Foundation for Development of Polish Agriculture since March 2007 has been implementing the project “Young Entrepreneurs Support Network” (YESN).
The project is implemented in three countries: Poland, Slovak Republic and Czech Republic in cooperation with three partner NGOS: FDPA (Poland), VOKA (Slovakia) and NROS (Czech Republic).
Objectives of the project
The main objective of the project is to create a network-forum of non-governmental organizations involved in the support of young unemployed and young entrepreneur people.
The main goal of the network would be to promote best practices, set the standards of undertaken activities, and improve qualifications and skills of the network members.
The main purpose of the project is to build a network of nongovernmental organizations that could serve as a platform to launch co-operation and exchange of knowledge and experience between partner organizations from Poland, Slovakia and Czech Republic in area of assisting young unemployed in rural areas.
General Objectives:
- Exchange of knowledge and experiences between partner organizations in regard to assist young unemployed especially in rural areas,
- Increasing the level of knowledge and know-how of the member NGOs.
Project rationale
Poland, Slovak Republic and Czech Republic share similar problems and have many in common: they joint the European Union in May 2004, they both have high unemployment rates especially among young people in rural areas. Joining the European Union creates an unique opportunity for all three countries to gain access to the Structural Funds to decrease unemployment among young people. However to benefit efficiently from the EU and other fund it requires NGOs to have knowledge and skills to apply for the funds and to implement them as well as to propose the best possible tools and measures. They also need to gain experience on international level and benefit from other countries and NGOs experiences.
Multi-country exchange of knowledge and joint research will enable NGOs to build on each other experience and knowledge and develop their area of expertise.
The proposed area of exchange of knowledge and research
• National and regional entrepreneurial environment and the situation of young people: similarities and differences between the countries.
• Methods to attract young unemployed to participate in the projects design to assist them, promotional and informational tools, etc.
• Lending operations: average loan size, beneficiaries, types of businesses supported (services, production, trade), areas covered, problems occurred, lending procedures and practice, loan monitoring, repayment rate, pricing, collateral, etc.
• Tools and measures to target young unemployed in rural areas applied by organizations: their effectiveness, results, characteristics, etc.