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Description
The objective of this project is to build a transnational entrepreneurial network that facilitates NEETs to see needs/opportunities within their own community that can be developed into new businesses and jobs.
The project targets young people in 4 EU countries – Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania and Spain – that are experiencing unemployment as their biggest problem because it directly affects the possibility of their independence, future planning, building their own skills and abilities. We focus on the NEETs population in rural areas of the target countries with the special focus on those aged 25-29 from rural and suburban areas, women and Roma. We contribute to providing decent and productive work for youth by piloting and promoting an innovative RAISE Model of (self)employment.
Since the start of the implementation, we reached almost 5,000 NEETs. More than 20% of them were enrolled in some kind of training or mentoring program provided on-line, on the field or in one of our newly opened DEMO Centers.
Through the project, 960 former NEETs are already enrolled in education and training, including work-based learning, while 115 former NEETs enrolled in apprenticeships and/or mobility schemes. The total of 117 NEETs included in the program have been (self)employed and 52 of them are in the process of starting their own businesses. For the past, current and future project beneficiaries 4 DEMO Centers have been established in Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Spain as training, demonstration and production centres.
Summary of project results
RAISE Youth – Rural Action for Innovative and Sustainable Entrepreneurship of Youth initiative was implemented across Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, and Spain. The project was launched in response to shifting economic dynamics in rural regions, where there was a pressing need to foster more sustainable models for youth employment based on self-employment and entrepreneurship in order to combat economic decline and depopulation.
RAISE Youth’s main objective was to enhance opportunities for decent and productive youth employment through social innovation and sustainable entrpreneurship in rural areas. The project aimed to pilot and promote an innovative RAISE model of self-employment for NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, or Training), specifically focusing on sustainable agri-business in regions with high unemployment rates and depopulation.
The establishment of five innovative RAISE Youth DEMO Centers was pivotal, conceived as collaborative spaces for open experimentation. These centers were uniquely tailored to address the specificities, challenges, and strengths of each territory. They were designed with a global perspective adaptable to local contexts, making them replicable in diverse areas. RAISE Youth placed a strong emphasis on sustainability, moving beyond tangible outcomes and numerical achievements. The project prioritized fostering sustainability through national and cross-border networking, policy dialogues, inter-country exchanges, digital platform creation, introduction of smart farming in rural areas, and the integration of new technologies alongside multi-generational mentoring and family and individual learning. These efforts collectively contributed to the development of a new ecosystem in rural areas, fostering long-term socio-economic growth and resilience.
After commencing with comprehensive baseline research household surveys, focus groups, etc.) and gaining a comprehensive understanding of the specific challenges faced by rural unemployed youth and their communities, RAISE Youth outreached to more than 4500 rural NEETs. Of these, upwards of 3600 NEETs chose to benefit from education and training programs in agriculture, tourism, and ICT, along with individual mentoring and apprenticeships. Participants acquired valuable skills and competences to enhance their employability, resulting in 162 youth launching their own businesses!