The Institute of Research & Training on European Affairs – I.R.T.E.A., as the Leader Organization, in cooperation with 2 Hellenic Municipalities and 5 European Institutions, has successfully implemented the Project “Balkan Entrepreneurs” funded by the Erasmus+ Youth Programme of the European Union.
The Project was related to the mobility of 60 young people from the 5 participating European countries (Greece, Sweden, F.Y.R.O.M., Latvia, Romania) and its topic was focused on youth entrepreneurship. The mobility took place from Friday, November 9th to Wednesday, November 14th, 2018 in Athens and was conducted in English.
On the first day, all the participants met at the Welcommon Hostel, where the Project took place. After several “icebreaking” activities, a conversation began about the Program and its activities, that would be followed, as well as about the role of entrepreneurship in the development of Europe nowadays. At the end of the day, an intercultural event was held during which the participants had the opportunity to be familiarized with the culture and some cultural characteristics of the countries where they came from.
On Saturday, 10th of November, the participants attended a Workshop which introduced the skills required to build a successful business nowadays and trained them in various negotiation methods. Then, an interactive role-playing activity took place in which the participants were called to create their own business.
On Sunday, 11th of November, the participants visited the Greek Parliament and then they had the chance to explore Athens, by taking a walk-through Acropolis, Monastiraki and Plaka areas. During their walk, the participants came into contact with the Greek culture, the habits and the Greek way of life and reinforced their intercultural spirit.
Among the activities that were held on Monday, 12th of November, was the resumption of the role-playing activity for setting up a business and the presentation of the ideas and the business plans that the teams had already prepared. On the same day, the participants had the opportunity to discuss with Mr. Chrysogelos Nikos, co-founder of the Social Cooperative Enterprise “Wind of Renewal”, about the importance of Social Businesses and how they differ from other businesses. Last but not least, Mr. Chrysogelos Nikos gave to the participants some useful advices on how to create this kind of business.
On Tuesday, 13th of November, the participants visited “Orange Grove”, a co-working and networking space, which supports Greek and Dutch entrepreneurs and was initiated by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Greece. The participants had a very interesting discussion with many executives and became aware of how this initiative works. Following the discussion, activities were carried out upon the most effective way of communication among young people in Europe. Then, a training of attendees was held on finding the best way for a businessman to search and select their associates.
During the last day of the Project, the European Union’s “Erasmus Young Entrepreneurs” Programme was presented. Then, the participants had the chance to discuss and exchange views with Ms. Antonopoulou Marisa, Business Development Manager in the Non-Profit Company “Action Finance Initiative”. In addition, the participants were informed about the YouthPass tool and then completed an evaluation of the whole programme. Typically, they reported that through the Programme they became able to learn even more about themselves and what’s is needed in order to become entrepreneurs in the future. Furthermore, the majority stated that they were able to better understand the concept of entrepreneurship after the implementation of the Project. The last night, a closing event took place at the Welcommon Hostel for all the participants.
