In 2018, the National Assembly of Youth Organizations of the Republic of Azerbaijan awarded a grant in the framework of Erasmus+ programme funded by the European Commission. The project “Start it UP, Keep it UP” is an innovative project focused on the promotion of social entrepreneurship. This project touches one of the comparing unfamiliar fields in the youth sector and the new concept in Europe – social entrepreneurship, emphasizing the innovative feature - the creation of social start-up incubators. As a long term project, it is aimed at gathering six youth organizations across Europe for developing educational training sessions concerning future potential social entrepreneurs by establishing social entrepreneurs hubs and mentors in social entrepreneurship.
to BUILD the capacity of young entrepreneurs by equipping them with needed skills, facilities and competences in given consultancy for other young people in social entrepreneurship;
to CREATE a space for evaluation and discussion of the impact of social entrepreneurship in decreasing unemployment and building a better environment with relevant stakeholders;
to EDUCATE young people by providing them with necessary tools, methodologies and terminologies act as a multiple and establish their own business.
Young people interested in the field of social entrepreneurship are provided with opportunities, tools, methodologies and terminologies of the art of entrepreneurship for starting their own “social start-ups” through the support of extraordinary training courses. Key activities of the project are training courses in Croatia in April 2019, in North Macedonia in September 2019, in Greece in February 2020. Quantity of participation of the training course measured with 4 participants + 1 coordinator from Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, North Macedonia and Turkey.
Quotes by the participants - mentees and mentors of the project
Before agreeing to enter into a mentoring relationship, a mentor must believe the prospective mentee possesses qualities that will increase the likelihood that the mentee will benefit from the relationship.
Trust is a major principle that mentor and mentee can build on.
The most important factor of an enterprise is the value it creates. If the entrepreneur reaches the right customer base that will take care of the value it creates with the right method and communication channel , it will gain in a short time.Accordingly, you should ask the entrepreneur that you are working with whether the value it creates is needed. Who does buy the product or service? why does any person buy it?
Participating in this project forced me somehow to find people who think the way I do. After the first training and a collapse of the attempt to find mentees (two times) I decided to make a step forward to my biggest passion – music. That’s how we have started the cooperation with Iro, Ioanna on our small dream”. “I am very lucky to be surrounded by such creative and good people. That’s how you get there”... “By the first attempt of finding the mentees it was quite difficult and challenging. You must know how to speak the way not to be found as a manipulator”.
By using various business management tools and knowledge gained through the project , we think we are approaching our initial goal. Collaborating with my mentee in order to create social impact via her business has been a challenging experience
Tell your story to somebody you don't know at all. That's a good way to receive the most neutral opinion. In any case of any trouble just smile and give a hug to somebody.
I believe the most important part of the mentoring process is to set the expectations right from both sides. Once you have gotten to know each other, it is vital that the course of the mentoring process is laid out thoroughly with a strategy, activities plan and responsibilities of the parties. Understanding what would make the mentorship a success for both the mentee and the mentor is of foremost importance.
Make sure you never let your ego get ahead of yourself. Don't overcomplicate, don't oversell your ideas, don't patronize. It's not a competition, and the only goal for you should be the success of your mentee. Feel free to utilize your network in the mentorship process (to a reasonable level). Of course, you won't have all the knowledge a demanding mentee needs, but you should employ your previous experience in bringing the right information to them.
The best way to keep the motivation of the mentee is with the personal example of the mentor and his or her personal professional or life experience. One of the most important part of the mentoring process is a detailed communication between a mentor and a mentor, in which both parties can share their ambitions, fears and achievements in a secure environment
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