An Erasmus+ Youth Exchange "Include to Move Forward" took place on 27 July - 4 August, 2016 in Evora, Portugal.
Youngsters from Portugal, Greece, Serbia and Georgia gathered in the historical city of Evora, Portugal to participate in the youth exchange ,,Include to Move Forward". The exchange lasted from the 27th of July to the 4th of August.
The project aimed at raising youth awareness about social entrepreneurship as one of the most effective tools to reduce the level of social exclusion and youth unemployment.
On the first day, all of the participants arrived in Evora and they got to know each other and the project organizers. It was the day of first impressions,which ended with group dinner.
The next day was followed by sharing expectations, contributions and concerns and getting to know the exchange daily timetable. Later on we learned more about Portugal and local youth of Alvito by visiting Mayor of Alvito. The meeting was quite productive and interesting. Afterwards, the participants went canoeing on the Odivelas lake, which was part of team-building activities.
During the next days the participants were fully engaged in project activities, which were very informative. Through these activities we improved our knowledge and created clear understanding of Erasmus+ Programme, actual problems related to youth in Europe, Youth unemployment trends and etc. We discussed youth exclusion as one of the most pressing problem nowadays, our peers from project made presentations explaining youth inclusion and exclusion concepts, the causes and consequences of youth unemployment, the roles of the government, non-governmental and educational institutions in solving the actual problems related to youth.
Participants were working in groups to find solutions and after productive work they proposed social entrepreneurship as the best solution for youth unemployment. It was an interesting experience to determine the concept of social entrepreneurship through different activities like brainstorming, presentations, workshops, debates and simulations. It helped participants with analysing the real benefits of social entrepreneurship and comparing it to profit-oriented businesses. We also got to know the tips on how to become a social goal oriented entrepreneur.
During the project, the participants also had a chance to see a successful social entrepreneurship project - EDIA - Empresa de Desenvolvimento e Infraestruturas do Alqueva, S.A. Inspired after presentation and a good example of SE, we also drafted some Social entrepreneurship ideas into the small teams. After getting useful tips about fundraising and different networks for social entrepreneurs, we hope to make our SE ideas reality.
On the last working days we planned a strategy how to best promote our project among others and created such materials as it is Video, report, flyer and etc.
As the last day of the project came, the participants had their minds filled with information and their hearts with memories. It was a priceless and unforgettable experience.
Thanks to the Erasmus + programme for this opportunity and partner organizations to make the best out of this project: Associação Educativa Nacional de Inclusão e Inovação nas Escolas- AENIE; Association Dea Dia / Udruženje Dea Dia/ Združenie Dea Dia; Instituto Politismu Laografias Athlitismu & Neon Tehnologion and NGO InoChange.
Report by participants: Maka Tsertsvadze, Natasa Athanasiadou, Joao Andrade, Marko Đurin and Damian Meliš.
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