Creasse Newsletter #3

The CREASSE project moves forward

Dear CREASSE Community,

Summer has finally arrived, and July is the perfect time to reflect on the progress we’ve made and share it.

At the heart of our latest activities is the Pilot Learning Experience: Stations to Integrate Awareness-raising, Education and Training in Social Economy. Capacity building pathways are already underway in all partner countries (Spain, Italy, Hungary, Cyprus and Albania), designed to awaken entrepreneurship and have a real impact on rural communities through the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE).

The Pillars of the Learning Experience

The itinerary is based on an active and flexible methodology known as Learning Stations, an educational circuit that allows participants to explore different learning units and work in groups. The program is structured around four key stages:

Meetings and connections: networking sessions

Networking sessions are being organised with a double objective: on the one hand, to bring together people with an entrepreneurial spirit to forge alliances with the main local actors; on the other, to exchange experiences, receive feedback and accelerate the collective business ideas that the participants are developing.

Thematic workshops

Thematic workshop cycles are being developed in which participants acquire transversal and technical skills essential to manage a collaborative company, exploring:

Personal, social, ecological and entrepreneurial skills;
Leadership and self-care (time management);
business model design (incorporating innovative generative Artificial Intelligence tools to facilitate ideation);
marketing strategies;
Legal forms and structures of the Social and Solidarity Economy (adapted to the context of each country);
Economic analysis and methods to access financing.

Personalized support: Mentoring sessions

To ensure personalized support and maintain high levels of motivation, mentoring sessions are organized to follow up on each business idea developed. Participants interact directly with mentors and industry experts on key topics such as:

Business strategy;
Marketing, branding and brand positioning;
Team organization;
Management and financial processes;
Entrepreneurial mentality and attitude.

Giving Voice to Ideas: The Final Pitching Event

The program will culminate with the organization of local events to give visibility to the entrepreneurial ideas that have emerged. During these presentation sessions, participants will publicly present the projects they have designed, highlighting their potential for rural development and their impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), demonstrating the social impact that their implementation could generate.

Who is involved in the initiative?

To date, more than 200 adults who see in the social economy a genuine path towards personal and professional development.

Among our participants are:

Young people in a situation of unemployment;
Long-term unemployed people;
People with basic-medium qualifications;
People with a migrant background, refugees and asylum seekers.

The CREASSE project puts inclusion and diversity at the centre: for this reason, priority has been given to people with fewer opportunities and those at risk of social exclusion from rural areas in the region of Extremadura (Spain), Tirana (Albania) and Nicosia (Cyprus), in Matera (Italy) and in the Transdanubian area (Hungary).

The aim is to have a tangible impact on rural and local development and to offer new development opportunities.

If you would like more information or would like to actively participate in the project’s activities, please contact the relevant partner organisation.

You can find all the details and direct contact details by visiting the ‘Contacts’ section of our website: https://www.creasse.eu/contacts/.