Creating New Cheese

This TC helps to develop knowledge and skills needed while supporting youth entrepreneurship. It focuses also on the non-formal education, its approach and methodology as a useful tool to support entrepreneurship of young people. Why “cheese”? Our inspiration came from the book “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Spencer Johnson. We believe that current situation in Europe with very high youth unemployment rate calls for change of paradigm of thinking about one’s own professional career and future. Jobs are no longer to be found, but rather to be created – it requires from young people ability to find and make use of different opportunities, take risks, ability to build on their own potential and turn their ideas into reality. They need to become entrepreneurs in order to adapt to rapidly changing and challenging reality. Following the metaphor from “Who Moved My Cheese?” – today’s world is not anymore about simply finding a new “cheese” in a maze, but rather about creating one’s own – meaning ability to build one’s own life, rather than looking for somebody to ensure it. During the training course we would like to identify, share, workout concrete tools, skills, approaches to help young people to create their own “cheese”. Aims & Objectives: The main aim is to equip youth workers with approaches, techniques and tools to evoke, develop and support entrepreneurial attitudes and skills of young people. After the training participants will: - understand and deepen the concept of entrepreneurship (as an attitude and skill), - know and understand what entrepreneurship competence is, - understand the specific situation of young people today, know the possible consequences of it for their engagement and motivation, understand entrepreneurial competence as crucial in today’s world, - understand their role as supporters of youth as well as their own potential and strengths, skills and attitudes, - know how to best support youngsters to develop their entrepreneurial activities, to generate new ideas, to adapt to changes, solve problems, cope with difficult situations, deal with challenges, - develop knowledge and skills needed while supporting youth entrepreneurship, - know and be able to use concrete tools to support youth entrepreneurship, creativity and innovative ideas, - be able to identify existing resources for the young entrepreneurs, like local funding, EU funding and other relevant sources, know how to link youthwork with business (e.g. in creating social enterprises, linking formal education and business), - know how to use non-formal education to support youth entrepreneurship, - have greater knowledge of good practices in supporting youth entrepreneurship in different countries and organizations, - gain new contacts and possible partners for future cooperation. The training will be based on the principles and practice of non-formal education taking into account participants’ needs, motivations and experiences. Variety of methods will be used to allow involvement of participants with different learning styles and to ensure a balance between theory and practice. Participants This training course is meant for 25 people - youth workers, youth leaders, mentors, coaches from different fields (non-formal education, formal education, business) who: - work directly with young people, - value the subject of youth entrepreneurship and have an interest in discovering it, - are willing to develop knowledge and skills needed while supporting youth entrepreneurship, - are committed to attend for the full duration of the course, - feel confident to express themselves and work in English, - are of age, - are residents of the (Youth in Action) Programme Countries - 27 EU countries + Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Turkey and Croatia. Belonging to an organization/institution and experience in non-formal education is not a necessary condition! The working language of the training course is English. Dates & venue The training will take place in Konstancin-Jeziorna nearby Warsaw (Poland) between 23rd and 28th September. Deadline for applying is 23rd July 2013.