Context:
With alarming statistics of unemployment among young people and with perspectives of economical development of the European Union countries even worse, the young generation’s future is not drawn with happy colors, but more in black and white. In these conditions, young people are desperately looking for a solution. According to a very optimistic estimation of the Youth Business International, at least 20% of the approximately 300 million unemployed and working people, with ages between 16 and 30, have the potential to become entrepreneurs, but less than 5% are doing something in this sense.
Entrepreneur education is crucial in assisting these youngsters in developing adequate abilities, attitude and behavior, but at the same time to understand entrepreneurship as a career option.
Ecobusiness answers to a European problem, that of high unemployment rates among young people and the need to promote entrepreneurship as a measure to stop this trend.
Objectives:
- Increasing the entrepreneurship competences among 24 youngsters from 3 European countries
- Sharing ideas and experiences of young people from different European countries regarding entrepreneurship and recycling
- Sharing good practices and ideas in starting a business
- Understanding the role of creativity and using recycling materials for business and sustainable development
- Promoting tolerance and accepting of diversity
- Networking among NGOs that work with youngsters from countries of the European Union, represented in the project
Period: 01.08.2012- 01.01.2013
Location: Iasi, Romania
Beneficiaries:
Direct beneficiaries:
30 young people, with the age between 18 – 25 from Romania, Portugal and Hungary, participants in the two phases of the project, the 2 days’ advance planning visit and the 9 days youth exchange.
Indirect beneficiaries:
- The local community through the public creative event organized during the project
- The volunteers of P.O.D. Association that have formed the organizing team, experience through which they developed planning, management, communication, team work, etc.
- The volunteers of the partner organization through the dissemination activities made by the participants in the youth exchange
- P.O.D. Association and the local partners though the visibility in the local community and the media coverage, as organizers of the project
Activities:
Advance planning visit: 05.10.2012 – 07.10.2012
Leaders’ meeting to see the facilities of where the activities will take place, accommodation and food for the participants and to establish with the group leaders the last details of the youth exchange’s daily plan.
Youth exchange: 06.12.2012 – 14.12.2012
The activities organized have stimulated the sharing of ideas and experiences among the 24 participants with the purpose of engaging them in discussions where they can share different point of views regarding the numerous additional obstacles that a youngster has in starting a business like: the influence of culture in addressing business, the limited experience due to age and lack or work years, lack of credibility in face of older colleagues and sale contacts, that often lead to age discrimination. Presenting the philosophy „zero waste” and up-cycling it responds to another challenge that any entrepreneur has that of lack of investment. Addressing this niche of re-useable materials has offered information about a useful low cost raw material, but at the same time has contributed to raising awareness and promoting responsible practices in this field.
Press-conference on 11th of December of 2012 in the Great Room of Iasi City Hall, with the purpose of raising public awareness on the concepts of “zero waste” and up-cycling, but also promote the project and the public event.
Public event in the after-noon of 12th of December of 2012 where the people that pass-by – clients of Moldova Mall have learned in an free access creative workshop how to re-use in a creative manner the materials that normally are being discarded to the trash. This way they learned how to make Christmas decorations from soda cans, stamps from wine corks, photo-frames from cardboard and bottle taps, bags and boxes from presents from newspapers etc. Also to attract people to the workshop an exposition was made with various objects made by the participants during the project.
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Parteners:
Asociatia Oamenilor de Afaceri Iasi 2003 (AOAI)
Gheorghe Asachi Technical University from Iasi
Associação Hemisférios Solidários
Co-funded:
Promotion:
Project’s Blog