4th – 10th May
Castile and León, Spain
Training Course
This mobility training took place in Arenas de San Pedro, a village located in the province of Ávila, Castile and León, Spain. This course took place from the 4th to the 10th of May and had 22 youth workers participating, coming from various associations from Italy, Turkey, Portugal, Ukraine, Greece, Egypt, Poland, Cyprus and Spain. One of the main goals of this program was to help the participants develop entrepreneurship-related competences in the young people they are working with in their own organizations. The idea came from the fact that young people will rather look for a job than think about creating one, as they lack the self-confidence and the skills in order to do so. Thus, the program was designed to complete a methodology on how to work on entrepreneurship with young people.
The main goal of the program was to understand the basic steps required and the knowledge and skills one should have to become an entrepreneur. During the course we learned about the values of the Economy for the Common Good (ECG) and how the Common Good Balance Sheet can be applied to an enterprise, so that business is not only seen as a way to make money, but also as a way to contribute to the community and create social capital. Moreover we analyzed the case study of Mondragon, highlighted some of the key benefits of adopting the EGC model and identified some potential challenges of the ECG approach. One of the most salient sessions of the course was the “Developing Skills: The skills fair”. The aim was to identify the skills necessary to become an entrepreneur as well as to gain an insight into our skill-set and reflect on our strengths and weaknesses. The course was implemented in a non-formal way via outdoors activities. Some other interesting sessions were the “Creativity, Innovation and Problem-solving session”, the “Business Plan” session, the “Profit and Loss” session and the “SWOT” session.
One of the most unforgettable experiences was the intercultural evening, which was when we introduced the rest of the participants to our country; our local products, traditions, culture and customs. Of course the evening ended up with a lot of dancing and fun. The trip to the nature was another exciting experience in Arenas de San Pedro. The walk into the nature of the Valley in combination with the visit of the neighboring village made our journey special. The locals were very friendly and hospitable.
lthough the duration of the program was relatively small (5 working days), we certainly returned from the trip having acquired a lot of knowledge on entrepreneurship and the different aspects of it. Both the facilitators and the participants were great, devoted to the activities and very fun to hang out with. We have bonded very well with them and have returned having new friends, with whom we keep in touch and hope to see again soon.
The hosting organization was AJS, a non-profit organization that focuses its work on youth in rural areas. It promotes youth initiative, young citizen participation and educating the future young entrepreneurs. Its work derives from the values it represents, sending a message against racism, xenophobia, prejudice and racism. The sending organization was Plan Be: Plan it, Be it is a non-governmental, non-profit organization located in Cyprus, aiming at the personal and professional development of young people. Its action plan includes topics such as entrepreneurship and environmental issues.
