Our main objective was to co-create a digital platform that supports youth in Slovakia and Denmark in accessing mentorship, volunteering, internships, and career development opportunities - especially in the fields of cultural and social entrepreneurship. We aimed to empower young people to actively shape the platform through workshops and design sprints, ensuring it reflects their real needs. For Slovakia, we specifically focused on adapting our GROWNi platform to be more accessible to non-Slovak speakers, such as expats and international students. We also sought to engage mentors, trainers, small businesses, and municipalities to create a multi-stakeholder support system around youth development. By fostering peer-to-peer learning among partners and stakeholders, we wanted to share best practices, promote innovation, and strengthen digital and intercultural competencies. Ultimately, we aimed to enhance youth employability, entrepreneurship, and active citizenship across borders.
We applied for this project to address shared challenges in supporting young people’s personal and professional development, with a focus on cultural and social entrepreneurship. Our motivation was to build on the proven success of the GROWNi platform in Slovakia and explore how similar youth-centred digital solutions could meet the needs of diverse young people across Europe. We saw a clear need for a platform that helps young people—both locals and internationals—connect with mentors, access volunteering and career opportunities, and grow within a supportive community. At the same time, we recognised the need for peer-to-peer learning between youth, mentors, small businesses, and public institutions. The project aimed to bridge gaps in access, inclusion, and digital infrastructure, particularly for underrepresented groups such as expats and aspiring entrepreneurs. Through VIBE, we sought to promote youth empowerment, cross-cultural collaboration, and innovative digital engagement aligned with EU youth and inclusion strategies.