CENN, with the support of the European Union and in partnership with the Green Lane NGO (Armenia) and KRDF (Georgia) held a closing conference and expo of the EU-funded “EU4Youth – “Social Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Development (SEED) for Green Growth” project.
Colombe De Mercey, Team Leader for Governance and Human Capital, at the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia, delivered a welcome speech and opened the event.
“I am very happy to be with you today and to see the results that this project has successfully achieved despite many challenges in the region. On the one hand, it is a very sad day because this important project is coming to an end. However, on the other hand, I think that this is only the beginning of the changes that have been laid in the framework of this project. It is important that you young people continue to work in your countries, communities and families for a greener, more sustainable and democratic future,” said Colombe de Mercey.
After the EUD Georgia, Nana Janashia, Executive Director of CENN, Nune Sarukhanyan, President of the Green Lane NGO from Armenia and Tamar Bekauri, Executive Director of KRDF, provided their welcoming remarks.
“CENN has been committed to youth empowerment from the first day of its establishment. We believe that active youth is the key pillar to democracy. Our projects therefore echo youth support mechanisms, youth integration and participation in delivering green and democratic values. The SEED project was actively working with the rural, vulnerable youth from the Gori, Akhmeta and Ninotsminda municipalities in Georgia and Lori, Tavush and Shirak regions in Armenia,” said Nana Janashia.
The conference was finalised with the exposition of 18 social and green entrepreneurs from Georgia and Armenia. Guests had the unique opportunity to get acquainted with beneficiary entrepreneurs, their products and services in the exhibition space.
Multi-Stakeholder Platform members from Georgia and Armenia, youth organizations, leaders and other stakeholders attended the conference to hear the project results achieved over the last three years in Georgia and Armenia. The presentation conducted by Mariam Khergiani, project manager, covered the achievements and challenges in terms of green education, SE legal framework, entrepreneurship and youth work. Guests also learned about the services created in the regions and products offered by the project beneficiary social and green enterprises from both countries, operating in the areas of sustainable waste management, ecotourism, agriculture, eco-production, health care, etc.
To learn more about the funded projects in Georgia and Armenia, please see the project final catalogue at the following link: https://cutt.ly/v42Ja9j
For more details, please contact:
Ana Petriashvili, Team Leader for Communications, CENN
E-mail: ana.petriashvili@cenn.org
Background information about the EU-funded project
The aim of the EU-funded ‘Social Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Development (SEED) programme for Green Growth in Borderline Communities’ was to create a favourable ecosystem for the development of social and green entrepreneurship in Georgia and Armenia.
The main goal of the project was to discover the entrepreneurial potential of young people in vulnerable municipalities in the borderline regions of the South Caucasus and to promote skill development amongst young people. SEED envisaged the discovery of green entrepreneurial ideas, the promotion of their development and the support of practical implementation. The main components of the project were the empowerment of vulnerable groups, increasing the employment of young people, and tackling environmental challenges through green entrepreneurship.
The project was implemented from 2019-2023 by CENN, Green Lane NGO and KRDF and covered Gori, Ninotsminda and Akhmeta municipalities in Georgia, and the Shirak, Lori and Tavush regions in Armenia.