In order to help build local ecosystems in rural areas, two local training workshops were organized.
Partners of the YESpecialists project organised an international workshop in Trento (Italy), from 11 to 13 May 2022, to learn and promote successful experiences in entrepreneurship education. In this context, project partners from Varaždin County, Vestland County, Tuscany Region, Autonomous Province of Trento, Principality of Asturias and Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality visited numerous facilities in order to identify synergies and learn from best practices. They were accompanied by Vocational Education and Training teachers, youth workers, but also by local and regional officers.
YesSpecialist project brought together future young entrepreneurs and VET teachers to participate in the second international workshop on topics of agriculture, tourism, and creative industries from 4 to 6 October 2022 in Varaždin County (Croatia).
During their stay, they had the opportunity to try and practice many new informal learning methods in order to create a new modern methodology that will later help them build local ecosystems promoting innovative entrepreneurship concepts.
The workshops took into consideration the challenges identified in rural areas and methods to support the teaching of innovative entrepreneurial concepts to young people, also from vulnerable groups. Participants from the YESpecialists partner regions were equipped with pedagogic tools aiming at:
- Facilitating the participation of youth organisations in local development initiatives, highlighting their role in engaging with vulnerable groups.
- Using non-formal learning methods in formal education.
- Mainstreaming entrepreneurship education into VET programmes within subjects that traditionally have not dealt with entrepreneurship as key topic, and relating them to the local reality.
A Toolkit for setting up a local ecosystem was developed based on the international workshops
This toolkit contains a summary of the work done with young people in rural areas through the involvement of various local actors and the use of an innovative approach of active pedagogy for learning and education for youth entrepreneurship. The toolkit contains various methodologies used by partners and stakeholders for the implementation of pilot projects in rural areas both in the field of entrepreneurship and STEM skills, and in the field of entrepreneurship and agriculture, agritourism and creative industry.
Each chapter contains:
– An introductory part of the pedagogy method used with links for further information and literature on the subject.
– A section with the syllabuses and curricula that are derived from this method.
– A link with the testimonies and experiences of young people who participated in the pilot projects.
Finally, in the appendix a guide on “How to organize a training workshop” and a conceptual map for the creation of fablabs for STEM skills aimed at non-formal and widespread training for young people in rural areas.
YESpecialists 