publicly recognized as a leader in the field of health promotion. Our members are primarily volunteers (about 30 volunteer-members and 100 external volunteers) and they regularly contribute to all our activities. In our work we involve students of helping professions, rehabilitated drug addicts and people with mental conditions.

What is our mission?

Association NET+ promotes healthy life choices among children and youth. We contribute to the development of civil society and improvement of quality of life in all segments, as well as to protecting and preserving nature and the environment.

What do we do?

Association NET+ has been working in the field of drug addiction since 2000, closing full circle service:
 prevention workshop for school children
 counseling centre for drug addicts and their families
 Rehabilitation Centre (pilot-project 2003-2004)
 Residential Community for social reintegration
 social reintegration activities.

Since 2009, we are active in prevention of eating disorders. The project “Who is that in the mirror?” includes peer to peer assistance in prevention of anorexia, bulimia and compulsory overeating aimed at secondary school students in the area of Zagreb. Until now the programme included 500 girls aged 15-17 in more than 400 interactive workshops. Its evaluation showed a statistically significant change (in levels of self-confidence, attitudes toward the importance of thinness for personal happiness and engaging in harmful behavior risky for developing eating disorders) in female adolescents who participated in the programme.

Furthermore, Association NET+ is a main partner in the international project Healthy Eco Life that promotes healthy living and ecology to primary school children in Croatia and Slovenia. Interactive workshops will be conducted in classrooms for 700 children. Children will also visit eco-farms and learn how to make bread, work in the garden or feed domestic animals. The project also includes networking with other European CSO’s in the field of health/ecology and their participation in a final conference, “Health and the City”, in Zagreb in June 2011.

How do you get involved ?

It would be our great joy if your organisation could join our Healthy Eco Life Friends Club on www.healthy-eco-life.com ! We have started to connect with other friendly organisations from all over Europe (member and candidate countries) interested in an exchange of ideas. We would like to share our experiences of working with children in promotion of health and ecology, and we are also keen to hear your experiences or original ideas and maybe start new partnerships for future projects. You are welcome to our network and google group. If you are interested to download some of our presentations, baseline researches, or you would like to receive BP compendium on EU BP in promotion of health and ecology, please - contact us!

Please visit our website at http://www.petplus.hr .

EPHA related articles:

Croatian ’’Healthy Eco Life’’ project promotes healthy life styles to school children