YOU CAN BE an entrepreneur- Training in France
From 6-10 March, ARNO’s selected team of youth workers (Bobi, Kamelija, Simona and Stefan) participated in the training in Nantes, France, for the testing of the Handbook for Social Entrepreneurs – a product of the project “You Can Be”.
The training was organized by the coordinators Fondation Apprentis d’Auteuil (France) and was attended by the project partners VILNIAUS KOLEGIJA (Lithuania), Asociatiа Scoala De Valori (Romaia), Zaklada Znanje na djelu (Croatia) and Organization for Social Innovation ARNO (N.Macedonia).
The event was hosted in the social-enterprise hub “Les Ecossolies”. The social enterprise accommodates over 600 members and provides around 5000 jobs in the Nantes region. The facility is a home of countless organizations and citizen initiatives that identify the unmet needs of the region and devise economic initiatives for innovative solutions for the local problems and challenges.
At the training, the participants had the opportunity to see the first draft of the handbook for social entrepreneurship and test it in a simulated environment. They were divided into groups and given a social issue to which they would be simulating resolutions, using the handbook’s activities. We are very proud that ARNO had the opportunity to contribute to the creation of the handbook by writing the chapters on Design Thinking, Circular Economy, and Why do we need more young entrepreneurs? – giving a brief historical overview of social entrepreneurship.
The training allowed the participants and project partners to get a better view of the applicability of the handbook by young people through its testing and work on the next steps toward its release. The participants had the opportunity to test out our social entrepreneurship handbook through treasure hunt using the Goosechase platform. Working in groups, the participants were tasked with discovering and identifying some key locations in Nantes where innovation, partnership, and community solutions are peaking. The activity we designed granted the participants the opportunity to get to know the area and the initiatives, and through the process not only learn but also get inspired.
“The Goosechase activity was essentially an interactive and educational tour for us and the participants. I got to explore key locations in Nantes and witness some truly new limits to what social solutions can and do look like. My favorite sight was “L’Agronaute”, the urban farm that we visited. It houses countless plant species, from which it even provides cooking supplies for the local cafes and restaurants, and they also provide agricultural learning lessons for the locals. The farm also serves as an inclusive space and grants a fresh start for refugees and people from disadvantaged backgrounds.” said Stefan Petrovski from ARNO.