CoopStarter 2.0 final event

Cooperatives Europe, together with the partners of the Coopstarter 2.0 Erasmus+ project, held the final event of the project on August 20th, titled “Supporting the emergence of a EU-wide dynamic for youth entrepreneurship.” The event was held online in two sessions due to current travel restrictions.

The morning session featured a review of the three years of project activities including testimonials by mentors and partners on the actions targeted to their local contexts, and a presentation of all the intellectual outputs produced. Publications and tools developed are available on starter.coop. 

The project planning included multiplier events to be held between February and May 2020, where young ambassadors in 5 partner countries (Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy) were to initiate new cooperative start-ups within their communities with the help of CoopStarter mentors. The final report was originally designed to capitalise on the experience and outcomes of those local multiplier events.  Due to the unprecedented COVID19 situation, the events had been either cancelled or turned into digital workshops, with the final report and its recommendations reflecting the current climate to the stakeholders.

The final report and policy recommendations on youth cooperative entrepreneurship were presented during the afternoon session and included an analysis of the context for entrepreneurship and self-employment for youth in Europe as well as a more in-depth analysis of the situation in the participating countries identifying national specificities that should be addressed. The recommendations of the report build upon the results of an online survey assessing the perceived obstacles to cooperative entrepreneurship among young people as well as the collaboration between youth organisations and cooperatives.  Such recommendations are targeted at cooperatives, youth organisations, and higher education institutions addressing topics like the lack of information (availability of education and training courses, promotion of case studies and success stories, clear communication of legal and financial requirements), and visibility of existing collaborations between youth organisations and cooperatives as well as universities and other higher education institutions.

The event ended with a Q&A and all partners agreed to organise a follow up meeting in the coming months to go forward with new initiatives based on the experience of the two CoopStarter projects and the recommendations included in the final report.