EntrepreneurYOUTH in Uganda
EntrepreneurYOUTH project developed by 20 African and European organizations aims to set up a social entrepreneurship network of African and African Diaspora youth organizations in Europe. Under the conceptual framework of networking African and African Diaspora organisations together, the project directly links migration and development.
Under the EntrepreneurYOUTH project, an International Youth Forum on Entrepreneurship was held in Kampala from 4th– 11th March 2017. The week long International Youth Forum was organized by Assist Community Initiatives Finance (ACI-F) in Uganda and gathered representatives of youth organizations from across Africa and Europe. The event was designed to recognize the impact, opportunities and challenges of young people in Africa and the African diaspora in Europe and how they can turn these social challenges to opportunities.
The theme this year was ‘inclusive social youth entrepreneurship for better social change’ and brought together social enterprises working with disadvantaged young people in Africa and in Europe. The theme emphasized the importance of youth inclusion to encourage all stakeholders to elevate the participation of young people to the level where they too could contribute meaningfully in creating stability and driving sustainable development in their different societies. Among the participants included social entrepreneurs who shared vast experience in the different workshops throughout the week. Participants showcased innovative and scalable solutions to youth issues relating to employment focus on social entrepreneurship as a recognized opportunity for social change.
The event was organized with activities focusing on three areas; empowerment, experience and engagement. Youth participants were empowered through debates and open dialogue which enhanced their voice as key players in decision making. They were taken to an island community to experience, one man’s entrepreneurial journey giving them an insight into the struggles of the everyday entrepreneur and they were finally tasked to design youth driven entrepreneurial development activities which governments, private sectors and funding agencies could support.
Example social projects in Uganda
Participant organisations from Uganda are supporting innovative and sustainable social projects to improve the lives of young people in disadvantaged communities. Below are some of the examples.
The EducationPlus Schools
In 2016, social entrepreneur Stella Ahaabwa bought a school in Wakiso District. The school was opened to provide a much needed opportunity for the children from the local surrounding villages to have a good educational foundation with a focus on Early Childhood Development. The mission of this project is to empower the community in general in all areas. Children are empowered with the gift of education after having successfully secured 150 scholarships for them while families’ skills are utilized to build the school and also offer support in the school where necessary. The community has taken an active role in driving their development with a committed team of local qualified builders who are motivated given the greater cause which is in line with Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality education for all, which we shall aim to provide to all children from the ages of 3-6years.
AFFCAD-Action For Fundamental Change and Development www.affcad.org
Action for Fundamental Change and Development (AFFCAD) is a youth-led organization devoted to transform living conditions in the poorest slums of Uganda’s capital, Kampala, through economic empowerment programs, health, and education.
AFFCAD’s youth economic empowerment programming provides requisite hands on skills that enables and empowers disadvantaged youth to beat the odds and develop successful small businesses and secure positive employment. The Bwaise Youth Employment Center (BYEC), established by AFFCAD in 2013, supports youth between 16-25 years old from the poorest slums who have been in the commercial sex industry, are illiterate, dropped out of school, and have never been employed. Through an innovative and successful model, BYEC aims to empower Uganda’s youth with purpose and opportunity.
About the Film Production Project: in February 2017, AFFCAD mobilized 35 youth from different parts of Bwaise slums. 36 young people participated in a 6 weeks training in film production conducted by film makers and practitioners in Uganda under an umbrella Film256. The training aim at equipping participants to address various challenges of slum dwellers through telling stories and film production. At the end of the training, the project managed to produce a short film called KIMOMBASA with themes on corruption, prostitution, drug use and substance and school dropout https://youtu.be/_DO8csdy11Q . The training also gave birth to Moki Films and Bwaise Film Arts, through which the two groups are continuing to address slum challenges through film production. The initiatives are currently creating employment opportunities for its members, the young story writers, Photographers, Videographers, Cinematographers, film producers, make up artists, sound technicians, costume designers among others.
EntrepreneurYOUTH in Germany
The second exchange training program under the project “Inclusive Social Youth Entrepreneurship for Better Social Change: Erasmus Plus Programme – Capacity Building in the Field of Youth: Multilateral Project – January 2017 – August 2018 – EU & Africa “will take place in Siegburg/Bonn Germany from the 1st to 6th August, 2017.
The exchange will train organization representatives and multipliers from 20 organizations in Africa and Europe to strengthen entrepreneurship support schemes in disadvantaged communities in Africa and Europe. The project aims to create a network of African and African Diaspora entrepreneurship support schemes to create synergies and facilitate the exchange of best practices. It will strengthen the capacity of participating organizations in incubating and facilitating social entrepreneurs for a high and sustainable social impact.
In the long term the project aims to impact migration and orient migration to development. This link will better function through promoting entrepreneurship among the migrant community and facilitating migrants’ investment in their countries of origin. Enhancing the relationship between organizations in Africa and African migrants in Europe will improve the quality of knowledge transfer from Europe to Africa and the impact of migrants and remittances.
The program for the training seminar will be available soon.
This project is implemented from January, 2017 to August, 2018 in partnership with the African Diaspora Youth Network in Europe (ADYNE), Assist Community Initiatives Uganda (ACI) and other organisations. The Project is co-financed by the ERASMUS Plus program of the European Commission.
Inclusive Social Youth Entrepreneurship for Better Social Change
Erasmus Plus Programme – Capacity Building in the Field of Youth
Multilateral Project – January 2017 – August 2018 – EU & Africa
The international youth entrepreneurship project “Inclusive Social Youth Entrepreneurship for Better Social Change” aims to promote the entrepreneurship spirit among the migrant young people in selected European and African countries for the sustainable development of communities on both continents. It has strengthen the African/European relations in the field of youth.
Through peer learning and non-formal education methods participants will be trained as multipliers to support entrepreneurship among young people in Europe and Africa.
As a direct outcome to the project 400 young people in Europe and Africa will be trained with skills and resources needed to support Entrepreneurship.
In addition the participants will be connected with organizations and institutions from the private and public sector to magnify their impacts. The youth entrepreneurship network brings organizations from Austria, Belgium, Germany, Finland, Ireland, France, UK, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Somalia, Togo, Uganda, Portugal, Cyprus, Italy, Romania, Lithuania and Sweden together.
Included in the project are major events like training workshops, forums and conferences. These will take place in Kampala (Uganda 04.03.2017- 11.03.2017), Bonn (Germany 01.08.2017- 06.08.2017), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and Vienna (Austria). Furthermore, E-learning courses and online training will also be available for young people and future entrepreneurs.
The participating organizations undertake entrepreneurship support and incubation projects and the good practices will be shared among participants and stakeholders.
The project is made susinable by creating the EU-African Entrepreneurship Network, which will serve as a knowledge and resources transfer tool to promote entrepreneurship on both continents.
Vom 01. bis 06.08.2017 veranstalteten wir in Kooperation mit ADYNE (African Diaspora Youth Network in Europe) das zweite Qualifizierungsseminar (im Rahmen des Projektes Entrepreneur YOUTH) zum Thema “Soziales Unternehmertum” in Siegburg/Bonn, an welchem insgesamt 30 junge Menschen aus 19 Nationen teilnahmen. Das Qualifizierungsseminar richtete sich an Vertreter/innen und Multiplikatoren von Migrantenorganisationen aus den afrikanischen und europäischen Ländern, um sie in ihren Gründungsfähigkeiten und Führungskompetenzen zu stärken. Hierzu befassten sich die Teilnehmenden mit grundlegenden Konzepten der Unternehmensgründung, -planung und -führung und bekamen nützliche Informationen zu Finanzierungsmöglichkeiten und Marketingstrategien. Begleitet wurden sie dabei von Experten wie Lugero Gomes Teixeira (Providers of social responses to the development) , Julia Siebert (Projekt: ActNow!), Herrn Dr. M. Herrendorf (Colabor-Köln), Amanuel Amare und Abraham Nida (Migrafrica).
Zusätzlich zur fachlichen Qualifikation ist auch die Vernetzung der diversen afrikanischen Akteure und Organisationen ein wichtiger Aspekt dieser Maßnahme. Durch den Erfahrungsaustausch und die Zusammenarbeit entstehen oft Synergien, welche bestehende Strukturen bestärken aber auch neue Perspektiven aufzeigen.
Insgesamt ist festzustellen, dass das o.g. Seminar einen positiven Einfluss hinsichtlich der multiplikatorischen Effekte der einzelnen Akteure sowie auf die nachhaltige Entwicklung in der Migrationspolitik hat.
Das Projekt “Inclusive Social Youth Entrepreneurship for Better Social Change: e – Capacity Building in the Field of Youth” startete im Januar 2017. Wir werden (in Kooperation mit ADYNE) bis August 2018 weitere Qualifizierungsseminare veranstalten, welche in Portugal (Oktober 2017), Äthiopien (Januar 2018) und Österreich (August 2018) implementiert werden und zur Entstehung und Förderung der Sozialen/Unternehmertum in den afrikanischen und europäischen Ländern beitragen.
Gefördert wird das multilaterale Projekt durch das Erasmus + Programm der europäischen Kommission.
Wir danken der Europäischen Kommission für die Förderung des Projekts
