WB SEA- WESTERN BALKANS Youth Social Economy Alliance

This project is part of this broader strategy aimed to support the creation of the WB Youth Social Economy Alliance (WB SEA), as one of the few regional networks dedicated to build the capacities of civil society organizations to promote, advocate and use the social economy as one of the most effective instruments to engaging, empowering and creating opportunities for the WB youth. Identifying the social economy as one of the most powerful tools for the prevention of “brain-drain”, the projectl unleashеs the youth potential and create opportunities for their meaningful participation through social entrepreneurship and social innovations, contributing to the acquisition of quality youth capital.Below are the project objectives:

• Depicting social economy as a brain-gain catalyst in the Western Balkans, thus, building the capacities of youth organizations in WB region to embed social economy in their strategic planning and positioning and work towards the development of social economy programmes and advocacy initiatives.
• Stimulate youth brain-gain in WB region by supporting the creation of an enabling environment for youth employment through promotion of self-employment and social entrepreneurship practices.
• Fostering regional cooperation, capacity-building and an exchange of know-how and good practices between WB countries and EU with the aim of developing a regional approach towards social economy as well as strengthening the existing social economy ecosystems.
• Support economic and social development of the WB region by offering a strategic approach towards social economy and inclusion of youth as agents of change in context of the regional aspirations for membership in the European Union.

Highlights: Research on social economy among youth in WB and EU: harvesting best practices and policy recommendations; creation of the WB SEA alliance; Study visit: the Italian SE ecosystem; training for young SE facilitators: advocacy, partnership-building and digital learning; creation of SE educational curriculum for youth CSOs; social economy schools – peer to peer learning and exchange; regional conference on social economy in WB. 

Production of Research: Supporting Youth Social Entrepreneurship in the Western Balkans and Europe 

The research looks at the social economy landscape, and the role of young people in it, at the European level and in the six Western Balkans countries. It identifies emerging trends in the social economy in Europe, and how the Western Balkan region can capitalise on them and, by multiplying, create its own model that is relevant to its context. Moreover, the document explores the opportunities of the social economy and how economic activity can be carried out among the youth community and the social enterprise sectors and ends with conclusions and recommendations for building a more supportive and inclusive social entrepreneurship ecosystem for youth in the WB.