Brief information about the project
Name:
SoDivers - Social Business to Drive Diversity and Inclusion
Duration:
10 months (10.03.2021-31.12.2021)
Program:
Erasmus + of the European Union
Contract No:
2020-3-BG01-KA105-Youth-176 / 10.03.2021
Funding: EUR 15,124
Coordinator:
IMPACT DRIVE Foundation
Partners:
Asociatia Be You (Romania), Asociacion Juvenil INTERCAMBIA (Spain), United Societies of Balkans (Greece), CEiS Ayrshire (United Kingdom), EPEKA (Slovenia), JOETZ vzw (Belgium), Bona Fides Civic Activity Association (Poland), MeOut Group (Hungary), Associaçâo Selfmade (Portugal)
Project goals
1: Exchange of knowledge and experience on sustainable models and forms for effective social inclusion
2: Raise the comprehension and management of the "social entrepreneurship"
3: Provide support to youth workers in developing and implementing social economy solutions
4: Create space for active cooperation, promotion and support for the development of initiatives by and for young people, using the resources of the social economy
A new generation of social entrepreneurs
SoDivers aims to provoke the enablement of a new generation of trained social entrepreneurs who operate with the opportunities and resources in the civil sector, apply the principles of inclusion and equality, actively use and develop social capital in the face of modern youth, develop and implement working and innovative social services, create social enterprises as forms of employment and social inclusion of vulnerable groups.
The project follows a comprehensive approach by providing a closed cycle of training, mentoring support and a field for exchange of experience and cooperation and will equip experts of the civil society organizations and youth workers (including trainers, educators, career counselors, social workers, mediators, etc. .) with the knowledge and practical skills they lack, methods and tools in the field of social economy and entrepreneurship, innovation and diversity. Thus will prepare them for the changing role of teams and experts, the new challenges and problems and inequalities that get deeper in the context of the global crisis.
The main goal of the project is the development of the competencies of the youth workers and NGO teams in the field of the social entrepreneurship as an alternative option for ensuring equality and employment for young people and the financial stability of the civil society organizations.
As a long term impact we hope to create and maintain a partnership network for cooperation between youth workers, coaches, consultants, mentors and others to strengthen support for social innovation and entrepreneurship among young people in Europe as an alternative way to realize their full potential.
Last but not least, we expect to strengthen cooperation, strategic partnership, joint initiatives between civil society organizations, which are a valuable and important step to meet and overcome the challenges in the context of the health crisis and take on the important role which NGOs and their teams have once as a first line of support for the vulnerable and those affected by the crisis and secondly as leaders embracing change and building the new normal.
Joint solutions for inclusion and equality
The project includes a mobility of youth workers and 4 online events for exchange of experience and cooperation, as well as communication activities.
1) SoDivers - Social Business to Drive Diversity and Inclusion Training for Youth Workers (mobility) - practically applicable and "tailored" to the civic practitioners training needs in the field of social economy for the development of knowledge and skills of the project partners’ representatives. The training course aims to present structurally the set of concepts, principles and processes of the social economy, the real life examples, the steps in developing the model of social entrepreneurship and the skills needed to apply a number of techniques and tools, as well as to provide opportunities for practical learning. The activity will equip youth workers with the necessary competencies to initiate, develop and manage social business or support their target groups in doing such activity. It will work with ideas and concepts of the partners’ representative and will provide opportunities for active interaction among all actors.
2) A preliminary online session that will bring together partner organizations and focus on EU youth policies. The discussion will aim to cover the views, issues and specifics of the work of partner organizations, to clarify the expectations of the participants regarding the upcoming training. We will outline key themes and issues concerning the objectives, policies, good practices in EU youth policies, discussing in a broad group the challenges related to the global health crisis affecting young people and working with them, as well as changes and innovations related to the new programming period and the Erasmus+ program.
3) 3 consecutive online sessions, which will logically continue the topics of the training in order to deepen the conversation and open opportunities for cooperation, development and support of the ideas. They will expand the impact of the training course and will provide for scaling working approaches and ideas. The project partners will be actively involved in the sessions, sharing expertise and national context and will cover the topics:
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Social economy
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Diversity and inclusion
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Financing of civil society organizations
With these sessions we aim to expand the impact of the training course, to expand on a larger scale already working approaches and to ensure the sustainability of the developed competencies and their practical application, by activating youth workers and their organizations to start applying what they learn in their work.
Profile of the participants in the training
18 youth workers, incl. trainers, educators, career counselors, social workers, mediators, volunteers, etc. who:
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develop an interest in working with young people from vulnerable groups (including ethnic minorities, refugees, people with physical and intellectual disabilities, NEETs, girls and women in disadvantaged situations, etc.).
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develop activities in the field of equality and human rights, empowerment, education and employment of persons from vulnerable groups, effective social inclusion in society, civic participation
Audience of online events
In addition to training participants and experts from partner organizations, the planned online sessions will involve young people, other civil society organizations and local stakeholders, which will develop the SODIVERS' network of partners, bringing an authentic perspective and adding ideas and experiences from other sectors.
Coaching team
Theodora Ivanova-Valeva
Anita Jones
Project team
Theodora Ivanova-Valeva
Dilyana Gyurova
Janin Todorova
Tailor-made training
The training seminar efforts aim at the development of knowledge, skills and attitudes, forming entrepreneurial competencies of the participants as a condition for effective work of the organizations in the field of social entrepreneurship. We emphasize on dealing with the concepts and issues of youth unemployment, vulnerable groups and marginalization and social innovation. To this we add modules developing skills for adaptation and resilience in an uncertain environment and global crisis.
We expect to achieve the following results:
Participants acquire / improve their knowledge regarding:
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Role and opportunities for development of the social entrepreneur;
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Clarification of the concepts of the social entrepreneurship and the elements that it includes - social innovation, social business, value proposition, business modeling, etc.;
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Principles, trends and roles in the social economy;
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Examples of social entrepreneurship, working models for different target groups;
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Identification of opportunities, techniques and tools for generating ideas, creativity, design thinking, etc.;
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Techniques and tools to determine the relevance of a business idea, comparison, evaluation and selection of a potentially good for development idea, experimentation and risks reducing;
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Techniques and tools for business model development
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Getting to know the social entrepreneurial environment in our country and around the world. Trends and development.
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Alternative sources for financing an entrepreneurial idea and the activity of civil society organizations, social (impact) investors and funds;
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Tools for assessing the social impact of the idea and their application;
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Scaling and development methods.
Participants improve / develop skills for:
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Creative thinking and use of resources;
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Needs assessment, monitoring and empathy;
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Skills for generating, evaluating and selecting ideas; prioritization and selection of alternatives;
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Creating a user profile, assessing needs and attitudes and ranking, connecting with solutions and developing products and services of social value;
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Developing a business idea and developing a sustainable business model. Balance between positive social change and financial stability.
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Application of soft skills - teamwork, group work, observation, effective communication, persuasion and attraction of like-minded people and partners;
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Application of entrepreneurial skills (leadership, risk-taking, negotiations, etc.);
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Skills for successful presentation of the idea to investors and stakeholders.
Developing a relationship:
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Participants will have the motivation, personal tools and confidence to apply new approaches to solving social problems;
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The accumulated competencies will allow them to approach with confidence, convinced of the meaning and effect of the applied models;
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They will have the courage to harness the technology of business and "making money" to achieve a social and civic mission.
