We are honored and proud that on 11.12. 2019 at the conference named “Empower – Recognize” organized by the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport and Iuvena – Slovak Youth Institute, our PlaNET SOEN 2.0 project won first place in the category “Cross-Sectoral Cooperation Project using non-formal learning approaches for 2019”. The prize was presented by Ivan Hromada, Director of the Youth Department of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic and Vice-President of the European Steering Committee for Youth at the Council of Europe.
The PlaNET SOEN project from the Gemer Development Agency has been implemented in the Banská Bystrica region in cooperation with dozens of secondary schools, entrepreneurs, labor offices and local governments and has been implemented thanks to the Erasmus and AEIF programs since 2016.
We have now refined the project by innovating school systems with school participatory budgets and educating young people sustainably – so that they can pass on their knowledge to their peers to keep “brains in the region”. Today, this project has grown in size and is being implemented in 4 EU countries including Slovenia, Poland and Portugal. We are pushing our know-how beyond the borders of our region and the state.
Every single phase of the project is based on the principles of non-formal education, based on the needs of the region and aims to prevent the “Brain drain” from the Banská Bystrica self-governing region and contribute to capacity building and key competences in the field of labor market preparation through various instruments. These tools are e.g. school participatory budgets, mentoring and internships in regional businesses as well as capacity building in the region through international and local training to promote project ideas, entrepreneurship and create / sustain opportunities in their region.
