ABOUT
The project "YURI - Intercultural urban-rural youth dialogues for collective entrepreneurship” is a 18-month Erasmus+ strategic partnership in the field of youth involving 7 organizations in 6 countries: CEPAIM (Spain), CESIE (Italy), Élan Interculturel (France), KMOP Policy Center (Belgium), La Xixa Teatre (Spain), XWHY (Lithuania) and YEU (Cyprus).
CONTEXT AND NEEDS
In all partner countries there is a significant amount of NEETs and high youth unemployment, with increased rates of both in rural areas. In the framework of the Covid-19 pandemic and the escalating climate crisis, promoting green self-employment collective strategies which articulate urban-rural collaboration among young people can serve a dual purpose: promoting innovative forms of social and collective entrepreneurship among young people, particularly those who are facing difficulties and/or fewer opportunities, and actively involving young people in the fight against climate change from an intercultural, systemic, and skill building perspective. However, belief systems, lack of policy support, ways of life and insufficient skills hinder the possibility of young people to engage in professionally promising and socially much needed practices, both in rural and urban areas.
OBJECTIVES
The YURI project aims to promote inclusion, dialogue and diversity, while fostering the spirit of initiative of young people and action on climate and sustainability.
Through the proposed activities and tangible results we seek to provide the resources and inspiration to:
1
Critically address belief systems, prejudices and stereotypes regarding identity and rural and urban settings
2
Promote the development of the necessary competences and social emotional skills to successfully engage in collective green social entrepreneurship
3
Foster advocacy to share and debate common alternatives to the current climate crisis from a perspective of rural-urban collaboration and youth collective entrepreneurship.
TARGET GROUPS
-
Young people from both urban and rural areas
-
Youth workers and organizations working in the field of youth, sustainability, environment and climate
-
Policymakers in the field of youth, sustainability, environment and climate
ACTIVITIES
"Belief systems and intercultural rural-urban youth dialogues"
is a blended 12-hour training taking place in Cyprus, France, Italy, Lithuania and Spain that has the objective to critically address belief systems, prejudices and stereotypes regarding rural and urban settings from an intersectional point of view. This training is meant to create a space for young people and professionals living in rural and urban areas to meet and start a dialogue, to express their ideas on their lifestyle, privileges and challenges in connection with the place where they live, but also to reflect on the prejudices and stereotypes that ones might have toward the others or feel that others have towards them.
"Competence development for collective green entrepreneurship"
is a blended 20-hour training taking place in Cyprus, France, Italy, Lithuania and Spain that has the objective to work with participants on the necessary competences and social emotional skills to successfully engage in collective green social entrepreneurship projects, taking into account the importance of urban-rural interconnectedness, the potentiality of digital contexts to breech distances, and the know-how to search for and identify the necessary resources to support entrepreneurial initiatives.
"YURI blended training for young people"
is a blended training taking place in Brussels (Belgium), where participants from all partner countries will meet and carry out activities to: critically address belief systems; work on competences and skills necessary to promote social, green and collective action; promote ideas, action plans and policy-engaging dialogue in favor of rural-urban collaboration and social, green, collective entrepreneurship.
METHODOLOGY
The YURI method brings together methodologies such as Theatre of the Oppressed, Participatory Action Research, Process Work, and Study of cases into the field of social entrepreneurship, collective action and climate action. These are successful methods for the work with youth and are useful to foster critical thinking and help develop new competences and socio-emotional skills.
Process Work
Theatre of the Oppressed
Participatory Action Research
Study of Cases
"The rural-urban youth handbook for collective and green entrepreneurship".
The handbook aims to critically address, with a hands-on practical approach, the overlap among climate action, social economy, and youth inclusion from a holistic, systemic, skill building and proactive perspective. It includes the results of the desk research, study of cases/best practices and interviews conducted by the partner organizations, the learning path and activities for competence development of collective, green, social entrepreneurs tested by the partners during their pilot workshops, an overview of support policy, funding and social entrepreneurship support institutions at local, national, European levels, together with the digital tools available for young people who would like to start a green, social and collective initiative and a series of policy recommendations.
The YURI handbook provides target groups with an increased knowledge and skills, a proactive attitude, and new and improved methods to promote youth entrepreneurship and climate action. It will be available to download from E+ Results Platform, SALTO-Youth, and partner websites, in English and all partner languages, Creative Commons licensed.
​
Download the Handbook in: ​