Are you concerned about a particular social problem? Do you want to use business tools to try to solve it? Have you got an idea for a social enterprise that you want to develop and implement? Do you want to develop your entrepreneurial skills? Benefit from your summer holidays by taking part in the second summer school on social entrepreneurship for Belarusian teenagers "SEI Youth: My First Business", to be held in Minsk from July 7 to August 6, 2017. The event will be organized by Belarusian Youth Public Union "New Faces" and ODB Brussels with support from the European Union.
It is difficult to be successful in any field without creative, innovative and strategic thinking or the ability to plan things, assume responsibility, manage finances, communicate, work in a team, pitch and promote your ideas. The summer school "SEI Youth: My First Business" is a wonderful opportunity to develop these skills, which are in high demand not only in business but also in other areas.
During the summer school, teenagers will be introduced to the basics of social entrepreneurship and will learn how to use it to solve local social, cultural and environmental problems. Under the guidance of Belarusian and international trainers, mentors and experts, the participants will learn how to build the social business model: from analysing social/environmental problems and searching for ideas to developing a prototype of a social enterprise (product, service) and pitching it to leading entrepreneurs and experts in Belarus.
Participants of the summer school (33 people) will be divided into teams of 3 to 5 people, depending on the ideas they want to develop. During the course of the training program and after its completion, each team will be given mentoring support to assist in the implementation of developed ideas.
Summer school training will include various games, exercises, discussions, case studies and innovative presentations, helping to consolidate the acquired knowledge.
The summer school will have three off-line training sessions and assignments in-between:
• July 7 – 9: 1st training (Minsk);
• July 22– 23: 2nd training (the venue to be chosen following selection of participants);
• August 5 – 6: 3rd training (the venue to be chosen following selection of participants).
What is social entrepreneurship?
“Social entrepreneurship is entrepreneurial activity aimed at addressing or mitigating social / cultural / environmental problems”. ("Our Future" regional social programmes foundation)
Programme of the summer school includes the following modules:
1. Analysing problems and needs: methods for identifying and evaluating problems and the need to solve them.
2. Market analysis: gathering information about the market, its capabilities, competitors, niches and barriers for the development of its business idea.
3. Design thinking: the method of creating a human needs-oriented product or service.
4. Lean canvas: a 9-part template for developing new or existing business models.
5. Finances: understanding finances in entrepreneurship, income and expenditure, income and profit, as well as financial management.
6. Legal framework and regulation: legal aspects of social entrepreneurship in Belarus, its organizational and legal forms, documents and taxes.
7. Marketing, PR and branding: basics of marketing, PR and branding.
8. Funding and investment: funding opportunities for start-ups in Belarus.
9. Project management: project management methods using limited resources.
10. Strategic planning and development: basics of strategic planning and development.
11. Pitch: short talk about the concept of the product, project or service, which is used during presentations or meeting with potential investors.
Who can apply?
Young people at the age of 15 to 18 from all over Belarus who study in schools, gymnasiums, secondary vocational and higher educational institutions, or those who graduated from educational institutions. The training program is open to participants who already have ideas for a social business or a social / environmental problem that they want to solve. The training is also open for those who do not yet have an idea or problem but are willing to develop their entrepreneurial skills and contribute to the development of the ideas of other participants.
Teenagers can either apply individually or with their team if they have one (from 3 to 5 people). Please note that all the team members must also fill in the application.
The selection process will have two stages:
1) selection of participants based on applications;
2) Skype interviews with teenagers selected during the first stage, resulting in final selection of project participants.
Financial conditions
There is no participation fee. The organizers will cover travel expenses to the training venue (long-distance public transport: bus, train, city shuttle), accommodation (all participants will stay in one place during the trainings), meals and coffee breaks.
Results of the summer school: participants are expected to present fully developed ideas of social enterprises (start-ups), which they will be able to submit to “Social Weekend”, the contest of projects, and / or organize a crowd-funding campaign to raise funds to realize their ideas.
In order to take part in the course, fill out the application form no later than 18:00 on June 06, 2017. Selection of applicants for the Skype interviews: June 09, 2017. Skype interviews: June 10-13, 2017. Final selection of project participants: 16 June 2017.
Please send your additional questions to sei@odb-office.eu marked "My First Business".
The first summer school on social entrepreneurship for teenagers was held by New Faces and ODB Brussels in August 2016. You can learn more about it here:
1. SEI Youth. My First Business: Where Dreams Turn Into Real Business Plans;
2. First graduates of SEI Youth Programme Launch Kalяzorki Youth Street Brand;
3. Inclusive Theatre for Actors in Wheelchairs Created in Minsk by SEI Youth Graduate;
4. At Home Accessibility: First Radio Controlled Furniture in Belarus;
5. Young Entrepreneurs of "SEI Youth. My First Business" Together Again;
6. Business Ideas of Young Entrepreneurs: Achievements and Correcting Mistakes;
7. New Knowledge for Young Entrepreneurs.
Here is the feedback from some of the participants of the first social entrepreneurship summer school "SEI Youth: My First Business".
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Graduates of “SEI Youth: My First Business” 2016 |
Kseniya Kireeva: “I was expecting a lot when I applied. I was sure that I was going to learn new interesting things. I prepared for a serious course of study, not willing to get distracted and take as much as I possibly can from the classes. However, (as I have said millions of times) what I received exceeded all my expectations. It was probably my first meeting with informal education as such. And it was very powerful. I remember discussing when we were leaving: if we were the first generation, then what was it going to be like for the next ones?! And we envied them. We have already visited many places since then and learned a lot, but we still envy them”.
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Kseniya Kireeva |
Aleksandra Ilyina: “Remembering August, I can say with certainty that the training changed me, many things influenced me, helped me discover new sides of myself and new areas of interest. I was just browsing through the web as usual when I suddenly saw the announcement for this training. I applied and got through. First, I was nervous: it was a completely new sphere for me, new people, new thoughts, everything that took me out of my comfort zone. When I came to the training, however, I found myself at ease very quickly, and all my worries took a back seat. I immediately liked my fellow participants, the environment and the elusive warm atmosphere. When the lectures began, I thought that I would try to learn as much as possible for myself, not to fall asleep, not to be distracted. However, from the very first minutes I saw an absolutely different approach to learning and presenting information, and – BOOM! - one more stereotype was destroyed. Throughout the day I was interested in the activities, alternating practice and theory, games and recreation. Everything was incredibly cool, and in our reflection group we took more than an hour to share our impressions. I also accepted many things in myself during the training, I found out my strengths and weaknesses, I broke through the age restrictions that were holding me back in many ways. We worked in teams, got to know each other, and shared information. Thanks to all this, thanks to the work of Olga, organizers, volunteers, other participants and lecturers, we seem to have opened the door to something unique that we can use to develop ourselves, translate our ideas into reality and achieve our goals”.
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Aleksandra Ilyina (in the centre) |
Diana Nalivaiko: “If participants have ideas and are willing to implement them, this school will give them not just the hope and motivation to do this but also the skills and acquaintances necessary to implement the goals. It was so in my case, and I am grateful to the organizers for this.”
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Diana Nalivaiko (on the left) |
Aleksandr Kudryavtsev: “SEI Youth is a space that is difficult to put into words. In addition to receiving some really important materials on social entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship in general, you acquire new personal skills that will surely help you in your later life.
SEI Youth is the education you will never get at school. But, aside from educating you, SEI Youth is a family of sorts. In one go, you get a huge number of friends who are either on your team or are always there to help you. SEI Youth gives you almost everything to make your project a success. The rest is up to you.”
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Aleksandr Kudryavtsev (on the left) |
Summer school for teenagers "SEI Youth: My First Business" is a part of the EU-funded "Social Entrepreneurship Incubator" programme.
