• Download the Bridges to Work programme overview
• Find a detailed overview of the workshops and project visits here
• Young people & their coaches arrived on Monday 17 October before 14h (to work on group dynamics).
• All other participants were welcomed at the opening session on Tusday 18 October at 14h.

Monday 17 October 2011

• Arrival of young people & coaches (only) - check-in at Hotel Century, Pelikaanstraat 20 next to Antwerp Central Station
• 15h: (young people & coaches) Getting to know each other - common start
• PM: (young people) Employed and unemployed in my country
• PM: (coaches) Who is who? Who is doing what?
• EVE: Antwerp discoveries – city game & dinner in town

Tuesday 18 October 2011

• AM: (young people) My own employment situation
• AM: (coaches) Approaches to youth employment & entrepreneurship
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• The remaining participants come to check-in at the Zoo conference centre next to the Antwerp Central Station (bring your invitation letter to get access)
• 13h: Set up Bridges to Work Fair – bring material to present your project & organisation at a stand
• 14h: Welcome to Bridges to Work – opening session for ALL conference participatns
• PM: (young people) Looking at unemployment from a young person’s perspective (parallel session)
• PM: "No more youth unemployment" (key-note) - Niall O'Higgins (professor University Salermo, IZA research fellow, formerly ILO employment specialist) - reasons for youth unemployment are so varied that we should speak of youth unemploymentS, or even better, of youth joblessness...
• PM: "Asian, female, penniless, single-parent, victim of domestic violence... I had all the disadvantages except for a wooden leg!" (key-note) - Madi Sharma (Employers' Group, European Social Economic Committee) - from housewife to international multi-business manager - voted UK's best boss because of her work young long-term unemployed people
• PM: “Young people take the floor” – responding to youth unemployment – group work
• EVE: Dinner in a Belgian Beer Brewery

Wednesday 19 October 2011

• 9h: "What works, what doesn't" - Ian Goldring (Director, ProjectWorks) - effectiveness of youth work interventions towards social inclusion, by means of increasing employability of at risk young people - based on the research: Inclusion through Employability
• AM: (young people) Workshop on entrepreneurship with Madi Sharma
• AM: (others) Good employment & entrepreneurship practices – workshops by participants – 2 rounds
• 14h: “How do employers do it?” Panel discussion with GE Hungary (tbc), McDonalds (tbc), G4 Security, Equa Estonia
• PM: Antwerp, employment & entrepreneurship – visits to local projects
• EVE: Dinner in a social restaurant – an employment project

Thursday 20 October 2011

• 9h: Funding programmes & structures – support for employment and entrepreneurship
• AM: What needs to happen now? – action planning
• AM: (parallel session) Evaluating 3 years SALTO Inclusion efforts combating youth unemployment
• PM: Creating positive impact - analysis from different stakeholders' perspectives
• PM: Conclusions, closing & surprise act - by general rapporteur, organisers & special guest
• EVE: Surprise dinner… (you’ll regret if you miss it)

Friday 21 October 2011

• Departure

Methodology

This draft programme is based on meetings with different stakeholders and reports of previous youth un/employment initiatives. It will be finetuned and implemented by the team of expert-facilitators: Kathy Schroeder (NL/CA), Maram Anbar (ES/EG), Deirdre Quinlan (IE), Ansgar Bueter-Menke (DE) & Gisèle Evrard (ES/BE, general rapporteur).

Bridges to Work will have a dynamic mix of expert inputs as well as group work. Different stakeholders sit together to share and inspire each other - and work on concrete projects.

Employers, job centres, researchers and policy makers will be invited to assure that all the un/employment initiatives are feasible and realistic on the labour market.

The group of young people will go through a seperate process (starting already on 17 Oct pm), with interactive methodology facilitated by 2 trainers. At strategic moments the young people present their ideas to the other stakeholders or react to the conference discussions - to link the discussions to their needs.