Unfortunately, Greece, has the highest unemployment rate in Europe for many years now, with a rate of 23.26% for 2016. Yet, even worse is the youth unemployment rate with a not insignificant percentage of 47.3%. At lower levels but not negligible, are the unemployment rates in other European countries, such as Italy, with a 37.8%. It is easy to see, of course, that many of them are people whose education is not at a high enough level to make it easy finding a job. Fortunately, however, these rates mobilize a large number of organizations and Universities across Europe.

As part of the effort to combat this phenomenon, the Institute of Entrepreneurship Development participates with its partners from Lithuania, Italy, Poland and England in the European project “YOU. A.C.E. – Innovating Youth Work to Foster Youth Active Citizenship, (Social) Entrepreneurship and (Self-) Employability”. The aim of the project is to enable young people to widen their field of knowledge and acquire skills in terms of:

• social entrepreneurship
• self-employment and new business creation
• active citizenship

For this reason, a website will be developed, entitled “E.Y.E. LEARN” which will include videos in which young people from these countries will describe their success stories in the aforementioned sectors, as well as a special section on it, which will give the visitors of the website the opportunity to communicate directly with them through a forum. In addition, a research will be carried out to map the social and educational profile, as well as the personal and learning needs of the target group of the project. Finally, educational material will be created with non-formal learning methods and events to disseminate these project outputs.

Beginning on Thursday 9 November 2017, when the first transnational meeting between the partners was held in Vilnius, Lithuania, this promising European project will help in combating youth unemployment.