This is our most professionalizing EVS work placement at the end of which the EVS volunteer will be equipped with life and work skills easily recyclable on the work market.

Context:

Youth entrepreneurial skills (i.e= the way young people start up their own private business) is acknowledged as a substantial contribution to the economic development and growth of any country.

The rate of young people who are self-employed or employers is low in Moldova and Transnistrian region of Moldova. Even if they have a wish to start their own business, they presume that they do not own enough relevant information and even more often they think that they lack of good, original idea for being successful in business. The youth of Moldova has no idea how they can change and positively influence his/her present and future while at the same time contributing to the common welfare of society. They think that they do not have interesting and attractive business idea what kind of business it should be and what would make it successful or him/her as a successful businessmen.

The main aim of the program is to stimulate the entrepreneurship of youth from Moldova and the Transnistrian region of Moldova through stimulation of their creativity and activity in society life. “Entrepreneurship” is understood as attitude, skills and knowledge of young person allowing recognizing opportunities to create added value (social as well as economical) and actions targeted to use these opportunities in this project.

The target group of this programme are youth non-governmental organizations and their members in Moldova and Transnistria.

Objectives: 

How does ICCD plan to do this? By adapting and applying a special methodology developed at the European level to stimulate youth entrepreneurship and creativity.

This methodology implies giving attention to the education of entrepreneurial skills of young person in Moldova, developing a network of organizations dealing with the issues of fostering youth entrepreneurship in Moldova, developing the active and balanced personality of young people with mentoring, guidance, more information on what entrepreneurship is in broader sense, and how one can benefit from it for the start.

Role and tasks of the volunteer:

• The volunteer will participate in a national/regional survey to assess how youth entrepreneurship and creativity are encouraged by the government and by NGOs (it includes: study tour in the regions, visits of projects, of NGO, literature review and interviews, drafting report). Technical assistance and support will be adequately provided to the volunteer in all aspects of the survey.

• The volunteer will help ICCD staff to organize on-site trainings for civil society members on how to adapt the methodology for fostering youth entrepreneurship and creativity to the specific Moldovan needs.

• The volunteer will help ICCD staff to organize internet consultations or virtual “meetings on the same subjects to develop new learning methodologies.

• The volunteer will help disseminate the final methodology with participating in the drafting of publications, articles, conferences, and updating websites.

• In more general activities, the volunteer will use his/her experience, background culture and creativity to help change youth opinion towards entrepreneurship, their opinion about being (or not being) active member of society, what the most impacts and changes their lives will be done.

On top of that, ICCD needs support from the EVS volunteer on other ongoing initiatives, like the set-up of the National European Volunteer Center of Moldova.

Expected results

• The volunteer will broaden its knowledge, work experience and understanding of entrepreneurship and its realities of the ground

• Will have a better understanding of living realities of the youth in Moldova and Transnistria, especially in rural areas

• Will develop his/her organizing, planning, managing skills while helping to organize conferences and trainings

• Will gain project management skills by being associated to ever stages of the program realization

• Will develop his/her research skills (sociological quantitative and qualitative research) and drafting skills by helping with the national survey and subsequent publication

• Will develop his/her interpersonal skills while interacting with a wide range of actors from all backgrounds: government, NGO, youth organizations

• Will develop his/her computer skills by using all the available computer tools to spread information about the program

Location:

“Fostering Youth Entrepreneurship in Moldova” will be implemented in Moldova in the following sites: Tiraspol, Dubosary, Causeni, Rezina.

Practical arrangement:

Accommodation

During the first 2 weeks, all volunteers are to be accommodated in a recreation center in 2 rooms LaPopas (Dubossary region) with TV set and own bathroom.

After two weeks, all volunteers will be distributed in pairs to the 4 different communities. The volunteers will live either with host families or share a living location together. The living location will meet decent living standards (private room, free access to kitchen and bathroom, current cold water with the possibility of providing hot water at least one hour/day, functioning heating system, clean and secure location). ICCD in cooperation with each hosting community will make all efforts to find the

best accommodation location for the volunteers. All accommodation and utility costs (water, gas, electricity) will be covered by ICCD.
Food

Buying and preparing the food is to be the sole responsibility of the volunteers. For preparing the food the volunteers will have free access to an equipped kitchen.

In the case of volunteers staying in host families a solution will be to serve meals with the family. The hosting organization will provide each volunteer with a monthly food allowance from which they shall cover the alimentation costs. The allowance is enough for insuring a very good living standard (being much higher than the amount and average citizen from the region spends for food). However the allowance will not be enough for ensuring every day eating in a restaurant or bistro or leading a luxurious life. 

Transport

The local transportation costs of the volunteers necessary for the activities implementation will be covered 100% by the association from the project budget.

The international transport of the volunteer from his/her home to the site of the project shall be covered 100% ‐ two ways (Economy flight tickets and/or 2nd class train tickets).

Other personal transport of the volunteers (local, national or international) will be not in the responsibility of the association. 

Language training

Due to the importance of communication with the people from the hosting communities (most of them cannot speak any foreign languages) will be of crucial importance for the volunteers to learn the Russian or Romanian language at a good speaking level. 

The volunteers will have the responsibility to attend all language courses according to the schedule as well as to make every effort in studying and learning the language.

The Russian/Romanian language lessons shall be provided by experienced language tutor. The content and structure of the language courses will be projected together with the volunteers, taking into consideration their learning abilities and needs. The language courses will be provided free of charge for the first two weeks on a daily basis and for 2 hours/week in their own community for the entire duration  of the EVS project; in the hosting communities private tuition language classes are delivered by a local school teacher to each team of volunteers. 

Pocket money:

Each volunteer is entitled to receive a 80 Euro monthly allowance – pocket money, which they can spent as they want.

Recruitment

None but as the project focuses on entrepreneurship, social change and life skills, we expect the volunteers to have some interests in these domains and that they are willing to contribute to the projects. Motivation and involvement are required!!!