Several youth social work study visits occurred for the SEYW initiative’s purposes. The work study visits occurred in the 3 countries of Bulgaria, Italy, and Luxemburg. These visits were part of the European initiative “SEYW: The added value of Social Entrepreneurship in Youth Work” and its goal materialization.

SEYW: In a Nutshell

This Erasmus+ initiative aims to bridge social entrepreneurship and youth work. In fact, the SEYW partnership examined social entrepreneurship, in a manner that suits the youth sector. Furthermore, they delivered pertinent business models that correspond to existent young social entrepreneurs.

Learn more, at the SEYW official webpage and social media.

The Youth Social Work Study Visits

The purpose of these work study visits was to probe social enterprises, through actual business paradigms of young social entrepreneurs. Moreover, the representatives were mainly social entrepreneurs. They were chosen to enrich their knowledge and experience. In addition, they had the opportunity to exchange ideas and good practices applied in different country frameworks. 

The scheduled visits were, as follows:

• 1st Study Visit: The first stop was in Sofia, between the dates of August 25th and 28th. The objective was to analyze and understand how the models of social entrepreneurship, as individuated by Law and Internet Foundation. Furthermore, they examined how these examples can contribute to youth work. The Greek representative was Ms. Eri Pavlaki, co-founder of Women Do Business. The team of social entrepreneurs visited the social enterprises of Blagichka- zero waste, Synergia Foundation1, Bulgarian Centre for non-profit Law, Social Travel, and Taratanci.

• 2nd Study Visit: The second work study visit took place in Cagliari, between September 1st and 4th, 2021. The core of this visit was sharing best practices of social entrepreneurship for youth work. In addition, there was an analysis and understanding of social entrepreneurship models, as identified by TDM 2000. Moreover, they examined how these examples can contribute to youth work. The Greek representatives were Ms. Ioanna Georgiadou and Mr. Ioannis Dovros, owners of Health Route (Poreia Ygeias). Finally, the enterprises examined were Sucania Equo e Solidale Cagliari, Ngo Amici di Sardegna, Locanda dei Buoni e Cattiv, and EXMA – Exhibiting and Moving Arts.

• 3rd Study Visit: Finally, the series of these visits concluded in Luxemburg, between the dates of October 4 and 10. The main goal was to work on the outcomes of the six short-term joint staff training events. In addition, the aim was to develop new ideas and to collect the work done. In particular, the SEYW cohort collaborated on best practices on social entrepreneurship models discovered. Furthermore, they adapted them to the context of youth work and in different country frames. Finally, they worked on the toolkit already developed. The social enterprises probed were Facilitec, Kaf Lokal, Nyuko, Caritas Luxemburg, and Oyni.

iED is content with the outcomes of this study visits series. In fact, the overall experience of youth social work study visits was enriching for the initiative’s purposes.