We are honored and proud that on 11.12. 2019 at the conference called “Empower – No Recognize” organized by the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport and Iuventa – Slovak Youth Institute our project PlaNET SOEN 2 was presented and awarded by the 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, Ivan Hromada, in the category “Project of intersectoral cooperation with the application of non-formal education approaches in 2019”.
The PlaNET SOEN project from the Agency for the Development of Gemer Region is implemented in the Banska Bystrica region, Slovakia in cooperation with dozens of secondary schools, entrepreneurs, employment offices and municipalities and has been implemented thanks to the Erasmus and AEIF programme since 2016.
We have now refined the project by upgrading the school systems with school participatory budgets and educating young people sustainably – so that they can pass on their knowledge to their peers as sustainably as possible to the “brains in the region”. Today, this project has taken on larger dimensions and is being implemented in 4 EU countries. We are pushing our know-how beyond the borders not only of our region but also of the country.
Each 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 so-called “brain drain” from the Banská Bystrica region and contribute to capacity building and key competences in the field of preparation for the labour market through various tools. These tools are e.g. school participatory budgeting, mentoring and internships in regional enterprises as well as capacity building in the region through international and local trainings to promote project ideas, entrepreneurship and creating/maintaining opportunities in their region.
