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Work for Yourself
Start date: Jul 1, 2014, End date: Nov 30, 2014 PROJECT  FINISHED 

In the present context in which Europe is confronting with the youth unemployment issues getting out of control, it can be observed a certain lack of reaction from the governments and certified institutions, and also a lack of ideas for strategies that would reduce the phenomenon on the long term. This fact demotivates youngsters in search for a job or for the opening of their own business, as the number of the ones that choose to emigrate outside Europe is increasing. Still, many young people would like to get involved in entrepreneurial practices, but they lack access to information and they don’t have in many cases the possibility to openly talk to others that have been through this experience. "Work for Yourself" will be a good first step towards the stimulation of youth entrepreneurship, opening the possibility for the creation of more SMEs and therefore more jobs. The objectives of our project are: raising awareness in the group of 34 young participants about the importance of youth entrepreneurship for the future of the European society; offering young people concrete information, motivation and space for the exchange of ideas, opinions and strategies linked to entrepreneurship; encouraging the young participants to search for concrete solutions and suggestions that will lead to positive change on the labor market; creating concrete plans for start-up type businesses through the team work of the young participants, in multicultural context, through the use of non-formal education methods. The participants are coming from 6 culturally different countries, from communities that are confronting with high youth unemployment as a direct consequence of the economic crisis. There will be 34 young participants between 18 and 30 years old, among them 12 with fewer opportunities, and 6 group leader with no age limitation. The young people with fewer opportunities involved in this project will be unemployed (with economic difficulties). The activities of the projects will take place between 12 and 22 September 2014, in a rural area close to the town of Vatra Dornei. The schedule will contain general elements very common in international youth exchanges, and also specific elements that will underline the theme of youth entrepreneurship. There will be activities of getting to know the participants, ice-breakers, teambuilding activities, creational workshops, artistic presentations, cultural tours of the region, specific study visits, cultural nights, reflection and evaluation activities. The methods used are coming from the non-formal education field. We will use: integrative methods to maintain group cohesion and increase the group dynamics (games for getting the participants to know each other, teambuilding games, working in mixed teams, etc); methods that stimulate creativity and free expression (creational workshops, presentations through the use of theatre); methods for inter-cultural learning – ICL (the Derdians activity, cultural nights, cultural tour of the region); learning by doing (open space acitivities, study visits); methods that stimulate reflection and self-reflection (daily reflection groups, interactive evaluation sessions, self-reflection session and support for completing the Youthpass certificate). The impact of "Work for Yourself" will firstly affect the 34 young participants, which will have the chance to develop certain competences that derive in abilities, skills or attitudes. They will increase their chances on the labor market through the newly acquired entrepreneurial abilities; they will increase their sense of initiative; they will discover new ways of expressing their thoughts through the use of artistic means; they will be able to work better in a team; they will have an increased sense of involvement and civic responsibility; they will practice their English. Once the activities end, the partner organizations will help and support their participants in order to become multipliers of the accumulated knowledge and will facilitate their involvement in the communities, where there will be the case. A strong general impact will be made by the business plans that the young participants developed during the activities and that have a good potential for capitalization on the medium and long term. Moreover, we wish to extend the partnership that we started with the other organizations and so we are increasing the chances for multiplication through a session dedicated to the sketching of new projects, through the team work of the young participants. In regards to visibility, each partner will use classic media channels (radio, TV, newspapers, magazines) and also new media, which is getting more and more popular especially among young people (websites, Facebook groups, Yahoo! groups, Twitter, Youtube channels, online magazines, newsletters, etc).
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