GreenTrain: Promoting youth green entrepreneurship for EU green transition

Today, many European countries are suffering from the consequences of the economic crisis on youth employment rates. A common challenge for the EU is the demographic challenge in rural areas that are gradually losing their young population and are being depopulated. By realising this formative mobility youth workers were encouraged in a multicultural environment, enhancing the territorial resources of their own places of origin, which will have a potential positive impact in those places. In this way, from non-formal education, youth workers achieved creative tools that they can implement in their day-to-day work. Also participants were developing new green companies for rural youth and improving their participation in social (youth associations, taking part in forums, youth entrepreneurial skills, etc.). 

The project Green Train involved 24 youth workers from 6 different European countries (Spain, Portugal, Bulgaria, Latvia, the Netherlands and Romania) that were interested in the topic of green entrepreneurship, rural areas and that had a good level of knowledge of the English language in order to be able to discuss on these topics. Thanks to the non-formal methodology and, above all, to the opportunity that ERASMUS + represents for the participants international, during the training they interacted with other youth workers like them, from other countries, who shared their interests in active youth policies, rural development, green transition, etc. 

This experience improved participants’ tolerance towards other countries, multiculturalism and also other values to share with youth: leadership, entrepreneurial spirit, teamwork or innovative character when looking for new ideas and projects. In summary, GreenTrain provided important youth workers social skills and methods of working with young people beyond the themes properly cited in the project. The main headquarters of the training course for workers in the field of youth was taking place in the municipality of Tarbena (Valencian Community – Spain). Tarbena City Council made its municipal facilities available to the course. The provided its facilities for the lodging of the participants and provided the necessary spaces for the activities. Also activities that were related to the promotion of entrepreneurship and the green economy were taken by experts in the field, in order to make participants have activities done well and professionally. 

The working methodologies selected for this course were based on non-formal education, experiential education -based on experiences, personal- and the “learning by doing” methodology. 

During the project we had following activities: 

1 – Ice breaking games for socializing: These activities were designed to create a good atmosphere among the participants, since they did not know each other before, so these games helped them improve their social skills. 

2 – Intercultural nights: This activity’s main objective was to share and disseminate traditions and good values of the different territories of Europe that participate in the exchange. During each evening, each volunteer showed their colleagues the traditions of their countries such as gastronomy, language, curiosities, music, dances, clothing and rural realities related to the theme of