Athens, January 29, 2023. On January 18 and 19, the final conference of the Young Entrepreneurs Succeed (YES!) program was held in Athens. Since the start of this project five years ago, various workshops have been held across all participating countries to evaluate the work accomplished.
The public closing ceremony of the program, titled “It’s all about NEETs!”, took place on January 18. The welcome address was given by Spyridon Kintzios, Rector of the Agricultural University of Athens (AUA), and Evangelos Papoulias, Director of the Athens University History Museum. This was followed by speeches from Evangelos Sakellariou, CEO of ANKA (one of the project partners), and Francesca Bombarda, Fund Operator Communication Expert from EEA & Norway Grants, a fund that promotes youth employment.
The event continued with a review of the history of the Young Entrepreneurs Succeed project, from its inception to the impact it has had in several European countries during its active period. Among the most significant results of YES!, Yiorgos Alexopoulos (AUA) highlighted a very important figure: more than 3,500 beneficiaries have been able to improve their lives thanks to this program.
Subsequently, a round table was held where all project partners shared the experiences gained throughout the project. Eleni Bletsa (ANKA), Guillem Arís (Autoocupació), Matteo Solivo (Microfinanza), and Olga Mucha (Youth Business Poland) shared their insights.
Following this, several inspiring stories within the framework of the program were reviewed, such as success stories of young people hired through the program, experiences between mentors and mentees in Greece, and the screening of the film “Lion Dreams,” which deals with entrepreneurship and personal growth. Additionally, real-life experiences of individuals dedicated to the field of youth employability in Greece were presented.
At the end of the day, an interesting and inspiring round table focused on how to address the future of work with unemployed youth, how we can influence it as organizations, and what the role of public policies should be in the coming years.
Participating in this project has been a very rewarding experience for all partners, and we are proud to have been able to improve the quality of life for young people in countries where the project has had an impact, such as Italy, Poland, Greece, or Spain.
