“Coaching for inclusion: Closing the gap between urban and rural youth”
26 May – 2 June 2013,
European Youth Centre Strasbourg, France

The overall aim is to explore coaching as a tool for inclusion of young people. The study session will explore how coaching can help young people overcome barriers they face in their daily lives and promote their social inclusion and active participation in society. Participants will gain knowledge, skills and experience of coaching methods and techniques and how they can be adapted to different target groups. The study session will promote multiplication of skills and knowledge by developing concrete tools and resources to use in the home organisations and local communities of participants.

Aims:

• To explore coaching as a tool for inclusion of young people from a wide range of backgrounds
• To develop coaching tools and resources which can be adapted to different target groups.

Objectives:

• To provide coaching competences (skills, knowledge, attitude) for 40 young people from different backgrounds and realities in Europe
• To better understand the role of coaching in the process of empowering young people
• To promote coaching as a method to fight against discrimination and exclusion of young people
• To exchange experience regarding coaching processes and strategies between youth organisations
• To gain insight into how coaching differs between European countries and between youth organisations dealing with rural and urban youth
• To identify concrete steps for the implementation of coaching activities in the local organisations and communities of participants
• To develop future projects on the local, national and international levels

For more information, contact seminar(at)ruralyoutheurope.com.

Inspiring Change: Transforming Communities through Innovation and Entrepreneurship
12-19 October 2013
Malvern, Worcestershire, England

This innovative study session aims to promote the importance of Entrepreneurship within local communities and strengthen intercultural links through Citizenship

Aims:

• To empower all participants to be entrepreneurs and to encourage entrepreneurship in others
• To explore business innovation: social media, co-operatives, shared resource, and the effect that these can have on local communities
• To facilitate intercultural exchange between participants under the seminar theme
• To encourage participants to be active Citizens in their local communities by using business innovation to inspire change and to support community entrepreneurs

Objectives:

• To know and understand what Entrepreneurship is
• To meet with and complete character profiles on local entrepreneurs, to enable understanding of why they are successful
• To complete personal character profiles and compare them with those of the entrepreneurs to find similarities and differences
• To explore innovation through social media at a: Local, National, European and Global level
• To gain understanding of the positive and negative impacts that social media can have on Businesses, Communities and Citizens
• To explore other forms of Business Innovation and the impact these can have on Businesses and Communities
• To enable participants to use their citizenship by presenting a case study from a local entrepreneur within their community
• Facilitate intercultural exchange around the seminar theme between the seminar participants and the entrepreneurs and participants throughout the seminar
• To enable the participants to reflect on and share: How they could play a part in transforming their communities through Inspiring Change using Innovative Entrepreneurship

The study session aims to answer the following key questions:

• Why is entrepreneurship important in rural areas?
• How can social media be used in a positive light to support and grow businesses?
• What resources do we have at a local level that can facilitate innovation?
• How can Citizens use innovation and entrepreneurship to make their communities better places now and in the future?

All working methods and activities will aim at fostering intercultural learning and exchange between participants from different backgrounds. Methodology will include simulations, role plays, forum theatre, interactive lectures, audio-visual presentations, small and large group discussions, individual reflection and getting familiar with existing training resources.

Programme

The study session is planned as a practical series of workshops. The programme will have 3 key parts:

1. Information-sharing on intergenerational solidarity

• What's happening at a European level?
• What's happening at the local level? Sharing best practices between our organisations.

2. Developing cross-generational projects

developing new projects and new skills – participants will divide into different groups and develop their own business ideas through a series of workshops on entrepreneurship (covering project conceptualisation, needs analysis, aims and objectives, preparation, fundraising and financial management, implementation, evaluation and follow-up)

3. Summary & evaluation

• Presentation of final project ideas
• Project action planning
• Personal development plans
• Designing a workshop for your home organisation

For more information, contact seminar(at)ruralyoutheurope.com.