The GreenY Activities
GreenY is a co-funded project by the Erasmus Plus Program that aims to foster cooperation between countries in Europe, Latin America and Asia, promoting youth-led entrepreneurship for the development of the inclusive green economy.
The project’s main goal is to train women youth workers with key competencies and practical skills that promote their entrepreneurial spirit and increase their employment opportunities within the various sectors related to the green economy model.
The project promotes the use of innovative methodologies, such as the Lean Startup methodology, as an instrument for the development of dynamic companies within the field of green economy, characterised by greater added value, innovation and growth potential.
Research, Data Collection and Good Practices
This activity consists of a comparative study to recognise and analyse information on the situation of each country participating in the project (Greece, Italy, Mexico and India) in terms of development of the green economy model and the inclusion of women in different contexts of this sector.
The results of this activity are:
- Identification of the assets and areas of opportunity for each country within the scope of the green economy that could be promoted through entrepreneurship initiatives of young women and that would be susceptible of being applied through the Lean Startup methodology.
- Collection of good practices related to the Green Economy model in the participating countries focused on the inclusion of vulnerable groups, mainly those that contemplate the role of young women agents of change.
- Identification of the critical capacities and competencies subject to being developed as a priority to achieve the development of the entrepreneurial spirit in women within the sectors related to the green economy model.
Transnational training meetings for youth workers in Greece, Italy and Mexico
The 3 Transnational Training Meetings have been held in Greece, Italy and Mexico with the aim to provide youth workers from the participating countries with theoretical and practical skills (in a non-formal way), as well as the development of Contamination Labs to put into practice the acquired skills. The training activities were implemented through an active, flexible and constructive learning methodology where the participants were significantly involved in activities designed to enhance their intrinsic motivation and positive attitude and in which they acquired and consolidated several skills thanks to open interaction and collaboration with the other participants and the trainers.
The main aspect was the practical approach exploited through the implementation of Contamination Labs where the participants, coming from different contexts, were organised in groups to work together in the elaboration of innovative projects with a social vocation. In these training meetings, virtuous contamination processes were developed to increase the spirit of initiative, creativity and business culture, and consolidate the ability to translate ideas into actions. During these meetings, work was also carried out on the creation of "GUIDELINES FOR GENDER INCLUSION IN THE FIELD OF GREEN ECONOMY".
Learn more about the activities carried out in: Mobility section.
E-learning course
The GreenY e-learning is a training course made up of synchronous and asynchronous activities with a modular structure in which participants can access learning resources, training tools, case studies, didactic activities and theoretical-practical webinars.
This course provides the participants with key knowledge and practical tools on the main thematic axes of the GreenY project in order to allow them to integrate the skills acquired in the development of innovative and inclusive entrepreneurial proposals in the field of the green economy.
Modules' program
Module 1: “Green economy”
Module 2: “Inclusive green economy”
Module 3: “Women green entrepreneurship”
Module 4: “Lean startup methodology”
Module 5: “Youth and green economy”
Module 6: “GreenY entrepreneurship initiatives”
Access this course at: https://academy.akep.eu/course/greeny
Handbook
The handbook "How to develop entrepreneurship initiatives through the Lean Startup Methodology in the field of Green Economy” has been developed by the partner organisations and is based on the research carried out in the framework of the GreenY project as well as in the information gathered from the experiences during the international meetings and the expertise acquired through the training program.
The objective of this handbook is to offer, to young people around the world, a synthetic and didactic educational tool that provides useful information on the process of developing entrepreneurial initiatives in the field of green economy through the implementation of the Lean Startup Methodology.
Download for free at: https://academy.akep.eu/course/greeny-community
Soon available!
Guidelines
This resource is the result of the work carried out by youth workers from the partner countries (Italy, Greece, Mexico and India), during their training process throughout the GreenY project. The young participants in a team collaboration and through an empirical-analytical approach, developed a series of recommendations and observations for the inclusion of gender in the field of the green economy.
The objective of the guidelines is to promote the entrepreneurial spirit of other young women around the world, raising awareness about the challenges, barriers and areas of opportunity to promote gender inclusion within this alternative development model.
Download for free at: https://academy.akep.eu/course/greeny-community
Soon available!
Local workshops
All partners organised a series of 2 workshops in each country at the local level to exchange practices in the field of green economy and women-led youth entrepreneurship initiatives by applying the Lean Startup methodology. The workshops were led by professionals and youth workers involved in the project, and the main target groups of this activity were:
- Young people
- Local Stakeholders involved in training and education
- Managers and Personnel of Local Community Enterprise
- Professors of High Schools
Transnational Training Meetings for youth workers
1st Transnational Training Meeting in Greece (Athens)
From the 14th to the 18th of November 2022, the first Transnational Meeting of the GreenY Project was held in Athens with youth workers and staff members from Greece, Italy, Mexico and India. The general objective of the meeting was to work on the development of the entrepreneurial proposals of the national teams. During the 5 days of activities, the participants had the opportunity to broaden their knowledge on the core issues of the project thanks to presentations by experts and stakeholders in different fields, such as green economy and entrepreneurship. Likewise, the youth workers visited different types of green companies led by young women who were examples of best practices in the green economy sector.
On the other hand, the youth workers, through the approach of the Contamination Labs, worked on the development of their local entrepreneurship initiatives carrying out the analysis of their respective contexts and developing fundamental aspects of their proposals, such as inclusion, sustainability, innovation and impact.
The youth workers also worked in teams with members of different nationalities in developing a startup proposal for the context of Athens. At the end of the meeting, an evaluation committee selected the winning proposal to be developed as a startup of the Greek working group.
2nd Transnational Training Meeting in Italy (Capaccio- Paestum)
From the 15th to the 19th of May 2023, the second Transnational Meeting of the GreenY Project was held in Capaccio-Paestum, Italy, with youth workers and staff members from Greece, Italy, Mexico and India. The general objective of the meeting was to develop the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) of each one of the national teams and configure the structure and methodology for the development of the guidelines for gender inclusion in the field of green economy.
During the 5 days of activities, the work teams of each country, through the approach of the Contamination Labs, carried out the MVP development phase for their respective proposals. To this end, the youth workers worked on the following aspects:
Developing the MVP
- Identification of the market needs and profiling of the Client.
Producing the MVP
- Development of work methodology
Proposing the MVP
- Development of the strategy aimed at launching the MVP for testing the product.
Testing the MVP
- Strategy for acquiring and analyzing the feedback and design of the learning indicators
On the other hand, during this meeting, the participants began with the planning of the structure and methodology of work related to the development of the guidelines. For this, they were prepared with a series of non-formal education activities whose objective was the sensitisation, integration and consolidation of the working group from a gender perspective that will facilitate interaction and coordination in the creative process of the guidelines.
3rd Transnational Training Meeting in Mexico (Chetumal - Quintana Roo)
From the 24th to the 28th of July 2023, the final meeting of the GreenY Project was held in Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The meeting focused mainly on the training of young workers for the development of business initiatives in the sustainable tourism sector in the context of the green economy. Within this framework, the relationship between gender and tourism, the role of entrepreneurial activity, environmental education to promote initiatives and the active participation of women in responsible tourism as a key instrument for their inclusion in the green economy, were the central axes of the meeting.
The meeting was held in the community of Huay Pix, Chetumal, a town in the south of the State of Quintana Roo, Mexico, a place where it is intended to promote sustainable tourism through local business initiatives. The activities took place at the “Campamento Recreativo Aventuras”, which is a company led by women entrepreneurs whose objective is the empowerment of the community through sustainable development initiatives, therefore, the participants had the opportunity to learn about best practices in the green entrepreneurship field.
During the 5 days of activities, the participants worked on the validated learning of the Lean Startup Methodology, thus, concluding with the last stage of the process for the launch of their entrepreneurial initiatives. The youth workers presented the following results:
MVPs testing stage.
- Methodology and tools used in the testing phase
MVPs testing results.
- Quantitative and qualitative data on the testing carried out
Evaluating testing stage
- Evaluation of the GreenY MVPs testing results
Validated learning
- Conclusions on evidence-based business decisions about what to do next.
This meeting was characterised by having a totally non-formal approach, supported by an alternative educational path known as the “Recreational methodology”, with the aim of achieving greater unity among the work group, promoting team-building, improving communication and increasing emotional skills of the participants, which facilitated the consolidation of the work on the guidelines for the inclusion of gender in the field of the green economy, which was also developed during the transnational meeting in Mexico.
