Young Azoreans propose new solutions for new challenges in the area of Social Entrepreneurship
The Regional Director for Youth stated in Horta that the Regional Government has supported pilot projects by young people who "propose new solutions for new challenges," through the support to youth social entrepreneurship programmes, such as the Youth +' programme.
"While creating sustainable business solutions, these projects offer ambitious strategies for an adequate and profound social change," said Pilar Damião at the opening of the Bootcamp on Social Entrepreneurship. This residential bootcamp will run for three days on Faial Island.
Organised in partnership with AJIFA - Youth Association of Faial Island, the initiative involves 22 participants and representatives of youth organisations from the islands of Faial, Pico, São Jorge, Terceira and São Miguel as well as one participating from Madeira.
This training course is organised by the Institute for Social Entrepreneurship (IES). It aims to encourage the development of projects in this area and provide association leaders and youth workers with tools that can contribute to the implementation of projects.
"In an era where financial and economic imperatives tend to overshadow all aspects of people's lives, social entrepreneurship stands out as a strong impetus to social responsibility and respect for human dignity", said Pilar Damião. The Regional Director added that the celebration of the 1st European Day of Social Economy in Brussels on July 1, an initiative of the European Economic and Social Committee, confirms the importance attached to social economy.
The accredited training courses on Social Entrepreneurship have already taken place on São Miguel and Terceira and are currently ongoing on the island of Faial. This initiative is in line with the incentive policies developed by the Government of the Azores for young social entrepreneurship, which are embodied in the programmes "Youth+" and "Inspire, Learn and Act."
Pilar Damião pointed out that both programmes were implemented in this legislative period and are based on four major goals: "social inclusion of young people in situations of social vulnerability, training of young people according to their actual needs, employment and socio-professional integration of young people, and local and sustainable development."
The "Youth +" programme aims to promote the development of projects to identify, support, train, promote and coordinate initiatives with potential for social entrepreneurship, through the involvement in partnerships and networking. A total of 14 projects involving 5,600 young people throughout the archipelago were promoted under this programme, representing a total investment over 165 thousand Euros.
In turn, six innovative projects were supported under the initiative "Inspire, Learn and Act" with the aim of contributing to the personal and social development of young people by promoting the acquisition and enhancement of key skills in non-formal settings; the latterare indispensable to learning throughout life. Moreover, they also intend to contribute to the social and professional integration of young people.
This initiative resulted from the collaboration of partner organisations from Terceira, Graciosa, São Jorge and São Miguel, which were supported by an overall amount 64 thousand Euros. The activities covered 150 young people.