Svitlana Arabadzhi, Associate professor of the History Studies Department of Mariupol State University took part in training «Reducing the Barriers for Employability Through Entrepreneurial Skills Development», which was held from 21th to 29th of April in Caesarea (Turkey).

The international project was initiated by the «NECI Turkey» organization and implemented with support of the European Commission Erasmus+ programme. This event united young activists from Portugal, Greece, Serbia, Italy, Armenia, Belarus and Ukraine.

The aim of the project was to develop entrepreneurial skills of the training participants who work with young people, to promote non-formal education as an entrepreneurial tool for increasing the activity of citizens and their social inclusion through examples of certain activities.

During the training, the specialists who work with young people improved their skills of using interactive teaching methods for developing competences in youth as well as their potential. The program also included the implementation of tasks aimed at developing creative thinking, business skills, public speaking skills, project development skills and their presentation.

I remember the training session on which it was necessary to come up with a new product and present it in such a way that the participants were ready to buy it or to invest in its development. Such exercises stimulated creative thinking and the ability to creatively present the product and information about it as well as develop communication skills well.

The participants of the program visited Caesarea City Hall to find out how the support of young entrepreneurs is being carried out and how the work in the administration functioning, and met with the head of the Caesarea Chamber of Commerce, who, along with his deputies, talked about the role of entrepreneurs in the development of the city.

In order to get closer to the culture of participating countries, two intercultural parties were organized during which Ukrainian participants presented their culture and learned about the history and customs of Turkey, Portugal, Greece, Serbia, Italy, Armenia and Belarus.

It was valuable to get acquainted with the participants, including university lecturers from other countries, to establish partnerships for the implementation of youth exchanges and international trainings with the support of the European Commission's Erasmus + program in the future. 

As a result of the project, the participants received Youthpass certificates and learned how to create a Europass CV in the European format. 
 

In early May, Svitlana Arabadzhi presented the results of participation in the "Reducing barriers to youth employment through entrepreneurial skills development" program in Mariupol State University. She told students about opportunities for development, which participation in such projects opens.