The YES-YOU! Festival was an online event held on March 16, 2023 by the YESpecialists project team. The online festival provided a platform for young people to share their experiences and to showcase their activities within their local ecosystems.
Young people from the regional ecosystems shared their experiences in the project that focuses on youth entrepreneurship in rural areas. The students in Trento presented their project, Nero Bike, which focused on marketing and providing advice to managers using social media. The high school students, who were 17 years old, demonstrated their entrepreneurial spirit and utilized their creativity to effectively market their project.
In Varazdin, the 3rd-grade students at the Economic Technical Institute discussed and learned about different leadership styles, enhancing their leadership skills and knowledge.
In Denmark, the young people established a media agency and utilized social media to publish their marketing videos. One of their videos gained 30,000 views on Tiktok, demonstrating their effective use of social media.
In Norway, the students from Odda Upper Secondary School reached out to businesses in their region to explore the opportunities available to them for their future and they carried out a job-shadowing in both private and public organisations. They also engaged with municipal planners to discuss their wishes for their region and shared their ideas for future development.
The students of the higher technical economic institute “Balducci” in Santa Fiora, in Tuscany, expressed their impressions regarding the experience gained in the Yespecialists project and reported the YES learning pathway they made, from the questionnaire on entrepreneurship competences to the meetings with local entrepreneurs, which constituted a further step within the work-related experiences held at school. They hope to be able to continue the dialogue with local public and private organizations as well as with entrepreneurs, in order to continue to grow professionally and to have useful experiences for setting up their own business in their rural area.
The meeting was an excellent opportunity for the participants to learn, be inspired, and connect with like-minded individuals. Iva Janežić from Varaždin County was the moderator of the online discussions. Barbara Harterink, the project leader from Vestland County Council, gave the last presentation and concluded by introducing the YES Exchange in 2024, which will be held in August 2024 in Trento, Italy, and in August 2025 in another region. The project is funded through Erasmus+ YOUTH, and she encouraged the participants to be part of the working group.
Overall, the YES-YOU! Festival showcased the work of the young participants and highlighted the importance of building a supportive environment for youth entrepreneurship in rural areas, and the potential for positive change that can be achieved through such initiatives.
Participants also shared their testimonies through videos and quotes, highlighting the international training workshops in Croatia and Trento and the inspiring best practices they learned throughout the project. The event ended with a message of hope and inspiration, encouraging young people to continue pursuing their entrepreneurial dreams and creating positive change in their communities. We look forward to seeing the continued growth and success of this project and its participants.
YESpecialists 