Self-Awareness and Entrepreneurship of Youth in Risk Erasmus Project

Project Title

Self-Awareness and Entrepreneurship of Youth in Risk

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for youth

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Inclusion – equity; Entrepreneurial learning – entrepreneurship education; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

The project addresses the problems of young people not involved in education or work activities as the risks of marginalization, alienation or deviant behavior increase. The comprehensive addressing of their needs for personal growth, education, constructive relationships with the community and the formation of skills for inclusion in the labour market were at the heart of the creation of methodologies for assessment and training. They are the basis for tools to reach young people who are at risk of social exclusion. Therefore, a special focus in the work on the project are the youth workers who work with young people at risk. Both methodologies provide opportunities for service providers for young people at risk to:
• receive training to build or complement their capacity to specialize in or expand services for young people;
• have quality training materials available for undertaking entrepreneurship and self-awareness training for youth groups at risk;
• understand the challenges young people at risk face to be able to take on the role of mentors that help vulnerable young people to believe in the meaning of making efforts to participate in educational or work activities.
The Strategic Partnership between 6 organizations from 5 countries, representing individual regions in Europe (the Mediterranean, as well as Central, Northern, and Southeastern Europe), which have combined their expertise to develop an assessment methodology and training methodology for youth workers, providing training for young people at risk, improved the organizational capacity, expanded the portfolio, and improved the quality of our services and activities for young people, thus meeting the identified needs of the two main target groups:
1. Youth workers were granted access to:
• a training to develop their knowledge and understanding of the systematic approach to assessing and working with young people at risk;
• trainings to develop their facilitation skills;
• structured materials for assessing the degree of vulnerability and risk of young people;
• training materials to organize the training and support of young people at risk to become aware of the obstacles to realizing their dreams, to use their strengths in the process of change, and to build trust and confidence that there are people and services for which they can receive support;
• knowledge and skills to motivate young people to further develop themselves.
2. Young people at risk of social exclusion were granted access to:
• an opportunity to build trust with people who are significant for them and who are their resource in the process of change;
• training and practice for self-awareness, assertive skills, discovering their strengths, building a viable perspective, as well as life-planning skills for good participation in society and the labor market;
• services that encourage and support their free and informed choice for potential career development and taking appropriate action to pursue it;
• training to form an entrepreneurial mindset and increased motivation to cope with the complexities of modern social and economic life;
• an opportunity for easier integration into the labour market through the application of entrepreneurial competences.

The exchange of experience, the process of discussing and selecting approaches, methods, and methodologies from the representatives of the partner organizations led to:
a) developing and piloting an evaluation methodology to identify youth at risk;
b) developing and piloting a methodology for training youth workers, based on building self-awareness and entrepreneurship skills;
c) trainings in both SENTYR methodologies, 11 youth workers from partner countries (BG, NL, SI, ES, TR, TR) to provide training for young people at risk;
d) conducting a campaign to distribute the results of the project, including the holding of an international closing conference in Valencia, Spain.
Other achievements as a result of the achieved project objectives are:
– capacity building in project partner organizations to provide complex, comprehensive and addressing the specific needs of young people at risk services;
– increased opportunities for professional and career development and satisfaction with their daily work
– Creating opportunities for a network of partner professionals and young people to conduct activities for young people to reduce the isolation, stagnation, and inequalities in the access to education, support, and work for young people.
In the long term, the SENTYR project has improved the context of youth work in its aspect of working with young people at risk of social marginalization and has significantly increased the quality of activities of youth workers. The project has inevitably contributed to the better achievements of young people in life by engaging them in a learning process for self-esteem and entrepreneurship.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 182765 Eur

Project Coordinator

NATSIONALNA ASOTSIATSIA NA RESURSNITE UCHITELI & Country: BG

Project Partners

• Igdir Il Milli Egitim Mudurlugu
• Martijn Meima Coaching
• BACKSLASH
• badeshte za vsichki nas
• Compositionwork V.O.F.
• CELJSKI MLADINSKI CENTER, JAVNI ZAVOD ZA MLADINSKO KULTURO, IZOBRAZEVANJE, INFORMIRANJE IN SPORT