The project aligns with EU youth priorities and economic visions, offering models and practices for creating democratic workplaces that foster inclusion, social change, and innovation. Its overall aim was to inform, empower, and strengthen opportunities for young people’s democratic participation in company governance in Slovenia and North Macedonia through the presentation, promotion, and implementation of new governance models, with a special focus on the EU ESOP model of (co-)ownership and democratic management. The project analyzed models and practices of democratic governance in companies employing young people, while informing and raising awareness among diverse youth groups, media, and policymakers about the benefits of such models. These practices contribute to building youth- and employee-friendly working environments, enabling broader participation and reinforcing the values on which the EU is based.
The partners cooperate at EU level in advocating for the social economy (SE). At a joint SE meeting in Brussels the idea of a project emerged. IED developed an innovative model of employee ownership in private companies, called EuEsop, with the potential to create more youth-friendly working environments. It empowers employees by granting them ownership shares and participation in workplace decision-making. The partners aimed to present EU ESOP as a model of social innovation in business, attractive to young people and aligned with EU values. Globally, two out of five young people consider social impact a key factor for engagement (OECD 2022). Young people are also increasingly involved in alternative forms of participation for social change, pushing the economy and civil society towards participatory, networked and diverse governance (SALTO 2019). The project explored whether youth are interested in entrepreneurship based on (co-)ownership and democratic governance, and how to inform and empower them to shape such workplaces.