Our project aimed to bolster circular economy awareness, especially among youth, by leveraging their potential to lead sustainability initiatives. Key goals included 1. Elevating Circular Economy Awareness Among Youth: Aim to fortify youth’s understanding and engagement with the circular economy, positioning them as pivotal players in advancing sustainability. 2. Supporting the Circular Economy Action Plan: Assist in actualizing the Circular Economy Action Plan, synthesizing actions into a novel Entrepreneurship Competence Framework, serving as a potent guide for embedding circular principles in business strategies. 3. Encouraging Youth Entrepreneurial and Sustainability Efforts: Enhance youth entrepreneurship by furnishing practical sustainability pathways and promoting self-employability via circular practices in their startups. 4. In-depth Training for Youth and Trainers: Implement comprehensive training, ensuring youth and trainers are adeptly skilled in applying circular economy concepts to their ventures. 5. Certification Scheme Development: Formulate a certification scheme, affirming and validating skills gained through training, enhancing labor market competitiveness by certifying their circular economy competencies.
The consortium motivation to pursue this project was driven by the importance of environmental challenges that our planet is grappling with, and the role of a circular economy can play in mitigating these issues, as underscored by the European Green Deal and the 2020 Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP). We see youth as pivotal in transitioning towards a circular economy, acting as conscious consumers and as innovative entrepreneurs redefining economic models. Our project aimed to empower them to embody the change they envision for the world while being self-efficient. Our project has addressed both partners’ and target groups’ needs. More specifically: Partners experienced in circular economy, entrepreneurship, and education enriched their practices and explored new sectors or methodologies, while youth organizations expanded their influence in circular economy and entrepreneurial sectors . All partners engaged in valuable international interactions and experiences . Additionally, young entrepreneurs were offered upskilling and innovative initiatives, and youth aged 18-30 were motivated to engage more in community and social activities, gaining key competencies.