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Effective Practice Guide to Youth-Led Green Job Creation Initiatives in Europe

EU Effective Practice Guide to Youth Led Green Job Creation Initiatives

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Page 1: EU Effective Practice Guide to Youth Led Green Job Creation Initiatives

Effective Practice Guideto Youth-Led Green Job Creation Initiatives

in Europe

Page 2: EU Effective Practice Guide to Youth Led Green Job Creation Initiatives

The goals of Peace Child International(PCI) are guided by what young people tell us are their pri-mary concerns. Our mission is to empower young people and work with them to create education and training materials that provide them, their teachers and their governments with effective

strategies, courage and inspiration to tackle those concerns.

PROJECT MANAGERJanne Geurts

EDITORLiz Weiner

RESEARCHERTorey Pitman

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INTRODUCTION 7

THE YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT CRISIS 8-10Causes 9 Effects 9Conclusion 10

GENERAL APPROACHES TO JOB 12-13 CREATIONNetworks 12 Training Programmes 12 Financial Support 12Mentorship/Professional Advice 12Job Placement 13

THE GREEN ECONOMY 14-15

CORPORATE SOCIAL 16-17 RESPONSIBILITYWork Experience 17 Training 17Working with Schools 17Financial Support 17

CRITERIA FOR YOUTH -LED GREEN 19JOB CREATION INITIATIVESYouth-Related 19Green 19Metrics 19Replicable/Scalable/Joinable 19Comprehensive 19Sustainable 19

FEATURED INIATIVES 20-49Change Agents UK 22Euforia 25Chrysalis LEAP 26Enviu 29Liga Bruntal 30Libson Challenge / Beta i 32Green Corridor 34-35Garage48 36Student Hubs 38-39Archaeological Summer 40Jóvenes Dinamizadores Rurale 43ECO UNESCO 44-45European Pirate Summit 46Social Enterprise NL 48

NOTES 50

CONTENTS

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FOREWORD

Currently, the top concern for young peo-ple is job creation. I learned that at our World Youth Congress in Brazil two years ago when I witnessed 120 young people crowding into a room designed for 60 to hear Yannick Dupont’s Workshop on Youth Employment. Since then, I have encouraged the devel-opment of PCI’s Be the Change Academy centres in India and West Africa; its in-novative youth-led ‘Work the Change’ programme, developed in partnership with the Paul Hamlyn Foundation; and its Enterprise YOU! entrepreneurship training programme, supported by the European Commission. These initiatives have given

PCI an excellent basis from which to judge the realities and challenges faced by any-one attempting to deliver effective youth job creation programmes on the ground. It is therefore with great pleasure that I welcome the work done by Janne Geurts, Liz Weiner and Torey Pitman in creating this comprehensive analysis of the organi-sations active in this field here in Europe. The Effective Practice Guide they have compiled lists approximately 900 initia-tives, and there are still many more out there.

Youth job creation has no one-size-fits-all approach, but we can all learn from each other – which is why so many of

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us crammed together at our Brazil Con-gress to listen to Yannick’s experience. We will build on this collaboration at our next Congress, which will focus on creat-ing a ‘Road Map to Full Youth Employment by 2030’ – a series of policies that will, I hope, be incorporated into every govern-ment’s post-2015 Development Agenda.

This Effective Practice Guide will inform those agendas, and it is my hope that it will focus more attention at senior levels of government on what works in the effort to create what every young person in every

country wants: a decent, safe, well-paying job.

I thank the European Commission, DG-EA-CEA, for giving Peace Child International the chance to create this Effective Prac-tice Guide, and I congratulate Janne and her team for rising to the challenge so intelligently.

Jane Grisewood, Chair, Board of Trustees, Peace Child International,

July 31st 2014

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As part of its Action 4.6 Programme, DG-EACEA of the European Commission has financed the youth empowerment NGO, Peace Child International, to cre-ate a Effective Practice Guide to Youth-Led Green Job Creation (Project Ref. 2011 - 5083 / 026 – 001.] By researching, indexing and publishing all the job crea-tion initiatives we can find in Europe, Peace Child International hopes that this Guide will become a useful resource for

young people, youth workers, community leaders, civil society organisations, gov-ernments and other European Agencies interested in creating, replicating and/or launching youth employment initiatives. This Effective Practice Guide focusses on green jobs and youth-led programmes in particular. The project was researched, written and compiled by the young staff and volunteers of Peace Child Interna-tional.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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This Effective Practice Guide to Youth-Led Green Job Creation Initiatives is a di-rectory of job creation programmes in Europe. As the average youth unemploy-ment rate continues to hover at 23% in the EU, the rate varies wildly between regions – the two EU Member states of Greece and Spain have over 50% youth unemployment1,2. The effects on the well-being and security of individuals, families, communities and countries will be felt on this continent for decades to come.

However, the situation is not hopeless. Scores of programmes have been devel-oped to empower youths and promote job creation through apprenticeships, start-up loans, training, mentoring, en-trepreneurial support, work experi-ence placements, etc. This Effective Practice Guide’s purpose is to feature the most impressive of these programmes and the ways in which they help young Europe-ans. By describing these initiatives, their impact and their cost-effectiveness, this guide will establish the potential for pro-grammes to be replicated.

The green economy is critical in estab-lishing sustainable job creation in Europe, for it has the potential to create 60 mil-lion jobs3. With coal, oil and natural gas reserves running out, new sources of energy are in demand. The continent is in the early stages of transitioning from a brown fossil fuel-based economy to a green one that relies on energy effi-ciency, zero waste, sustainable sources of food and water and conservation4. The European Commission has even released a Green Economy Initiative communiqué that outlines the strategies and policy measures needed for this change5. Green jobs, or positions that ‘preserve or restore the quality of the environment’, span numerous sectors and can give millions of young people the opportunities they need6.

This guide will highlight programmes that encourage European youths to be mindful of the environment and aware of the possibilities within a green economy. Additionally, the burgeoning market of environmentally-friendly products and energy sources is prime territory for young entrepreneurs to explore.

The private sector has a vested interest in youth employment and therefore also has a part to play in job creation. Cor-porate social responsibility departments are already establishing programmes that address the youth unemployment crisis by providing training, work experi-ence and networking opportunities. This guide will outline the benefits of these programmes for young people as well as companies.

The final and largest component of this guide is the index of all the job creation initiatives for young people in Europe, organised alphabetically by country.

This Effective Practice Guide to Youth-Led Green Job Creation Initiatives is for young people, teachers, communities, development organisations, governments and anyone else who shares our goal of creating sustainable job growth and empowering Europe’s youth. Peace Child International believes that the world’s most pressing problems can be solved by the energy, creativity, skills and idealism of young people. This Effective Practice Guide to Youth-Led Green Job Creation Initia-tives is dedicated to them.

INTRODUCTION

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Before a problem can be addressed, it needs to be fully understood – for just as there is no single cause of the youth un-employment crisis, there is no single cure. The facts are that more than five million young people in the EU are jobless7. More than seven million are not in employment, education or training (NEET). Whether you view these millions as a massive work force going to waste, costing the econo-

my billions8 or as individuals denied the chance to earn a living, give back to their communities and develop personally and professionally, it is undeniably true that Europe is experiencing a crisis9. This section of the guide will explain general causes and effects of the crisis, but re-search into your own community or coun-try is recommended.

THE YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT CRISIS

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Causes

Blame for the high youth unemploy-ment rates is often placed on the finan-cial downturn, but the recession merely exacerbated existing, systemic defects in labour markets, school curricula and other structures. However, in combination with labour market policies, the recession affected the quality and secur ty of jobs open to young people. Temporary posi-tions, part-time work, zero-hour contracts and other precarious job paths are the only recourse for many young people to earn money and/or gain experience.

Some get trapped in these low-paid jobs, unable to find anything better. In 2012, 42% of young workers were on a tem-porary contract, and 32% were working part-time10. In positions like these, young people are often underemployed, so they work less than they would prefer11. This carries an economic and personal cost, as young people are essentially barred from working to their full potential.

Another cause is a general disinclina-tion for entrepreneurship, a proven job creator and economy booster. Europe-ans, when compared to those in non-EU countries, are generally reluctant to pursue self-employment. In 2012, 37% of Europeans said they would rather be self-employed than an employee – down from 45% in 2009. When Europeans were asked why they are averse to starting an enterprise, they cited financial risks and difficulties in accessing capital. Young Europeans are more open to self-employ-ment than their elders, but unfortunately, banks are often hesitant to lend to young people, as they often have no collateral and are seen as inexperienced12,13.

Ultimately, the skills mismatch is a signifi-cant contributor to the youth unemploy-ment crisis. Despite an overabundance of young people out of school and ready to work, businesses are demanding skills that they never had occasion to get. Young people therefore experience a difficult school-to-work transition, and

graduating from school often means a potentially long period of unemployment. Meanwhile, frustration abounds among businesses as they cannot find suitable candidates for their positions – there are a shocking two million unfilled vacancies in the EU14.

The skills mismatch is caused by a com-bination of school curricula in Europe neglecting vocational, business and employability training in favour of more traditional academics, and a disconnect between the private and educational sectors15. The skills mismatch can be ad-dressed by integrating practical educa-tion, like training and apprenticeships, with traditional curricula. Known as a ‘dual system’, this is the educational mod-el of the countries with the lowest youth unemployment rates in Europe16. This system gives students hands-on work experience and helps them network with businesses.

Effects

On scales large and small, the youth un-employment crisis is having economic, social and political repercussions across Europe, which will be felt for years. Mass unemployment is always of serious con-cern to markets and governments as well as communities and families. It is a tremendous waste of money, talent and time, and it makes for extremely unstable environments. On a personal level, young Europeans are suffering from the disillu-sionment, disenfranchisement and mental illness unemployment often inflicts17.

Unemployment is an exceedingly costly phenomenon. According to the Euro-pean Commission, in 2011, NEETs cost the EU a staggering €153 billion. Huge sums are spent on unemployment benefits and support schemes. At the same time, economies lose out on the money these unemployed millions could be generating through taxes, private sector growth and personal spending. For example, if just 10% of the 7.5 million NEETs were sudden-

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ly employed, then they would generate €15 billion each year18.

Youth unemployment is not only an im-mense drain on already struggling fi-nancial systems, but it worsens income inequality as well19. Increases in poorly regulated and low-paid work, like part-time and temporary jobs, have widened the already considerable gap between rich and poor. Spain, Ireland, Greece, Italy and Portugal in particular have seen huge increases in income inequality as unemployment takes its toll.

This increasingly unfair economic system will have damaging and lasting social ef-fects. To stave off poverty, many youths have turned to their parents for finan-cial support, but this can burden already strained families. Regrettably, the longer an individual is unemployed, the less likely they are to be hired. Unfortunately, when and if a young person out of work for a long period secures a job, they will typically earn less than their peers for decades to come. This effect is known as ‘wage scarring’, and its negative eco-nomic effects are obvious. As a lack of in-come will result in poverty and all the so-cial ramifications that entails, there exists the potential for inter-generational pov-erty, which means the negative effects of unemployment are passed down20.

For all these reasons, unemployment is especially damaging on a personal level. As young people cannot work, earn an income or achieve independence, many lose faith in their abilities, prospects and future. In an effect known as ‘social exclu-sion’, young people find themselves iso-lated not only from the labour market but also from their social networks and so-ciety at large. Their perception of larger systems, such as communities, govern-ments and the private sector, weakens. All these feelings can lead to mental health issues like depression or, more seriously, to crime, drugs and violence. Politically, a multitude of unemployed young people is considered a security risk21. It is no coin-cidence that the Arab Spring occurred

during high youth unemployment in the Middle East and North Africa22.

Even if these more serious effects are avoided, young people who experience unemployment will still have to cope with more lasting problems, like skill loss, CV gaps and wage scarring. In other words, their unemployment will affect them for-ever.

Conclusion

The youth unemployment crisis is ‘Eu-rope’s most pressing problem’. Though the crisis receives significant attention from media outlets, governments and politicians, real, effective action must be taken as soon as possible. Countless people, organisations and institutions have already found ways to start tack-ling the problem, and there are success stories out there. This guide will highlight the feasible, workable and effective ini-tiatives already helping young people all over Europe.

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Photo: ‘The Eye’ by Monika Nowak

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While each job creation programme is unique, there are five common approach-es to youth employment and empower-ment. The most successful initiatives often use a combination of these ap-proaches in order to provide more com-prehensive services. From governments to corporations, non-profits to schools, these approaches are tailored to a varie-ty of contexts and locales. These are their broad definitions:

Networks

A network is any forum that allows young people to access support systems, com-municate with one another or connect with potential employers or funders. For youth employment purposes, these networks can be web-based message boards or major events like career days or summits. Many networks exist for entrepreneurs to support one another, receive advice or access potential inves-tors. To empower young people, networks can also promote discussion and action for specific themes, such as environmen-tal issues or labour policy changes. Mean-while, networks on a more local scale aim for social inclusion, so young people can connect with their communities.

Training Programmes

Training programmes address the skills gap by supplementing educational sys-tems with the knowledge and experi-ence required for professional success. This eases the school-to-work transi-tion and increases employability. These programmes are either independently executed or incorporated into school systems as extracurricular activities. Two main forms of training initiatives have been identified for this guide: entrepre-neurial training programmes, which tar-get aspiring entrepreneurs by teaching financial literacy, business management and leadership and/or promote social

enterprise to address sustainability is-sues; and general skills training pro-grammes, which can cover anything from job hunting and CV writing techniques to more vocational, sector-specific learn-ing, such as Informational and Commu-nication Technology (ICT). Many training programmes offer official certification upon completion. The approach to train-ing programmes needs to be tailored to the country and/or culture of the target group. For example, some young people will not only require entrepreneurial train-ing but also inspiration to start their own enterprise.

Financial Support

Financial support programmes also fall into two categories: those that of-fer scholarships or fellowships for edu-cational or professional purposes and those that fund aspiring entrepreneurs. Considering the reluctance of banks to provide loans to young people, these programmes provide seed money to get enterprise ideas off the ground. An appli-cation process involving at least a pitch, business plan or prototype is usually required. These programmes may require application fees or a portion of the busi-ness’s earnings. Some initiatives offer access to a workspace and equipment as well.

Mentorship/Professional Advice

This approach gives young people the chance to access career counsellors or business professionals for advice. By having a mentor or coach, struggling job hunters or budding entrepreneurs can re-ceive guidance on coping with challeng-es, developing a better understanding of the market and possibly benefit from the mentor’s own list of contacts. Stipulations regarding the mentor-mentee relation-ship vary depending on the programme.

GENERAL APPROACHES TO JOB CREATION

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Job Placement

Job placement initiatives include gen-eral employment services and work placements, such as jobs, internships,

traineeships, apprenticeships, etc. These initiatives connect young people with employers, fund work placements for a set amount of time or simply help with a young person’s job search.

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THE GREEN ECONOMY

Youth unemployment may be Europe’s most pressing concern but climate change is not far behind – harmful effects on health, economies and agriculture from unusual weather patterns, pollution, increased floods, stronger heat waves and other disasters are already affecting the continent23. However unrelated these two tremendous dilemmas may seem, they have the same solution – to combat cli-mate change effectively, a reduce-reuse-recycle ‘green’ economy, must replace the noxious, wasteful, fossil fuel-based ‘brown’ one. With this critical and inevitable shift, demand for sustainable, energy-efficient methods will grow, new markets will open up and anywhere from 15 to 60 million new job opportunities will materialise. The key to putting young people to work lies in the establishment of this greener sys-tem.

The brown economy’s affect on climate is increasingly undeniable. A new report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that climate change is the result of mankind, and no person on earth will be unaffected by its impact. Many regions are already witnessing extreme temperatures, droughts, intense rains and natural disasters. Agricultural patterns are predicted to shift, creating food scarcities and increasing the cost of staples like bread. Famine and flood-ing will force people to leave their homes, resulting in millions of displaced people. Currently, the lethal combination of ex-treme heat and pollution is already caus-ing health problems, from heat stroke to lung disease, for the very young and very old in particular24. The human cost of cli-mate change is mounting – 150,000 peo-ple die of its effects each year, and the World Health Organization predicts that the number of deaths will only grow25.

Immediate action is needed. The current brown economy relies on oil, gas and coal, the use of which generates the green-house gases that cause climate change.

This fossil fuel dependence is also unsus-tainable. At the current rate of use, the world’s oil deposits will dry up by 2052, and coal and gas reserves will run out eight years after that26. Fossil fuels are also extremely expensive and preclude self-sufficiency – the EU spends €1 billion on foreign oil imports each day27. If noth-ing is done to halt climate change, the economic, political and social ramifica-tions all over the world will be devastat-ing28.

Transitioning to a green economy can halt these cataclysmic effects. By managing waste effectively through recycling and reuse, making buildings, transportation and products more energy efficient and environmentally sound and implement-ing new energy sources like wind, solar and water power, the green economy can usher in a future that is clean and sustain-able. The ILO identifies eight key sectors that will be energised by a green econo-my transition: agriculture, forestry, fishing, energy, manufacturing, recycling, build-ing and transport. Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are poised to lead the way. As they expand, so will the job op-portunities.

Green jobs are a fundamental part of the three globally-recognised pillars of sus-tainable development: healthy societies, environment and economies. The growth and improvement of these pillars must be promoted by governments, enterprises and societies to achieve an ecologically-sound world. This means healing the shat-tered economy, taking care of the envi-ronment and ensuring that people are no longer marginalised within society.

Employment, in the green economy in particular, can contribute to these goals29. In the EU, more than one million green jobs were created across a range of sectors in the last decade. By 2020, Europe is expected to see twenty mil-lion jobs added in the green economy30.

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Growth in this new economic system, especially in the EU, is simply that certain. As such, the potential in this market trans-lates to potential for the millions of young people unemployed.

Job creation initiatives for young people can help realise this green economy solu-tion. A workforce that has the knowledge and ability to succeed in these fields must be cultivated. By emphasising job oppor-tunities and environmental sustainability, programmes can motivate youths to pur-sue training, employment or education in the green economy sectors.

Furthermore, considering the potential of SMEs, entrepreneurship-based initia-tives can help immensely. Enterprise pro-grammes, particularly those focusing on social enterprise, can establish finance schemes particularly for green business ideas or provide advice from green ener-gy experts. At the least, job creation ini-tiatives can encourage an environmental outlook. Networks can inform their com-munities about the potential of the green

economy and promote environmental pro-jects. This solution will not be challenging. A survey of more 13,000 young Europeans discovered that 74% already recycle, 65% watch their energy and water use and 58% reduce their consumption of dispos-ables31. Young people have grown up dur-ing the global warming debate, witnessed unusual weather patterns and understand the risks climate change poses to their future world.

The green element of job creation initia-tives is a vital component of this Effective Practice Guide. Many programmes have seized the chance to incorporate sustain-able development and environmentalism into their initiatives, encouraging young people to explore new sectors. By ex-amining the ways in which current pro-grammes are highlighting green projects, markets and lifestyles, this guide aims to offer inspiration for other initiatives. A sus-tainable future lies in a green economy.

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The private sector is a major stakeholder in the youth unemployment crisis. Not only do high unemployment rates nega-tively affect the business climate, but as stated in section two of this guide, the school-to-work transition is exceedingly challenging for young people, and this affects employers as well. Their appli-cant pools are often not up to company standards for skills and experience. It is therefore in the private sector’s interest to tackle the youth unemployment crisis, and

corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an effective solution.

CSR is a company’s awareness of its im-pact on society and its choice to commit to a moral code that works to improve the surrounding community32. In terms of youth unemployment, CSR programmes are a direct way for companies to edu-cate and engage with young people en-tering the job market. By implementing these programmes, corporations not only

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

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have the power to contribute to the youth unemployment crisis’s alleviation, but also improve their own standing in the eyes of their constituents and the public. Though the following CSR methods parallel the General Approaches in section three of this guide, they are more business-specif-ic:

Work Experience

Businesses are in a unique position to help young people get the work experi-ence they need. Companies that provide internships, traineeships, apprenticeships or other opportunities for young people to work on a temporary or part-time basis give these youths the chance to develop vital skills, add to their CV and increase their employability. Organisations that of-fer a position at the end of a work place-ment mean they have acquired a vetted employee who understands the business and requires no training. British banks Bar-clays and Lloyds are known for offering such opportunities. Barclays reports that 77% of its former apprentices have stayed on33.

Training

As employers are often disappointed in their applicant pools, many companies are establishing their own training pro-grammes. This form of CSR focuses on education in employability, workplace, entrepreneurship and/or IT skills. These initiatives use company employees, hu-man resources representatives or hired tutors as trainers. Companies can also join networks that have established CSR programmes. JA-YE’s Entrepreneurial Skills Pass project already works with more than 5,000 companies across Europe to provide entrepreneurship education34. To reach a wider audience and increase accessibility to trainings, some companies establish webinars and online networks. Technology giant HP has an e-learning CSR initiative that offers free entrepre-neurship and IT training online. This tech-nological approach obviously plays to HP’s strengths35.

Working With Schools

Short of education reform, the mismatch between what young people are taught in school and what businesses want in their applicants is difficult to change on a large scale. Change on a smaller scale is more feasible, and businesses are in a unique position to take action. By working with local schools, employees can facilitate workshops, trainings and career days in the classroom, connecting with students as well as teachers. This is the motivation behind many in-school CSR programmes, including a new Youth Academy pro-gramme developed by UK grocery chain Tesco, which also offers scholarships and career advice36. Exposing young people to local businesses helps them understand what companies want and experience and the opportunities available.

Financial Support

Businesses can also set aside funds to establish scholarships and sponsor young entrepreneurs. CSR Europe, a pan-Euro-pean organisation, is spearheading an initiative that duplicates Sweden’s CSR approach of financing enterprises37.

Aside from the obvious social and eco-nomic good CSR provides, there are sev-eral direct benefits to companies for pur-suing youth engagement and job creation projects. By engaging with young people in schools, trainings and programmes, companies increase their visibility in the community. Providing work experience shows that a business recognises the potential of young people as well as the creativity and fresh outlook they can offer. All these elements reflect positively on the company, improving its brand and repu-tation. Furthermore, the more businesses work with young people, the more the negative stereotypes surrounding youth will be broken down across the private sector.

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Photo: ‘Moss carpet near Sognefjord’ by Gerrit de Rooij

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While approaches to job creation may vary, certain criteria are vital to initiatives’ effectiveness. To be included in this Effective practice guide, job creation programmes incorporate at least one of the following criteria. The more successful initiatives tend to incorporate many if not all.Youth-Related

This guide focuses exclusively on youth-oriented job creation initiatives, which empower young people by giving them the skills, guidance, experience and/or responsibility to succeed. Youth-led job creation initiatives, which are quite rare, are especially highlighted. For the pur-poses of this criterion, youth is defined as those up to age 30.

Green

To promote the green economy, this guide will highlight initiatives that promote so-cial enterprise, sustainable development, renewables, recycling and environmental protection. Please refer to section four of this guide for the benefits of the empha-sising the green economy in job creation.

Metrics

Metrics are the quantitative and qualita-tive data collected from the monitoring and evaluation procedures initiatives use to gauge their effectiveness. Tracking a programme’s reach, cost-effectiveness and participants’ progress is essential to understanding what the programme does well, where it can improve, if it should expand or contract, etc. Metrics are nec-essary to secure funding and/or support because they serve as proof to potential partners and funders that it is worth in-vesting in the initiative.

Replicable/Scalable/Joinable

For the purposes of this guide, initiatives must be replicable, scalable or, if it is

network-based, joinable. To reduce youth unemployment Europe-wide, effective programmes should be recognised and replicated. Not every job creation initia-tive is capable of literal duplication due to differences in location, target demograph-ics, cultural considerations, environment, funding and educational systems mean altering programmes appropriately, but even initiatives that operate on a pan-European or global sphere tailor their programmes depending on these regional variations. These larger-scale, network-based initiatives essentially resemble franchises, meaning they are joinable.

Comprehensive

The most effective initiatives take a com-prehensive approach to job creation by incorporating several approaches. If a single approach is taken, the programme tends to prove ineffective in the long term. For example, providing a loan to an entre-preneur with no training or experience is harmful both to the entrepreneur and the lender, but if a loan is provided in tandem with business training courses, the enter-prise is more likely to succeed. Similarly, training alone is potentially ineffective while training programmes that connect with local businesses or offer career coun-selling are more helpful38.

Sustainable

A sustainable initiative is able to main-tain its effectiveness over time. As youth unemployment is a systemic problem, the most sustainable job creation pro-jects recognise the problems within the system and try to change, supplement or provide alternatives to them. A sustain-able initiative has a cost-effective organi-sational model and ensures that it has stable sources of funds. It can adapt its mission statement and programmes while embracing long-term goals. Metrics are critical to ensuring an initiative’s sustain-ability.

CRITERIA FOR YOUTH-LED GREEN JOB CREATION INITIATIVES

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INIT

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INIT

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The following pages contain initiatives that fulfil the above criteria particularly well and are therefore worthy of note in terms of Effective practice. These initiatives have been explored in greater detail than

those contained in the final index. In most cases, representatives from these initia-tives have contributed to this research.

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Approaches

Network, Job Placement, Mentorship, Training (entrepreneurial/general)

Short Description

Change Agents UK offers sustainability programmes specifically for youth:

• Paid work placements in the UK and Eu-rope in the sustainability and environmen-tal sectors for recent graduates• Women in Social and EnvironmentalEnterprise project to empower and assist women in pursuing green entrepreneur-ship• Environmental accreditation schemes toimprove employability

Motivation to Start

‘Change Agents UK started in 1996 as a response to high graduate unemployment, considering the amount of graduates that are struggling to access paid work...[it] also started with a particular focus on sustainability and environment issues and careers...We were attempting to create an alternative to unpaid internships and volunteering opportunities in the environ-mental area. The way we did that was to become an organisation that offered paid graduate opportunities’ - Nick Goodman, Group Chief Executive

Strengths

• Peer-to-peer training• Large alumni and support network• Opportunities throughout Europe

Lessons learned

• Coping with the pros and cons of havinga high staff turnover in the organisation’s

young employees• Being creative and effective with tightbudgets• Achieving sustainability by diversifyingfunding sources

Effectiveness

• 87% of participants in Change AgentsUK provided positive feedback• Participants in the paid work placementprogramme had a 100% employability rate• Provides resource efficiency advice to350+ schools• 135,000 people are a part of the ChangeAgent UK’s online network

Approach to Metrics

• Conducts monitoring and evaluation ona project-by-project basis but is working to unite all the data to generate an organ-isation-wide report• What funders as for is often a drive ofwhat is measured

Advice

• Control what you can control. Don’tworry too much about the stuff that you can’t• Try and maintain quality, maintain astrong foundation, maintain high stand-ards for yourself and for the staff that you have and for the work that you do. Gener-ally, good things happen off the back of that• Before you set out to start a project,make sure there is a demand. Make sure that the way you’re approaching that need is going to work for that target audi-ence

CHANGE AGENTS UKUK, 1996

changeagents.org.uk

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Photo: ‘Jungfraujoch, Switzerland’ by David L. Haeni

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Approaches

Network, Training (entrepreneurial/gen-eral), Financing

Short Description

Euforia is a youth-led national organisa-tion that promotes youth empowerment by encouraging their commitment to face global challenges, from racism to global warming. Euforia offers:

• Networking and workshop events for enterprise trainings, accelerators and finance opportunities for those aged 20+ secondary school visits for sustainable development instruction • A community of young people and par-ticipants

Motivation to Start

‘There are many existing engagement op-portunities for youth who are already ac-tive, but hardly any initiative reaches out to those young people who have not yet discovered their changemaking potential. Thus, a tremendous potential for positive societal change is currently unused’. Co-rina Helfenstein, Project Manager

Strengths

• Sustainable development element• Peer-to-peer marketing• Programmes are youth-designed• Events bring together aspiring young entrepreneurs and connects them with experts and potential investors

Lessons learned

EUFORIASwitzerland, 2007

euforiaction.org

• Reach out and ask for advice• Get a network of experienced external experts with whom to consult

Effectiveness

Six months after trainings, 50-70% of the participants have become more actively involved in taking up global challenges locally.

Approach to Metrics

For all Euforia’s projects, clear goals for the different target audiences are defined. Impacts are measured with question-naires before the events, right after and 6 months after the events.Euforia will further improve its evaluation system to include:

• Mapping the impact of engagement without borders (impact map)• Clearly defining measurable indicators as key performance measures• Collecting data on indicators

• Developing recommendations for scaling intentions• Providing a convincing communications strategy to prove and improve impact

Advice

Always stay true to your organisation’s core values. Euforia’s are: dedication and impact; qualities of youth; joie de vivre; collaborating radically; and the ooops cul-ture: be ambitious, be courageous, dare to doubt in yourself and have the right to fail’. Corina Helfenstein

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Approaches

Training (entrepreneurial), Financing, Mentorship

Short Description

Chrysalis LEAP (Launching Entrepreneur-ship Acceleration Platform) is the first ac-celerator in Cyprus. It focusses on:

• Cleantech and sustainable development entrepreneurship training, competition and accelerator• Providing access to financing by con-necting start-ups with investors• Running CleanLaunchpad, the largest cleantech enterprise idea competition in Europe for 2014

Motivation to Start

‘It started as an idea in 2003 when I won a business competition in Cyprus, and I was a finalist in London. We were ask-ing for more than 2 million is funding, but there was no “after” after the competition. We won, we got a small prize, and that was it. No connections with industry, with VCs, etc. That’s when I realised that the “after” is more important than the compe-tition’ - Alexandros Charalambides, Found-er, Director

Strengths

• Sustainable development focus• Accepts applications on an international scale to be based in Cyprus• Values start-ups as the key to a green economy

Lessons learned

‘In 2009, I started promoting the idea of the Cyprus Young Environmental En-

trepreunership. I have proposed the idea to everyone, but closed doors everywhere - banks, universities, business associa-tions. I could not sell the idea.

Then in 2011, with six others, we started working more on the idea, formed Chrysa-lis LEAP, decided on the plan, and we start-ed looking for funding. Again closed doors, the economic crisis in Cyprus hit, so we decided to start it with our own funding. Only then did Ernst & Young become our sponsors and help with the 2013 program.

Main lesson learned: you need a team, not an idea’. Alexandros Charalambides

Effectiveness

• In 2013, Chrysalis LEAP had 60+ applica-tion20 teams received free training• Out of those, 5 received free mentoring, and 1 received funding from the EU.

Advice

• Go for it. Start small, prove your concept and move on• It is good to have a niche. Don’t do ge-neric events or programmes. Be specific, like agriculture, tourism, etc.

CHRYSALIS LEAPCyprus, 2011

chrysalisleap.com

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Photo: ‘Cyprus’ by Rita Willaert

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Photo: ‘Patterned sand’ by Alma de Groot

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Approaches

Training (entrepreneurial), Financing, Mentorship, Network

Short Description

Enviu is a co-creation platform that kick-starts impact-driven companies by• Building online platforms for various challenges that tackle social issues or an issue that a company wants to solve• Harnessing the ideas of people from around the world - ‘the crowd’ - for solu-tions to that platform• Selecting the best ideas and helping them grow• Sometimes becoming a co-owner for the social enterprises that come into exist-ence because of this process

Motivation to Start

‘We work with organisations, investors and crowds that, like us, want to offer as many people as possible access to im-proved quality of life, in a sustainable way’. Monique Bradley, Communications Manager

Strengths

• Sustainable development and global development focus• Generates strong partnerships with in-vestors, stakeholders and experts• Extensive network of creative young people from all over the world

Lessons learned

• Choose financial partners that allow space for experimentation and, based on the results, finance next steps• Don’t spend money you don’t have• Take care that the interests of the part-

ners do not collide• Use on-going projects for small experi-ments, testing new ideas in a smart way. You don’t have to Go Big immediately• Try to be as clear as possible that direct opportunities can come and go• Have a large and diverse pool of volun-teers and community members. That way you are not dependent on a small number once a project requires community in-volvement

Effectiveness

• 5 start-ups running• 6 in the pipeline• Enviu community average age is 25-35 and represents 30+ countries

Approach to Metrics

Enviu has started to seriously consider how to measure its impact so it can start communicating this more extensively in the coming years.

Advice

• Build a diverse team• Make sure you combine youth with expe-rience• Make sure you know what you want to go for (focus)• Accept that you cannot manage every-thing in micro detail• Allow for ‘flow’ and stimulate the chance of serendipity

ENVIUNetherlands, 2004

enviu.org

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Approaches

Training (entrepreneurial/general), Job placement

Short Description

Liga is a public benefit organisation that has existed since the 1990s. Today, it provides the following services to the long-term unemployed, socially marginal-ised and young people struggling with the school to work transition:

• A successful green workshops as a job creation tool• Financial/legal/social literacy training

Motivation to Start

Liga Bruntal started as a League for Hu-man Rights particularly for socially ex-cluded and disadvantaged young people. In 2003, it started helping the long-term unemployment by organising public works projects. Two years later, Liga Bruntal joined a green workshop to put people to work recycling and has since added a so-cial entrepreneurship programme and job placement programme to its repertoire.

Strengths

• Strong ties with government ministries and other organisations that serve as partners for projects• Green workshop recycles electronic waste• Focus on societal improvement and the disadvantaged

Effectiveness

• 44 jobs have been created in the green workshop• 90% of these job positions are designat-

ed for people with social or health handi-caps

Liga Bruntál Czech Repulic, 2004

ligabruntal.cz

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Photo: ‘Slag And Gravel’ by Pavel Petros

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Approaches

Training (entrepreneurial), Mentoring, Net-work, Finance

Short Description

Lisbon Challenge is a three-month accel-eration programme that selects top inter-national entrepreneurs with a tech prod-uct and offers:

• Workshops, mentorship and access to finance• Trips to London, UK, Boston, USA and Sao Paulo, Brazil to increase visibility and pitch to investors• A consistent methodology for startups acceleration, acquired through know-how and relationships with top global startup acceleration programs

Motivation to Start

‘Four years ago, a group of entrepreneurs that had created their own startups or were many years abroad returned and wanted to create an independent or-ganisation to help the next generation of entrepreneurs. Lisbon Challenge started with inspirational events, such as bringing the first TEDx to Portugal, developing the “Silicon Valley comes to Lisbon”, the “Ex-plorers Festival” and bringing Seedcamp Lisbon to our city...

We focused on training...through accelera-tion programmes to the startups - first the idea-stage (Beta-Start is one month full-time), then the prototype or product stage (Lisbon Challenge is three-months full time)’ - Ricardo Marvão (Co-Founder)

Strengths

• Extensive network of talented, successful and dedicated mentors to help start-up

teams• Provides a workspace• Promotes participation in an internation-al market

Lessons learned

• Finding money is not easy. Lisbon Chal-lenge was pitched over 1000 times to potential sponsors

Effectiveness

• Coordinated 25+ programmes and sup-ported over 500 startups• €23.5 million invested in startups so far (including three by YCombinator and two by Seedcamp)• 400+ jobs created

Approach to Metrics

Lisbon Challenge follows its start-ups every week, giving them the tools to measure their progress (and telling why it is important: if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it).

Advice

‘You have to believe that this is what is missing in your ecosystem, and you have to understand in which stage the ecosys-tem is. For us, we had to first inspire (for three years we have done it), then start the idea-stage and build that for two years, and only last year we did we feel that the ecosystem of start-ups was ma-ture enough for a programme like Lisbon Challenge’ - Ricardo Marvão

LISBON CHALLENGE / BETA IPortugal, 2010

lisbon-challenge.com

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Photo: ‘Lisbon’ by Francisco Antunes

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Approaches

Training (general), Job placement

Short Description

Green Corridor links young people with the environments around them and im-proves their self confidence and employ-ability through the following environmen-tally-focussed opportunities:

• Volunteering• Educational programmes• Accreditation

Motivation to Start

‘Green Corridor began as a single regen-eration project in 2000, following its suc-cess it was agreed to transition across to charitable status in 2002.

In 2010, Green Corridor undertook a fundamental business review to estab-lish need and value of the organisa-tion. Through this process the charity partnered with Pilotlight (a UK charity supporting innovative third sector or-ganisations through the partnering of commercial sector business mentors).

Working with Pilotlight Green Corridor narrowed its mandate, focusing on sup-porting disadvantaged 14 to 25 year olds back into employment, education or train-ing through land-based initiatives’ -Jean Rolfe (CEO)

Strengths

• Helps disadvantaged young people• Emphasis on environmentalism and em-ployability

Lessons learned

• Reputation cannot be built/created over night, reputation it is built upon high qual-ity consistent outcomes that have the learner at the heart of the decision mak-ing process• Supporting young people is not a quick win but a journey of discovery that is as unique as the young people you support• Doing a bit of everything doesn’t work – Green Corridor’s success is fundamentally tied to the decision to narrow our scope and become excellent at what we do rath-er than average at everything we touch

Effectiveness

• 95% of Green Corridor’s young partici-pants achieve a qualification• 41% move into employment• 34% go onto further training• 22% move into full time education

Approach to Metrics:

‘We take our evaluation and monitoring very seriously – as it’s our evidence of dis-tance travelled and positive impact. Our funders expect nothing less’ - Jean Rolfe

Advice:

• ‘A charity is only as good as its staff – investing in and ensuring your team value and support each other ensures a solid platform upon which to support young people• Being flexible, understanding, patient and genuine helps to build trust and hon-esty amongst the young people you aim to support. They will see through anything that doesn’t have these values firmly em-bedded.• Think about what you want to do and why. This is not an arena for easy money

GREEN CORRIDORUK, 2000

greencorridor.org.uk

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although many seem to think so. It’s hard work, with great highs and lows, that takes a lot of time to become established• An initiative needs to be a considered business objective that matches the skill set and purpose of the organisation and

requires considerable investment with regard to infrastructure, staff training and, in Green Corridor’s, case accredited sta-tus’ - Jean Rolfe

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Approaches

Training (entrepreneurial), Network

Short Description

Garage48 is an award-winning start-up programme in the form of an entrepre-neurial event series, the formula of which is:

• Participants have 48 hours to develop a

business idea• They work in teams with a designated developer, designer and marketer• Projects are evaluated and potentially carried on by the team

Motivation to Start

Garage48 aims to give young people the chance to explore, develop and pursue an enterprise free from the fears often involved in starting a business, like a lack

GARAGE48Estonia, 2010garage48.org

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of funding, a team and training. The inten-sity of the atmosphere empowers them to push themselves and persevere.

Strengths

• Tech sector focus• Builds teamwork skills• Already expanded into Northern and

Eastern Europe and Africa

Effectiveness

• Approximately 100 participants per 48-hour event• Approximately 16 start-ups generated, half of which are likely to continue, and 2-3 of which will become real companies

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Approaches

Network, Job placement

Short Description

Student Hubs aims to empower students to participate in social action and envi-ronmentalism while at university through:

• Established connections with local volun-teering and non-profit organisations• Job placement opportunities• Co-founding a forum and award scheme for social entrepreneurs

Motivation to Start

A group of Oxford students started Stu-dent Hubs in 2007 to address the lack

of coordination between different stu-dent groups in Oxford. It went on to offer placements in volunteering and the public sector to give students the chance and connections to work for a positive social impact.

‘We are not defined by a single cause; we help students – the citizens, consumers, and leaders of tomorrow – identify their cause. In bringing all players to the ta-ble, from the mainstream to the progres-sive, we aim to create opportunities for volunteering, learning, collaboration and debate that foster engaged citizenship, responsible business and a thriving third sector’ - Sara Fernandez, Chief Executive

Strengths

• All work is student-led

STUDENT HUBSUK, 2007

studenthubs.org

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• Works and collaborates with local or-ganisations• Empowers young people to recognise their change-making potential

Lessons learned

‘Our challenge has been in consolidating our existing programmes whilst tapping into the broader landscape of the univer-sity, government and not-for-profit sec-tor...We have learned to balance our ethos of student leadership with our institution-al knowledge of the funding landscape, scope for projects, and wider socio-eco-nomic indicators’ - Sara Fernandez

Effectiveness

• Reached 20,000 students in 2012-2013• 82% felt more motivated to take on so-cial/environmental issues• 90% felt that Student Hubs inspired them to take further action• 40% want to keep tackling social/envi-ronmental issues• 1,275 volunteers, 1/3 of which had never been involved in social action beforeIncubator for 80 student-led projects

Approach to Metrics:

‘A clear vision and mission is central to our approach to monitoring and evalu-ation...It gives us an explicit framework in which we position our programmes so that they can have the highest-value ‘double benefit’ impact for the students with whom we work and the communi-ties they serve. By staying consistent to this approach it is easier to compare how effective our activities are in the different universities where we work over time’ - Sara Fernandez

Advice

• ‘Social action – and in particular youth social action - will come in and out of fashion with changing political agendas; but a strong core mission can weather funding cuts, sector priorities and cultural narratives.• Finally, we are always open to inspira-tion by other organisations’ best practice. True to form, we are not afraid to innovate and stay at the cutting edge of impact measurement - even if we don’t always know how this will develop!’ Sara Fernan-dez

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Approaches

Job Placement, Training (general)

Short Description

This local government initiative of the Dolna Mitropolia Municipality gives young people a summer opportunity to partici-pate in local archaeological projects. The young people can pursue interests in his-tory and culture firsthand while learning the skills vital to working environments.

Motivation to Start

‘Archaeological Summer got its start in 2012 when an archaeological expert joined the Dolna Mitropolia municipal-ity’s ‘Programs and Projects’ department, which works with young people. With assistance from the department’s leader-ship, the proposed Archaeological Sum-mer initiative received approval from the Mayor and acquired a budget. This was quite a feat - often in Bulgaria programs and strategies are developed, but have no funds or people responsible for their implementation, which often leads to the programmes’ failure.

Because treasure hunters destroy Bul-garia’s cultural sites, the Archaeological Summer programme was developed as a preventive measure for the preserva-tion of ancient objects. Conducting res-cue archeological excavations lead to the protection of the site and its opening for tourist visits.

Despite over 10 archeological sites on the territory of the municipality, this is the first time activities for the research and rescue of cultural material heritage has involved young people’. - Tanya Nikolova (Head of European Integration, Projects and Programs Department)

Strengths

• ‘‘Usually the practice is to seek Euro-pean or state funding for such activities, not to reallocate funds from the municipal budget. However, with the political will and the support of the mayor, the leadership and Municipal Council, the Archeaological Programme addresses two major neces-sities, “Conduction of rescue excavations” and “Tackling youth unemployment,” be-coming an expression of a targeted policy and using all available resources to do so’ - Tanya Nikolova• The programme has an ultimate goal to develop a tourist site with a trained staff of young people

Lessons learned

‘‘The work designed for young people must be adaptable to the needs of the young people, with the awareness that they are not only motivated by money and social benefits, but also opportuni-ties for leisure and incentives typical for the young people, such as parties’ - Tanya Nikolova

Effectiveness

• In 2013, the financial allocations was ap-proximately 10000 euro. The programme involved 15 young people for a total of 20 working days• In 2014, the programme received nearly double the previous budget and involved 30 young people for a period of 35 work-ing days

Advice:

• ‘Enter clear rules, and meet all young people and their parents before the start of the activity• Do not try to please everyone

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SUMMERBulgaria, 2013

dolnamitropolia.bg

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Approaches

Job Placement, Training (general)

Short Description

Jóvenes Dinamizadores Rurales is a youth empowerment initiative that offers vol-unteer opportunities in communications, broadcasting, and event management throughout the rural Aragón region. Pro-grammes include:

• info peers: developing awareness cam-paigns by discussing issues with their peers and developing an understanding of youth demands and needs in order to convey it to youth workers and the JDR project• vozcasters: those interested in the com-munication field develop their skills by recording online radio shows about youth initiatives and interests, which gives a voice to young people and promote their activities and opportunities.• rural facilitators: those who take an ac-tive role in the organization and execu-tion of different local activities that enrich rural life. They collaborate with Town Halls, Associations and other entities to increase cultural, social and leisure activities.

Motivation to Start

The goal of Jovenes Dinamizadores Ru-rales is to motivate young people who live in Aragon’s rural areas to participate in their town development, explore interests and experience cultural exchange. By de-veloping their villages, these young people gain positive and active attitudes while revitalising rural areas.

Strengths

• Various emphases allow young people to pursue a variety of interests

• Involves peer-to-peer training• Provides access to resources, such as radio equipment• Fosters social inclusion and community involvement

Effectiveness

• Spans twelve counties with collaboration between nine local action groups• During the last two years, more than 44 local actions has been developed, includ-ing training sessions, music festivals, art exhibitions, youth meetings, etc.• Six months after trainings, 50-70% of the participants become more actively involved in taking up global challenges lo-cally

JÓVENES DINAMIZADORES RURALESpain, 2010

dinamizomipueblo.es

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Approaches

Training, Job placement

Short Description

ECO-UNESCO is an environmental educa-tion and youth organisation affiliated with UNESCO. Its programmes include:

• Going through schools and youth organi-sations to offer workshops and activities to boost environmental awareness and personal development• Offering training programmes on sus-tainable development• Putting on the Young Environmentalist Awards to recognise young people’s pro-jects on raising environmental awareness• Organising paid work placements for unemployed young people interested in environmental careers

Motivation to Start

‘ECO-UNESCO was started by a group of young people who were interested in en-vironmental protection and conservation. They wanted an organisation that provid-ed a voice and a space for young people, which raised knowledge, awareness and understanding of the natural environment in young people, which provided a space for them to come together and do practi-cal projects and with like-minded young people and which promoted the ideals of UNESCO’ - Elaine Nevin, National Director

Strengths

• Continues to change and adapt to stay up-to-date and relevant• Connects with local communities around Ireland• UNESCO affiliation lets ECO UNESCO

ECO UNESCOIreland, 1986ecounesco.ie

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participate in global events

Lessons learned

‘The organisation started when environ-mental protection and awareness raising was not as mainstream as it is today...One of the biggest challenges for a new organisation was getting recognition for the unique work – on the one hand raising environmental awareness and protection and on the other promoting the personal development of young people through a voluntary approach’. Elaine Nevin

Effectiveness

• 12000+ ECO UNESCO participants• 5000+ young people involved in the Young Environmentalists Awards• 1000+ people received training

Approach to Metrics:

• Feedback on Satisfaction• Process (quality of facilitation, presenta-tion and group activities)

• Self-Assessment of Learning measures the learning of each participant using a ‘before’ and ‘after’ approach• Impact Grid Assessment Workshops, which measures a training or education programme’s impact 3 to 6 months post-delivery• At the start of longer term projects and programmes, ECO UNESCO carries out Needs Assessments

Advice:

• ‘Be innovative; think creatively and be forward thinking• Don’t be afraid to set ambitious goals and believe that when a group of interest-ed dedicated young people come togeth-er that so much can be achieved• Try to garner support from local groups, and from government departments if you can although this is not essential it can help to have ongoing financial support for your work• Get support from like-minded and inter-ested people through a strong member-ship programme – this will help promote your work in a network’. Elaine Nevin

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Approaches

Training (entrepreneurial), Network

Short Description

European Pirate Summit is a grassroots entrepreneurship event. The summits last 5 days with satellite events throughout the year. The European Pirate Summit:

• Brings together aspiring and established entrepreneurs, investors, developers, etc.• Gives people a network for connections and financing• Offers lectures, workshops and a pitch competitions

Motivation to Start

‘When we started setting everything up for the first time, we were students, had our own startups and were looking for investors. We didn’t have any idea how to get in contact with the right people and thus came up with the idea of creating something new and unique - the idea of the Pirate Summit was born.

We wanted make this event...something we would truly love. With no previous event experience at all - which surely wasn’t easy - we created everything from scratch.

In 2011, we hosted the first Pirate Sum-mit. In the end, it wasn’t really successful for our own businesses (we buried them afterwards), but we dived into the event management business and have kept improving ever since’ - Alexandra Grimm (Head of Content & PR)

Strengths

• Focus on tech startups• Ticket discounts available

• Includes parties into its scheduleLessons learned

‘Even in our third year (2013), we had to realise how difficult it is to grow an im-pactful community. It was still hard to collect 500 hand-selected people for the event.

It is even harder to organise profitable events in the start-up scene and not lose your credibility. We recently started a new event series called Exec I/O, which aims to build a bridge between corporations and startups. There is a lot of demand from the corporate side, which is very helpful in terms of sponsoring and ticketing. So there are ways to somehow make a living’. Alexandra Grimm

Effectiveness

European Pirate Summit has many suc-cess stories, which they track. Their start-ups have a huge impact already across a variety of industries.

Advice:

• ‘‘Start now, start small, be unique• Have a committed board of advisors or a community to leverage your reach’ - Alex-andra Grimm

EUROPEAN PIRATE SUMMITGermany, 2011

piratesummit.com

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Approaches

Network

Short Description

‘Social Enterprise NL is the national or-ganisation for Dutch social enterprises. Our goal is to grow the social enterprise sector in the Netherlands in the next five years. We build a network of social en-terprises and now have more than 200 members (social enterprises) on our plat-form. We offer these entrepreneurs sup-port services like coaching, training, ac-cess to expertise etc.

At the same time, we also create public awareness for the sector trough our cam-paigns in which we aim to generate more awareness with the general public on social enterprise models. Besides that we work hard to put social entrepreneurship on the agenda of policy makers, financial institutions and universities through our research and agenda-setting activities’ - Nina Koopman (Program Director)

Strengths

• Connects with many diverse stakehold-ers, like entrepreneurs, intermediaries, banks, universities, colleges, funds, inves-tors, commercial companies and experts• Acts as a voice for the social enterpriseindustry• Offers publications and data to keeppeople informed

Lessons learned

• ‘Finding social entrepreneurs is a chal-lenge. This is a relatively new concept in the Netherlands. Not all entrepreneurs who have a social enterprise identify with social entrepreneurship yet. We are work-ing hard to establish a better understand-

ing in the general public, of what it means to build a business model that is aimed primarily at achieving social impact• Another challenge is to broaden the fieldin the Netherlands; how can we help social entrepreneurs scale their business/solu-tion successfully. There are many chal-lenges in scaling. Many social entrepre-neurs face difficulty in attracting growth capital for example. We try to alleviate some of these issues through our training and coaching programs for social entre-preneurs’ Nina Koopman

Approach to Metrics

‘We support our member organisations in their efforts to measure impact and look at how they can professionalize their operations to direct their efforts towards impact effectiveness. We offer coaching, training and a program in which we help 8 entrepreneurs with impact measure-ment. We ourselves, being a relatively young organisation, have not yet done a full-fledged impact study. However, each year we collect key data of our member organisations and compile a social en-terprise monitor. These monitors give an overview of how the sector is developing in the Netherlands’ - Nina Koopman

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SOCIAL ENTERPRISE NLNetherlands, 2009social-enterprise.nl

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1 Anon. 01.08.2014. Euro area unemployment. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/3-08012014-BP/EN/3-08012014-BP-EN.PDF.2 Szu Ping Chan. 15.11.2013. Youth unemployment could tear Europe apart, warns WEF. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/10450811/Youth-unemployment-could-tear-Europe-apart-warns-WEF.html.3 Anon. 31.05.2013. Transition to a green economy could yield up to 60 million jobs, ILO says. http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_181795/lang--en/index.htm.4 Anon. About GEI. http://www.unep.org/greeneconomy/aboutgei/whatisgei/tab-id/29784/default.aspx.5 Anon. 02.07.2014. European Commission Adopts Green Employment Initiative. http://uncsd.iisd.org/news/european-commission-adopts-green-employment-initiative/6 Anon. Sept 2008. Green Jobs: Towards decent work in a sustainable, low-carbon world. http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---emp_ent/documents/publication/wcms_158733.pdf.7 Anon. 8.11.2013. EU measures to tackle youth unemployment. http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-13-968_en.htm.8 22.10.2012. Eurofound contributes to EU Presidency on ‘Developing sustainable youth employment policies in an era of fiscal constraints 22-23 October 2012. http://www.eu-rofound.europa.eu/press/releases/2012/121022.htm.9 Kate Connolly. 02.07.2013. Angela Merkel: youth unemployment is most pressing prob-lem facing Europe. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/02/angela-merkel-youth-unemployment-europe.10 Anon. 2012. TYEC “Tackling Youth Employment Challenge” Measures and strate-gies for European Social Dialogue Actors. http://www.alda-europe.eu/newSite/public/doc/514-Final-Publication.pdf.11 Anon. 18.03.2014. Third of young people trapped in underemployment by 2018, warns LGA. http://www.local.gov.uk/media-releases/-/journal_content/56/10180/6020941/NEWS.12 Anon. 09.01.2013. 37% of Europeans would like to be their own boss. http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-13-7_en.htm, http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_354_en.pdf.13 Anon. 2013. Global Employment Trends for Youth 2013. http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_212423.pdf.14 Anon. Youth employment. http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1036.15 Nye Cominetti, Paul Sissons and Katy Jones. Jul 2013. Beyond the business case: The Employer’s role in tackling youth unemployment. http://www.theworkfoundation.com/DownloadPublication/Report/336_Employer’s%20Role%20FINAL%202%20July%202013.pdf.16 Dannis Görlich, Ignat Stepanok and Fares Al-Hussami. Jan 2013. Youth Unemployment in Europe and the World: Causes, Consequences and Solutions. http://www.ifw-kiel.de/wirtschaftspolitik/politikberatung/kiel-policy-brief/kpb-2013/KPB_59.pdf.17 Daniel Tkatch. 19.03.2014. Overqualified and underpaid. http://www.theeuropean-magazine.com/daniel-tkatch--4/8242-youth-unemployment-and-europes-brain-drain.18 Anon. 2013. Youth Unemployment. http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/themes/21_youth_unemployment.pdf.19 Caitlin Del Sole. Jul 2013. Can an EU Budget Deal Save the Lost Generation? http://www.europeaninstitute.org/July-2013/can-an-eu-budget-deal-save-the-lost-genera-tion-7-18.html.20 Ülly Enn. Dec 2009. SALTO Working on Work. https://www.salto-youth.net/down-

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loads/4-17-1948/WorkingOnWork.pdf21 Maria Tadeo. 02.01.2014. Unemployed young people feel they have ‘nothing to live for’. http://www.independent.co.uk/student/news/unemployed-young-people-feel-they-have-nothing-to-live-for-9034146.html22 Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg. 27.05.2012. The Jobless Generation: Regional crisis in youth employment. http://www.arabnews.com/jobless-generation-regional-crisis-youth-em-ployment.23 Mark Kinver. 21.11.2012. Climate change evident across Europe, says report. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20408350.24 Anon. Climate Impacts on Human Health. http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/im-pacts-adaptation/health.html.25 Anon. 2014. Climate change. http://www.who.int/heli/risks/climate/climatechange/en/.26 Anon. The End of Fossil Fuels. https://www.ecotricity.co.uk/our-green-energy/energy-independence/the-end-of-fossil-fuels27 Anon. 14.05.2014. What is the EU doing about climate change? http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/brief/eu/index_en.htm.28 Suzanne Goldenberg. 31.05.2014. Climate change a threat to security, food and hu-mankind – IPCC report. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/mar/31/climate-change-threat-food-security-humankind.29 Anon. Green jobs. http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/green-jobs/lang--en/index.htm.30 Anon. Dec 2012. Skills of tomorrow’s green economy. http://ec.europa.eu/energy/intel-ligent/files/library/mag/iee-mag-5_en.pdf.31 Anon. 28 April 2014. Eurobarometer. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/pdf/eurobarome-tre/2014/youth/eb_395_synthesis_youth_en.pdf32 Shanaz Musafer. 22.10.2012. Corporate social responsibility: Measuring its value. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19876138.33 Anon. 10.04.2014. How corporate social responsibility switched focus towards L&D. http://www.learndirect.com/business/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/PTLD6-Corporate-Responsibility.pdf.34 Anon. Entrepreneurial Skills Pass. http://entrepreneurialskillspass.eu.35 Anon. HP Life. http://www.life-global.org/en.36 Anon. 2014. Tesco and Society Report 2014. http://www.tescoplc.com/files/pdf/re-sponsibility/2014/tesco_and_society_review_2014.pdf.37 Anon. 2014. CSR Europe. http://www.csreurope.org/skills-jobs.38 Matthieu Cognac. 26.11.2013. 14 ways to foster youth enterprise. http://www.theguard-ian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2013/nov/26/young-unemployment-entrepreneurship-best-bits.

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