Micro-Enterprise & Social Action international Partnership or MESAPbrings together partners from Western Europe (Asfar, UK), Eastern Europe (NAMCB, Bulgaria) & the Middle East (Cukurova Universitesi, Turkey) to develop youth enterprise training and digital skills, while promoting social action & civic responsibility in Young People through building their skills to participate in volunteering and developing their own enterprises and social action projects.
MESAP is funded by Erasmus+
The project also promotes Youth Workers professional skills through an international training programme and will also see the launch of 3 key manuals and methodologies for those working in the sector.
The MESAP delivery model is broken down into 5 stages:
1) Partnership Implementation Activity
2) Enterprising the Youth Sector: Youth Worker Training
3) Youth Enterprise Skills
4) Youth Social Action projects
5) Digitalising Enterprise – mobility activities
1) Partnership Implementation Activity encourages partner cohesion and cooperation, while building strong links & finalising a unique programme design. Partners will hold 2 further Transnational development meetings, in the UK, Bulgaria and Turkey, hosted by individual partner countries.
2) Enterprising the Youth Sector: Youth Worker training will deliver 7 days worth of training for youth work professionals to develop their skills in Enterprise Skills, Digital Skills and Social Action, while increasing their awareness, knowledge, attitudes and the benefits towards self-employment and social entrepreneurship, & supporting young people to mobilise Digital skills to establish their businesses or social action projects.
3) Youth Enterprise Skills is a 6 week Skills development programme, held in each country for young people interested in learning about Self-Employment, Business & Enterprise, with particular focus on how young people can set up their own business. Young people will develop Base Skills including: Communication; Budgeting; Inter-personal; Leadership; Team-playing skills; followed by Enterprise-focused Skills including: What is Self-employment; Brainstorming & Business ideas; How to establish a Company; Business Plan development; HMRC, Tax & the Law; Strategy; Fundraising & Investments; Marketing & Competitors; National Enterprise Allowance; Presentation & Selling your ideas Skills; Partnership-working; Book Keeping basics; & many other key Enterprise Skills & themes required to become Self-employed and establish a business. Young People will also develop basic Language Skills in 3 different languages: Bulgarian; Turkish; & English to promote their Unique Selling Points as businesses and also on their CVs. Furthermore, all young people will complete Employability Skills training.
4) Youth Social Action Projects will involve young people working together to understand, develop skills and launch a short Social Action project to benefit their Community, establishing the next generation of Social Entrepreneurs in the UK, Bulgaria & Turkey. This 6 week programme, will allow young people to use their new Enterprise Skills, to develop, mobilise & make a difference in their community.
5) Digitalising Enterprise – mobility activity brings young participants from each Country together to learn how digital technology can be used to benefit their Enterprises for 7 days. The activity will involve in-depth Digital Skills training, using systems that can make their Businesses more efficient, reduce costs & improve their general and specialist ICT skills. A long side Digital Skills, key themes will include International Enterprise & Partnerships; Global Business; Cross Cultural Awareness; Language Skills.
The knowledge, expertise & the outcomes will be researched, analyzed & published through 3 MESAP Youth Worker instruction publications: Enterprising the Youth Sector; Digitalizing Enterprise; & the MESAP final manual for use amongst the Youth Sector, promoting Self-employment, work-focused Digital Skills & Social Entrepreneurship throughout Europe, offering real examples through the activities, job shadowing information & tools.
To get in contact with Asfar about this project or request to be included in the publication list for the MESAP manuals, please either complete the contact us form on this website, including the nature of your request or email Asfar at info@mesap.asfar.org.uk with MESAP as your subject