Humanitarian cooperation

MINSK, 19 December (BelTA) – The long-term project EU4Youth: Fostering Potential for Greater Employability has been launched in Belarus to boost leadership and business skills among the youth. The project is implemented by the Belarus Red Cross in Mogilev Oblast and Gomel Oblast with the financial support from the European Union in partnership with the Danish Red Cross, government bodies and NGOs, BelTA learned from the Belarus Red Cross.

The project is aimed at improving vocational skills for employment, getting a decent job and developing business activities mainly among socially unprotected young people. For this, according to the authors of the program, it is necessary to strengthen cooperation between state and non-state actors and the private sector. "We will pay attention to children from low-income, large and single-parent families, orphanages. It may also be temporarily displaced citizens of Ukraine, victims of human trafficking and others in difficult situations. The project is flexible and involves building work on the basis of coordinating the plans of local authorities, government agencies and non-state associations. We will begin with studying the situation on the labor market in two regions and young people’s needs for training. We expect results in January-February 2019, and we will build concrete plans on their basis,” explained project coordinator Natalya Zhak-Golgovskaya.

Young people will be provided with information about the project and self-employment opportunities (including through 12 information centers that will open in Mogilev Oblast and Gomel Oblast). The project also envisages the organization of vocational training (most likely through educational courses) for at least 30 socially vulnerable young people. About 60 most motivated young people will receive support for their business initiatives through a mentoring system.

The partners of the project are Gomel and Mogilev Oblast Organizations of the Belarus Red Cross, the Labor and Social Security Ministry, the Education Ministry, the Intertior Ministry, the oblast and district executive committees of the two regions, the League of Youth Voluntary Labor, the Center for Support and Development of Youth Entrepreneurship, the Gender Perspectives.

The total budget of the project in the country is €253,800. In general, the EU4Youth program provides funding from the European Union in the amount of €20 million and supports young people in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.