The programme opened on Monday morning with a thematic city walk led by Martin from Wiener Nimmerland, who did an excellent job guiding the tour in English. Martin, who experienced homelessness at the age of 15, brought perspectives that resonate with the realities faced by some of the young people the COOPOWER pilot projects aim to support.
In the afternoon, six initiatives (Berufsinformationszentrum BIZ, buntaž, HobbyLobby, Jugendinitiative Triestingtal, m.o.v.e on Jugendcoaching and Sindbad) shared insights into their work supporting vulnerable children and young people or advising them during the school-to-training transition. Their presentations sparked an in-depth exchange on challenges, needs and impact-oriented approaches to support.
Tuesday and Wednesday morning were dedicated to the co-creation of the pilot projects to be implemented in the Danube region countries Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine. Supported by the project organisations not running their own pilots, and joined by a representative of the Austrian associated partner Jugendinitiative Triestingtal, the national teams (composed of the responsible project partner in each pilot country, in some cases together with their associated partners or the organisation that will implement the pilot in their region) worked in interactive sessions on key elements of the pilot design, including the identification of relevant stakeholder groups, appropriate engagement strategies, potential barriers and suitable mitigation approaches.
Tuesday was fully dedicated to the co-creation of the pilot projects planned for implementation in the Danube region countries Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Ukraine and Serbia. Supported by the project partners not running their own pilots, the national teams worked in interactive sessions on key elements of the pilot design, including the identification of relevant stakeholder groups, appropriate engagement strategies, potential barriers and corresponding mitigation approaches.
On Wednesday, an administrative project meeting followed, during which the current progress was presented and the next steps within the consortium were jointly planned. The three days concluded with a dense and productive exchange, providing strong impetus for the further development of the project.
