During an online ceremony organized on March 24, SOS Children’s Villages was awarded the European Commission’s Excellence in Youth Mentorship prize for the EU4Youth: Employability and Stability project.
“This award reflects the hard work of the entire project team, of all committed colleagues, and our partners. But most of all, we are proud of our youth. Their success is our success and their victories are our victories,” says Yevgeniya Rzayeva, regional project manager of the EU4Youth project.
The EU4Youth: Employability and Stability project helps create better prospects for employment and entrepreneurship among disadvantaged youth and increases their active participation in the labor market in Armenia, Belarus and Ukraine. Between 2018 and 2021, hundreds of young people have received access to non-formal education, innovative training and vocational courses which have allowed them to improve their core life and employability skills.
“The project gives me useful opportunities in this difficult time. The ideas from other project participants inspire me to change, to develop and quickly adapt to the new reality. The ideas you shared inspire me to move forward to the new business projects,” says Tatyana Plotnikova from Ukraine.
As part of the project, the beneficiaries were also provided job opportunities. Those who have an entrepreneurial mindset and whose business plans were the best received a mini-grant to launch their start-ups.