PLAN Re-mobilizing resourceful and experienced older generation /retired (EOGR) to act as Mentors for NEET youth, to help young people change depressed NEET situations. Social innovations do not happen by themselves. Throughout their life cycle, they need to be supported and nurtured if they are to make an impact on society and the economy. Empowering people, driving change – social innovation in the European Union, European Commission, 2011 CHALLENGE The multiple innovation perspectives of the PLAN are linked to a number of emerging social needs and innovation debates across Europe, well described and well documented in the Commission’s 2011 paper: Empowering people, driving change – social innovation in EU. This document represents and details the Commission’s 2020 social innovation policy and is the project’s key policy reference. More precisely, the project’s innovation is a contribution to transforming such emerging needs into emerging opportunities of change: EMERGING SOCIAL NEEDS - the need to re-engage EOGR of all ages and backgrounds in the production of economic and social value - the need to mobilize available and qualified resources in the communities to offer NEET youth powerful ways out of the social depression - the need to train NGO youth workers on how to work with NEET about youth entrepreneurship and develop activities for digital skills in an informal and non formal education - the need to find new solutions to existing and emerging social challenges not addressed by the open market and not sufficiently addressed by public services - the need to engage users, clients and citizens in creating such solutions, in this case NEET youth - the need to create social change dynamics to respond flexibly to the fast changing global and local economies and labour markets and to offer NEET youth life change competences EMERGING CHANGE OPPORTUNITIES - recognizing social innovation as a driver of and contributor to economic development - recognizing that entrepreneurship goes far beyond establishing a private company and embraces all sorts of initiative-taking, whether for profit or not - recognizing that social innovation cannot happen to but with people, and that social innovation needs top-down as well as bottom-up initiative-taking to be successful - recognizing that social innovation includes a wide range of challenges, from child services to greening the economy PLAN's innovation is to put social innovation to work. PROJECT MISSION The project is one of the first attempts in Europe to systematically put the 21st century social innovation agenda to work: how can social change be brought about through new citizen-driven alliances in the communities, through mobilizing available resources for important needs and without putting additional pressure on public services? Resourceful and experienced older generation/retired: NEET youth NEED YOU The PLAN project combines two of the most important social and educational challenges in 21st century Europe – re-activating the overwhelming social and educational potential of the increasing number of experienced older generation in society to help counter the dramatic increase in depressed social situations among young people – with the mission to generate social and educational value from the dynamic interaction between these two “out of economy” population groups. NEET youth situations across Europe is approaching dramatic proportions and neither public authorities nor private stakeholders seem able to mobilize the needed resources to efficiently counter this situation and to offer NEET youth the long-term capacity building they really need. Therefore available, qualified, yet unexploited resources in the communities must be activated. PLAN is born out of this mission, prepared through several successful European initiatives identifying the unexplored potentials of bringing together EOGR and NEET youth. PARTNERSHIP PLAN brings together 6 partners from 5 Eu countries, including practice partners, knowledge partners. The project is coordinated by CCIFC. OUTCOMES KEY PRODUCT RESULTS: 1. Online community interactive platform 2. Mobile application 3. QR CODE GENERATOR 4. The "PLAN Cluster" 5. EU Network of NEET Mentors - NEET Alliances PROCESS RESULTS (made available in the project’s platform, forum) A. Capacity building among mentors to drive social change for NEET youth – THE VIDEO stories and testimonials B. Promoting entrepreneurial and social change mentality among NEET youth and their communities - VIDEO C. When work life counts - practical advices and suggestions - HAND OUTS D. Mentors-NEET youth working for the community - HAND OUTS PERSPECTIVES This flagship perspective resulting from the project is to create and share well-tested models for Mentors of NEET that can be useful to communities across EU, not simply missioned to share experience but to offer capacity building for social change services.
The PLAN project re-mobilized resourceful and experienced older generation /retired (EOGR) who acted as Mentors for NEET youth and helped them change their depressed situations. As social innovations do not happen by themselves, our Mentors have supported NEET for a real impact in our societies and the economy. Empowering people, driving change – social innovation in the European Union, European Commission, 2011 CHALLENGE The multiple innovation perspectives of PLAN project were linked to a number of emerging social needs and innovation debates in Europe, well described and well documented in the Commission’s 2011 paper: Empowering people, driving change – social innovation in EU. Project’s innovation contributed in transforming such emerging needs into emerging opportunities of change: ACTIVITIES undertaken for EMERGING SOCIAL NEEDS: - we re-engaged Mentors of all ages and backgrounds for economic and social value - we mobilized available and qualified resources in the communities who offered NEET powerful ways out of the social depression - we trained the youth workers of partner NGOs, on how to work with NEET and how to support them in new entreprenurial initiatives and we developped activities for digital skills in an informal and non formal education - we found new solutions to existing and emerging social challenges not addressed by the open market and not sufficiently addressed by public services - we engaged users and citizens in creating such solutions for NEET - we created social change dynamics to respond flexibly to the fast changing economies and labour markets and we offered our NEET enganged in the project, new life competences. TARGET GROUPS supported EMERGING CHANGE OPPORTUNITIES: - youth workers worked for social innovation and provided NEET with new skills - mentors acted as role models for NEET, encouraged them to establish their future work life - youth workers, mentors and youth promoted the social innovation that cannot happen to but with people, with top-down as well as bottom-up initiative-taking for successful work life including a wide range of challenges, from child services to green economy PLAN's innovation has put social innovation to work. PROJECT MISSION The project has put the 21st century social innovation agenda to work: new citizen-driven alliances were created in the communities, through mobilizing available resources for important needs of NEET and without putting additional pressure on public services. Resourceful and experienced older generation/retired acted as Mentor for: NEET youth who NEED THEM PLAN project combined two of the most important social and educational challenges in 21st century Europe – re-activated the overwhelming social and educational potential of the increasing number of experienced older generation in society and helped counter the dramatic increase in depressed social situations among NEET – generated social and educational value from the dynamic interaction between these two “out of economy” population groups. OUTCOMES KEY PRODUCT RESULTS: 1. Online interactive website: https://sites.google.com/view/plan4neet/home?authuser=0 2. Mobile application:https://play.google.com/store/apps/details id=appinventor.ai_Blucianor89.PLAN_def&fbclid=IwAR0gq84Iz57k3cgfG4ZBF658afRzDk3p2fBUBhqiAP60X3IsVvKALTT_f2o 3. E-LEARNING is the added value of PLAN as it is available through the website. Interested youth can easily be enrolled, follow the training, be monitored by ARIS FORMAZIONE and get their certificate upon cempletition of the training. 4. The "PLAN Cluster" 5. EU Network of NEET Mentors - NEET Alliances PROCESS RESULTS (available in the project’s website and forum) A. Capacity building among mentors to drive social change for NEET videos B. Promoting entrepreneurial and social change mentality for NEET- THE MODELS C. When work life counts - practical advices and suggestions - Handouts D. Mentors-NEET working for the community - Handouts IMPACT AND LONGER BENEFITS Youth workers were trained to identify youth entrepreneurship needs among NEET and they haven educated NEET in an informal way, providing the skills required for their employment. The involved Mentors have built capacity among them to independently drive new initiatives in collaboration with NEET youth groups. Mentors were in addition trained to be mentors for other new Mentors and have built capacity to drive the future European network of Mentor-NEET. Mentors of NEET are part of PLAN EU ALLIANCES for new cooperations and for continuing the ethos of PLAN. The involved NEET qualified new learning: - involved in concrete activities, not brought back to classrooms - learnt to see their problems as possible challenges and acted upon - created entrepreneurial and taking initiative mentality - engaged in telling the stories in their prefered social media