Start Up Again: An International Strategic Cooperation on Enhancement of Social Inclusion of Young Offenders through Entrepreneurship Erasmus Project

Project Title

Start Up Again: An International Strategic Cooperation on Enhancement of Social Inclusion of Young Offenders through Entrepreneurship

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 : Capacity Building for youth in neighbouring and enlargement countries

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Inclusion – equity

Project Summary

The “Start Up Again” is an International Strategic Cooperation project geared towards the enhancement of social inclusion of young offenders through entrepreneurship. The primary rationale behind this innovative project stems from the growing recidivism rate across Europe and poor social inclusion of young people with disadvantaged backgrounds in Eastern Partnership countries. Majority of these people suffer from re-integration to society, as there is a longstanding prejudice, psychological issues and deteriorated enthusiasm and young ex-offenders’ self-confidence. All the misconceptions and challenges on inclusion of young offenders pave the way to reconviction that results with growing crime rate, inequality, discrimination and extremism across the EU countries and at its neighborhood. Despite cultural, political and geographical differences, all member organizations of our consortium (consisting of partners from the UK, Germany, Georgia and Azerbaijan) strongly believe, adhere and strive to advocate the philosophy that the proper social inclusion of former young offenders is feasible through enhancement their employability and level of confidence by developing a range of transferable skills. In rather precise terms, our established international cooperation will seek to instil a spirit of entrepreneurship to help them in the transition from prisons back to society and raise their self-sufficiency. This project will set out the arrangement of number of educational mobility activities such as study visits, Training of Trainers, several local training courses. The “Start Up Again” promises cutting-edge and tailor-made entrepreneurship T-kit for young (ex)-offenders, which will be design and constructed upon thorough field researches in Georgia and Azerbaijan to ensure that local realities and needs are well captured. Developed T-kit will be released in English, Azerbaijani and Gergian languages, and will be utilized as a primary education manual during the international ToT and local TCs in Azerbaijan and Georgia. For the first time, former young prisoners of Azerbaijan and Georgia will be involved in educational activities that will empower their certain entrepreneurship competences and reveal ‘out of box’ business ideas. The local TCs will be groundbreaking opportunity for former young prisoners come together with youth workers and civil society acitvists in an informal initiative groups and develop their start-ups. Subsequently, a novel small-grant program of this project will provide modest financial supports to realize start-ups of former young offenders in Azerbaijan and Georgia. This innovative endeavor will be the first and great leap forward cultivating young offender of successful entrepreneurs in the South Caucasus region, as long-term consultancy service desks will be established to support and empower these people’s self-sufficiency attempts.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 106196,8 Eur

Project Coordinator

GENCLER UCUN TEHSIL MERKEZI ICTIMAIBIRLIYI & Country: AZ

Project Partners

• NEFELI EDUCATION COMMUNITY INTERESTCOMPANY
• MOSTAR FRIEDENSPROJEKT EV
• ACADEMY FOR PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT