Sustainable Development Goals – inspiration for youth entrepreneurship

Two youth workers from each partner organization participated in 7-day job shadowing activity at another partner organization. The job shadowing internships took place either at the partner organization itself or at a local company with which the partner organization works.
The programme for all work observations was based on the following programme:
• Getting to know the organization, getting to know the staff,
• Initial evaluation,
• Observation of functions and duties of a particular staff member, understand office policies and procedures,
• Attending a regularly-scheduled staff or professional meetings,
• Completing office tasks or assist with projects,
• Research a particular topic relevant to your work,
• Meeting with key stuff of the organization,
• Final evaluation.
Within the framework of the above, participants took part in various ongoing activities of host organisations and visits to project sites and cooperating organisations. The most important of these are listed below.

Job shadowing at IWR

From 20.01.2022 to 25.01.2022 Instytut Współpracy Regionalnej hosted in Gdynia (Poland)two youth workers from partner organization RAMCC – Débora Dómina and Milagros Munuce. Some of the most important meetings and activities during their stay were:
• Initial meeting at Instytut Współpracy Regionalnej office
In this meeting participants were welcomed by Wojciech Miłosz, president of the organization, coordinator of the project and Alicja Ochnik,. They also had the opportunity to meet some of the staff from the organization and take a look at the city. They had time to discuss several aspects regarding the project and future activities.
• Meeting with Green Hub in Education Center Experyment
Participants were welcomed by Ewelina Magdziak, main coordinator of the Center and general staff of the organization. In this encounter both parts had the chance to share their experience regarding environmental education, more specifically about climate change. It discussed the different public policies implemented in each country, such as waste management, transportation, education, and others, and how each organization play its role in spreading awareness about sustainable habits among citizens and local governments. When the reunion ended participants were able to take part in the interactive experience and experiment available at the center.
• Meeting in Jadłostajnia in Orłowo Gdynia
Participants were greeted at the local food market called Jadłostajnia by Agata Gierjatowicz, the project author, that gives local producers the space for them to sell their products once a week. It also helps to raise awareness about the importance of buying local products instead of industrial ones. They mostly offer natural home-made goods with a high quality. Agata explained the story of the market and how it became one of the first of its kind in the region. The market has been working for many years now and Agata had the chance to be the bridge between different generations of local producers.

Job shadowing at OD MT

Horacio Ragni and Gabriele Gilardi from Centro de Estudios Paysandu had a chance to participate in activities in office as well as in the project implanted at that time. We participated in the training for outdoor learning teachers in the city of Mielno, an opportunity to share and learn about educational policies in Norway and Poland while increasing our work dynamics tools. In this opportunity to work together with our partners in Poland we have been able to appreciate different ways of approaching young people, with a different approach to the one used in Uruguay. The use of the media is encouraged as a means of learning technical skills as well as life skills, an extremely enriching experience. This new approach provides us with a different way of thinking and the possibility of broadening our networks with other foundations and realities. It gives rise to the growth of Uruguayan technicians who can replicate what they have learned and shed new light on the different realities of our young people who are often not understood by our work methodology. On the occasion of getting to know the intercultural experience, the experience of getting to know the naval university and the exchange with teachers, different perceptions of the
university reality and the conditions of access to it are acquired.
The visit to the museum of Polish emigrants around the world, their challenges and cultural contributions allows us to understand the history and capacity of constant entrepreneurship both in adversity and in prosperity, the time to take care of migration as a positive process in the
development of communities. At the end of the JS, the office work with our hosts allows us to foster our bond as partners, to improve the implementation of the next stages of the project and to think of new possibilities for future projects.

Job shadowing at COOPERBOM TURISMO

At the beginning of October 2 youth workers from Poland took part in the project’s activity – job shadowing in Ilheus, Brazil within the project “Sustainable Development Goals- inspiration for youth entrepreneurship” co-funded by the Erasmus + Programme of the European Union. Alicja Ochnik and Wojciech Milosz were hosted for a week by Cooperbom Turismo in a beautiful town of Ilheus in Bahia. In addition to activities in the office, getting to know the organization participants had the opportunity to see in practice, projects implemented or completed by hosting organisation belonging to the consortium and other local organisations and institutions implementing Sustainable Development Goals in their projects. Participants visited, among others, University in Itabuna, local association dealig with collecting and recycling of trash, beauty shop that produce vegan products and work with local community and local branch of national initiative of funds for entrepreneurs. Participants came back home with strengthen competences and inspired to implement some elements in the organisation and local community.

Job shadowing at Comitato d’Intesa

In May, an organization from Italy had the pleasure of hosting, for a job shadowing activity, two colleagues from Cooperbom Turismo who came specially from Brazil. The purpose of the trip was to start a path of debate, discussion and networking on the topics of sustainability and youth work, presenting to the colleagues the numerous activities implemented by the Area Europa organization at the local level (and beyond). During the stay, a meeting was held with staff from the EUROPE DIRECT center and Gal Prealpi e Dolomiti. The ideas that emerged from the discussion generated reflections focusing on:
• Local community,
• Participatory processes,
• Biodiversity,
• Sustainable tourism.
There was also a guided tour of the Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park and a meeting at their headquarters. It was an opportunity to present the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism (CETS) and the Park’s most important project supporting economically and environmentally sustainable activities: from the maintenance of traditional mountain agriculture to the promotion of quality products; from “light” tourism to the use of renewable energy sources.

Job shadowing at Centro de Estudios Paysandú

During this job shadowing activity participants from Poland learned about the organization of work, the methods used to work with young people, clients, etc. procedures, observed the organization and work culture. In addition, participants learned about running a business from practitioners (learning by observation, learning by doing) and transferred this knowledge to the youth. Participants had the opportunity to attend a conference organised together with the local authorities, visit places of importance for local development, particularly in the context of development opportunities for young people.

Job shadowing at RAMCC

Participants from the Comitato di Intesa organisation visited the RAMCC offices where they were able to meet the entire network team. In addition, a meeting was held with the Coordinator of International Alliances in order to promote joint projects. Among the agenda of activities carried out, a visit was made to the Green Belt Huerta Park in Rosario where the representatives were received by farmers who grow agro ecological food. They also made a visit to the La Usina cultural centre where public policies for young people and non-formal training workshops are developed. Lastly, a meeting was held at a cooperative of recyclers where visitors were able to talk with urban recyclers and understand the processes of sorting waste in order to recover and reuse. Dissemination post at the website available here: https://www.ramcc.net/noticia.php?id=1870