OBJECTIVES
* To identify and define strategies for linking or converting a youth association or initiative into an employment project, specifically, a project of collective self-employment.
* To create a methodological model that provides support processes for converting young people?s group initiatives into business projects. In order to ensure young people?s integration into the labour market, this transition is designed to be carried out by applying the formula of Associated Workers Cooperatives to their initiatives.
* To ensure that young people who participate in youth initiative projects are aware of the social economy?s potential, particularly that of associated workers cooperatives as an employment alternative.
* To provide the project?s participants with access to information and services that improve their skills and knowledge in order to promote collective self-employment.
* To create, through a joint effort between the entities promoting the project and the young people as participants, on-line self-training material for youth associations on launching social economy initiatives. This material is called ?Taking The Plunge?
THE ACTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN CARRIED OUT HAVE BEEN...
1 Various SEMINARS held in each participating country between associations and cooperatives. The aim of these seminars was to reflect on and learn in detail about the beneficial connection between cooperative self-employment and youth association initiatives. In these seminars, concrete mechanisms were drawn up for gathering ideas that later lead to creating on-line self-training materials. Participation in the seminars totalled 120 young people between the ages of 18 and 25 who belong to youth associations, group initiatives, the unemployed...
2 Through joint efforts, an ON-LINE SELF TRAINING MANUAL FOR YOUTH ASSOCIATIONS ON LAUNCHING SOCIAL ECONOMY INITIATIVES has been created. This manual is extremely practical, concrete, and linked to the daily reality experienced by associations. This material is available by visiting the UCMTA´s web site www.ucmta.org and has been translated into German, French, Spanish, and Italian. It was created by all partners involved in the project and has been enhanced by the participation of young people who visited the aforementioned web site.
In the future, we intend to continue this action and improve the Material that has been created by adapting its content to other geographical and linguistic areas. This task of adaptation and improvement will be carried out throughout the next few years.
3 ACCREDITATION OF THE MANUAL was made by including business ideas that arose through working with associations and groups of young people participating in Youth Initiatives through the European Youth Programme. Two validation levels were carried out. The first took place through the direct participation of five young women in Madrid (Spain) who worked on various content areas proposed in the material. The second level was an on-line validation with a cultural association in Barcelona, that reviewed the Manual and wrote a proposal for its improvement. This validation has served to modify contents and assess to what extent the material is useful and can be applied to other experiences.
4 Following the same guidelines as work carried out in Madrid, the EUROPEAN PARTNERS carried out the same actions in their countries (seminars with youth associations). Thus, a connection was made between entities and European experiences in promoting employment through the framework of the social economy.
5 Lastly, a GLOBAL EVALUATION OF THE PROJECT was made in order to identify which actions were or were not successful. This evaluation aided us in improving further actions and identifying potential future actions that can strengthen the relationship between associations and cooperative enterprises. . |  |