We are happy to announce that new REACH project – Responsible European and African Changemakers was launched during a kick-off meeting in March 2021. From 16 to 18 March, partners have been discussing project goals and activities which connect seemingly “unrelated” topics, i. j. social entrepreneurship, volunteering and development aid together.
REACH is a follow up to another successful project YES WE CARE which aimed at involving young people from Europe and Africa into volunteering. The project brings opportunities in the field of social entrepreneurship which increases the positive impact on local communities. It tries to solve the problem of youth unemployment indirectly through creation of job opportunities in certain regions. The project is implemented under Erasmus +, the European Union’s education, training, youth and sport program.
Project activities under “Key Actions 2” enable organisations from different participating countries to develop, share and transfer best practices and innovative approaches in the field of youth education and training.
Such an amazing project deserves a great logo. This logo is more than just a nice picture. It symbolises Africa as the project’s destination which is covered in bright colours expressing the vast diversity of the great African continent. The mutual cooperation between Europe and Africa is represented by two hands REACH-ing out to each other. Many thanks for beautiful logo go to its designer and Mladiinfo Slovensko volunteer Lucka Dutková.
The primary goal of the introductory meeting was to facilitate mutual cooperation and knowledge sharing between partner organisations. Moreover, our purpose was to ensure the effective implementation of the project during its entire duration .
The original intention was to organize this meeting in one of the most beautiful region of Slovakia – Orava. The COVID-19 pandemic cut off our plans, so we had to move to online space instead. However, we believe that the virtual meeting was full-fledged and beneficial for all parties involved. Corona virus pandemic and future challenges were a major topic of mutual discussion. We agreed that it is necessary to focus on online activities in order to maintain the required level of quality and interaction. This opens up new opportunities for us to work with interesting online tools and platforms for communication and promotion, which makes the project even more attractive and accessible for hosting and sending coordinators.
Through the project, we are interested in raising awareness of social entrepreneurship among young people, spreading volunteering opportunities and thus supporting local communities, sharing knowledge and experience in innovation, motivation and coaching of volunteers, and last but not least, we are breaking down common prejudices and stereotypes. Feel free to check te project activities here.
We are already looking forward to future mutual cooperation with our partners as well as to the great possibilities and interesting opportunities that we will provide to all of you thanks to this project!
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