he SYCAMORE project intends to launch a thematic Strategic Partnership aimed to provide information and guidance services about Civil and Communion Economy and start generative laboratories accompanying toward self-employment paths.From the start-up phase, the partnership ensures the participation and membership of a large number of companies related to the principles of the Civil and Communion Economy (SEC, AIPEC, Lionello Bonfanti, Giosi Guella, Polo Mariapolis Faro) and partners with experience in working with young people, especially the most disadvantaged ones (Formamentis, Associazione Nuvovi Orizzonti).The study, the experimentation, the sharing of expertise and the exchange of good practices will allow to further strengthen the partnership, to implement the project and give it a follow-up and future continuity.The project starts from the identification of good practices within the partnership:- E.DIC.SPA / Lionello Bonfanti: 1) establishment of a Pole of firms based on the principles of the civil and communion economy; 2) formation and accompaniment of young people toward entrepreneurship and self-employment paths; 3) experiences of business incubators.- SEC: Education on EdC (communion economy) through innovative methods based on learning and experiential learning of generative laboratories.- AIPEC: Association of entrepreneurs "enlightened" who work to spread the EdC through the testimony and the networking of their experiences.Through the analysis, the study and testing of those good practices in Italian contexts (1st year), Portuguese (2nd year) and Croatian and Bosnian (3rd year), the project aims at the development a stable service, in Italy (Abruzzo), in Portugal, in Croatia and in Bosnia. The service has the objective to:- Providing information and guidance for young people to job opportunities (stable branches managed by Educators / Facilitators of European Placement, guidance in digital format on job opportunities and the main procedures for the employment and self-employment);- Accompanying towards selfemploymenty through Popular EdC schools (training on the key principles of the civil economy and communion, on the labor market, the procedures for setting up businesses and business networks), experiential workshops and generative (for stimulate young people to the emergence of their own ideas and talents) that will lead to opportunities to meet with local entrepreneurs and AIPEC network, the creation of guided tours, internships, job placement possibilities or realization of business incubators for those who are willing to start their own activity the same type of the company visited. Supply of digital training materials.During the first year, the project also provides a direct instruction to the Formamentis operators, and to the operators of the association Udruga za ekonomiju zajedništva (Polo Mariapoli Faro- Croatia), the association ECNAL-Consultores Associados Lda (Giosi Guella-Portugal). These operators, after the formation, will be responsible for the accompaniment of young people in the different annuities.The training includes seminarial moments (with the SEC and the University D'Annunzio) and study visits at the Polo Industriale Lionello Bonfanti (Italy) bringer of good practices, through which operators acquire specific skills in the workplace organized according to the principles of EdC in particular how to accompany young people towards employability and self-employment and civil and communion economy key notions.The formation proves to be a vital time of SYCAMORE project, as it will allow the subsequent conduct of support paths of young people in accordance with quality and efficiency profiles and the development of strategies and specific methods for the employment of people with difficulties in the world of work, in particular young people in situations of exclusion or at risk of economic and social exclusion for economic reasons (unemployed), educational (youth having dropped out of school or at risk of dropping out) or social (youth from the suburbs, immigrants, young people with a history of petty crime or drug addiction).
The project SYCAMORE born in September 2016 and finished in late August 2019 had the intent to spread the principles of the Civil Economy and Communion in the territories of competence (Italy, Croatia, Portugal). For problems of political, social and economic instability it was not possible to carry out in Bosnia the actions foreseen by the project, excepted for small training moments. Edc is a new way of looking at man, at work, at the environment, a model of inclusive, participatory and sustainable development. To adhere to a model of Civil Economy and Communion means to choose virtuous behaviors with environmental, social, economic and relational advantages. Thanks to the Sycamore project, a very important Strategic Partnership (9 total partners) has been set up, focusing on the provision of information services, orientation, workshops on the Civil and Communion Economy with accompaniment towards self-entrepreneurship paths. The partnership has guaranteed the participation and the adhesion, up to the first phases of the start, of a great number of partner enterprises adherent to the principles of the civil economy and of communion (SEC, AIPEC, Polo Lionello bonfanti, Polo Giosi Guella-ECNAL, Polo Mariapoli Faro-UDRUGA) and partners experienced in working with young people and with the most disadvantaged categories such as formamentis and New Horizons. The latter are born with a vocation towards the disadvantaged and thanks to the Sycamore project have deepened themes useful for this purpose, with a targeted training at the partner UDA (University of Pescara)on the issues of Communication, Labour Market, the European Union, Employment Policies. During the first year, the project also provided to train the partner SEC (School of Civil Economy) on the themes of“person at the centre of work”, “in the care of work and workers” and to study visits near the partner Business Pole Lionello bonfanti (Italy) that has allowed the operators of Formamentis, of New Horizons, of the association Udruga (Polo entrepreneurial Mariapoli Faro-Croatia the ECNAL (Giosi Guella-Portugal) association to acquire specific skills in the workplace, organised according to the principles of’Edc and in particular, on how young people can be accompanied by employability and self-entrepreneurship. The list of UDANET partners that deals with communication has made videos and leaflets to disseminate the rich contents realized during the development of the Sycamore project. The formation on the“culture of giving”, which characterizes the Economy of Communion, has proved to be an essential moment of the SYCAMORE project, as it has allowed the subsequent development of the accompanying pathways for young people, the development of specific strategies and methodologies (bootcamp) for the employment of people with difficulties in the world of work and for the creation of enterprises. The actions therefore activated and the results achieved by the Sycamore project are described below. In the first year of activity in Abruzzo, in the second year in Portugal and in the third year in Croatia and in the headquarters of New Horizons in Frosinone: - information desks for guidance on work and business creation in accordance with the principles of Civil Economy and Communion with 65 meetings for a total of 246 participants; - the Edc Popular Schools who have planned a) The L'Altra prospettiva dell'Economia course: training on the key principles of the Civil Economy and of Communion and on the various issues related to the Civil Economy. There were 45 total meetings and reached 18,156 people even in online mode. b) Experiential and generative workshops croncretized in:*testimonials of entrepreneurs in 34 overall meetings with 1559 people present and on-lineline; *150 meetings, between accompanying pathways to self-entrepreneurship for unemployed and unemployed young people to verify the feasibility of an idea and incubation pathways of enterprise. The meetings with 563 participants in total produced the drafting of 19 business plans and 7 start-ups; *23 job shadowing experiences were realized with 134 total attendance. -the Seminars within the Universities that involved about 100 people among students and teachers. The synergistic work of the Partnership in favour of the actions of the Sycamore project has also made it possible to strengthen the network between partners and between partners and external collaborators, also involving the Employment Centres, The employers' associations, the schools, the freelancers, the companies. For many today the new economic action of the Civil Economy and Communion represents a concrete hope for the near future.