The need to introduce among curricular and extracurricular school activities volunteering and entrepreneurship activities comes from the changing economic, social and ecological circumstances that have created the necessity of individuals to be flexible, to be able to adjust to changing situations, to learn effectively and to be emphatic and understand social and economical needs of the society. Our project's main aim is to develop the social entrepreneurship skills of students by means of the method "learning through doing". At the same time we aim at raising the level of creativity, communication and cooperation skills .Last but not least cooperation, social and volunteering skills will be increased by giving students the best possibilities to get involved in voluntary activities, thus making them face the social realities motivating them for doing voluntary work.That is why volunteering is the second important point that will be present in our project. The project will also encourage the study of English language in the sphere of entrepreneurship by writing a handbook " First Steps in Entrepreneurship”. The fundamental aim of the project, which enlists 5 secondary schools from 5 different countries, is that students will identify social issues in their region and they will transform them into a business idea. The main objectives of the project are: O1: at least 70 percent of the students from the target group will develop entrepreneurial skills O2: at least 80 percent of students participating in international meetings will improve their critical thinking and sense of initiative O3: at least 80 percent of participants in the target group will improve knowledge of foreign cultures and will become more familiar with the European economical and social realities O4: at least 80 percent of the students will improve their presentation and marketing skills O5: at least 70 percent of participants will improve communication skills, English and other languages skills O6: all participants will improve cross cultural understanding and European citizenship O7: all project team members and students will improve organisational, team work skills. To achieve the goals of the project, the following activities will be organized: entrepreneurship clubs in every country; “Entrepreneurship from Idea to practice” activities when students meet and get support from teachers, mentors, PTA representatives and NGOs on how to identify the social problems and needs and turn them into a successful business. 5 “Personal incubator”- films presenting the entrepreneurial ideas of students from each partner country. The final product will be a handbook “First Steps in Entrepreneurship”. This handbook will present the main stages how a business idea turns into a reality-how to identify a social need and transform it into business idea, and also short presentations of the best initiatives, one from each country. We planned 5 LTTA where the participating teachers and students will discuss the criteria and features that every successful entrepreneurial idea should conform to and they will present and work on their social enterprise business ideas. During these meetings voluntary initiatives, aiming at solving both a social or ecological issue, will also be organized. The voluntary initiatives with eco focus will be “Plant a tree, save the Earth”- cleaning a particular region, collecting waste and from the waste collected- making an art product- at 3 of the LTTAs. The voluntary initiatives solving a social issue will be called “ Adopt a friend ”- will be an activity in family-type accommodation centers or nursing homes-at 2 other LTTAs. The social enterprise business ideas will be presented to business representatives, other students from local schools.Thus, the participants in the project will become part of global education, aimed at performing the goals of sustainable development.Students will combine knowledge in ICT, foreign languages, entrepreneurship, business research, geography and even psychology. We will cooperate with non-governmental organizations, local formal and informal institutions, firms ,schools in the region to distribute products and project results. We will achieve project sustainability by making films for each stage on CDs. The handbook " First steps in Entrepreneurship “ will be presented to each partner country on paper and uploaded online on project’s page, on e-Twinning, schools' websites.Other volunteering activities will be organised after the end of the project. There will be 80 students attending LTTA - 20 per country and 32 teachers at the five planned meetings, additional 20-24 students and 4-6 teachers from the host institution, for whom no grant is awarded will also attend the activities.
The lack of volunteering activities and entrepreneurship lessons from school curricula and extracurricular school activities and the importance of them in the development of the youngsters, nowadays, brought up the idea of this project. The imminent need of the humans to adjust and reinvent themselves originated from changing economic, social and ecological circumstances that have required individuals' flexibility, ability to adapt to changing situations, ability to learn effectively, and emphatic understanding of social and economic needs. The major goal of our project has been to help students build their social entrepreneurship skills by using the "learning through doing" method. At the same time, we wanted to improve creativity, communication, and collaboration skills. Last but not least, students' collaboration, social, and volunteering skills were enhanced by providing them with the finest opportunities to participate in volunteer activities, forcing them to confront the social realities that motivate them to volunteer. As a result, the second most crucial aspect of our endeavor was volunteerism. By developing an eBook," First Steps in Entrepreneurship”, the project also supported the study of English in the field of entrepreneurship. The project's main goal, which has involved 5 secondary schools from five different countries, has been for students to identify social issues in their area and turn them into a business proposal. Aside from the main goal, the project included a number of additional goals that by comparing the results from the initial and final questionnaires and observing students attitudes, we believe were met: O1: At least 76% of the target group's pupils have developed entrepreneurship skills. O2: At least 85% of students who attend international activities have increased their critical thinking and initiative. O3: At least 90% of the target group's participants have improved their knowledge of foreign cultures and gained a better understanding of European economic and social realities. O4: At least 82% of pupils have improved their public speaking and marketing competencies. O5: At least 90% of participants have improved their communication, English, and other language skills . O6: All participants have gained a better awareness of other cultures and become much more European citizens. O7: All members of the project team and students have improved their management and teamwork skills. We have organised 5 LTTAs in which the teachers and students learnt and discussed about the requirements and characteristics that every successful entrepreneurial idea should possess, as well as presented and worked on their social-business ideas. Each LTTA included workshops, presentations, study visits at companies, etc, that has taught students how to asses an opportunity, get through the legal steps to transform it into a business, then how promote, grow and expand,and finally, if needed, how to reinvent it. Students wrote their own business plan, created promoting flyers, business cards, CV-s, Language passports, learnt how to make a promotional film, and so on. Voluntary activities were organised at each meeting. At three of the LTTAs, GR, PO, PL Eco-focused voluntary activities were organised, which involved cleaning a specific place, collecting rubbish, and creating an art product from the waste collected. The volunteer activities to address a social issues were organised in RO and LT, and were focused on making hand made decorations, toys or other objects which were sold in a fair and the money raised was donated to families with social and economical difficulties in RO or to an orphanage in LT . Company representatives and other students from area schools were informed about the project and students presented their social-enterprise business concepts. As a result, the project participants have become part of a global education program targeted at achieving sustainable development goals. In creating and presenting the products students have used ICT, English and native languages, made research, learnt geography, and even psychology to blend their expertise. To distribute products and project results, all school have organised and participated at local or regional events, Erasmus+ Days. Videos for each stage of the project have been made, to ensure the project's long-term viability. Each country has had a printed copy of the guidebook -First Steps in Entrepreneurship, future dissemination activities will be carried out after the project has finished. The eBook and other products are uploaded on the projects’s web page https://ife-entrepreneurs.eu , on e-Twinning, and schools’ websites. Following the completion of the project, additional volunteer opportunities has been and will be organized. 105 students 20/22 per country and 45 teachers involved, an additional 20-25 students and 6-8 local teachers from the host institution who participated at the activities and did not get grant.