<< Background >>Green entrepreneurship can represent a great potential to mobilize youth to engage in efforts to achieve major social objectives, including employment creation, poverty reduction, inclusion and integration. Dedicated to serving the common good, green enterprises established by young people can directly contribute to the achievement of a number of Sustainable Development Goals. Green entrepreneurship is the activity of consciously addressing environmental and social problems and needs, and coming up with new, innovative entrepreneurial ideas that will bring a solution to them. Youth unemployment represents a relevant social problem, which is expected to be enhanced as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic. As youth vulnerability continues to increase as a result of the crisis, young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, particularly Roma, are in even worse position. Even before the pandemic, there were large discrepancies between young Roma and their non-Roma peers with regards to unemployment rate, with Roma in some European countries to be five times more likely to be unemployed than non-Roma. Most importantly, the highest differences between these two groups are their NEET rates and their rates of early school leavers, where Roma are around five times more likely to be NEET and almost seven times (in some European countries) more likely to leave school early (ERGO Network, Investing in our future: What work(s) for young Roma?, 2017).The proposed project is based on the assumption that disadvantaged young people can benefit greatly from support in starting their own businesses. The GEA project is seeking for common and innovative solutions to make young entrepreneurs more competitive and capable of facing economic challenges through the COVID crisis. GEA is also promoting green business which has no negative impact on the local or global environment, the community, or the economy.<< Objectives >>The GEA project is seeking for common and innovative solutions to make young entrepreneurs more competitive and capable of facing economic challenges through the COVID crisis. GEA is also promoting green business which has no negative impact on the local or global environment, the community, or the economy.The main goal of the project is to enable young Roma and non-Roma from disadvantaged communities to learn about green entrepreneurship, the latest technologies in green business and apply their knowledge in developing sustainable businesses with impact in their communities.The project will also capacitate the young people with entrepreneurial and digital tools for boosting their capacities to do business in the green sector.ObjectivesO1. To provide youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds with training and mentoring on green entrepreneurship and digital tools in order to support them develop, start and promote their own green companies.O2. To improve aspiring green entrepreneurs’ digital skillsO3. To provide good practice/methodology for youth educators who support the green business sectorO4. To raise awareness of young people across Europe on green entrepreneurship through intense dissemination activities and an online campaign.<< Implementation >>The following activities will be organized in the frame of the project:A1. Developing learning materials for aspiring entrepreneurs in green business. The learning materials will aim to support prospective green entrepreneurs in learning about the concept of green entrepreneurship, but also track receive practical guidance and advice in the realization of their entrepreneurial activity. The materials will focus on supporting the development of soft skills necessary to become green entrepreneurs such as: the key characteristics of green businesses, pitching an idea, writing of business plan, identifying funding opportunities, European and international opportunities for green entrepreneurs.A2. Creation of an online platform where aspiring entrepreneurs will reach the learning materials, test their newly acquired knowledge, share ideas and experiences with their pairs through a dedicated forum, and watch learning materials-educational video articles. All learning materials developed in the frame of the project will be disseminated through the online platform. Secondly, the platform will aim to disseminate information regarding training opportunities (organized both in the frame of the project but also training opportunities offered from other parties), as well as funding opportunities (programs, calls for proposals, etc.). Thirdly, interested visitors of the platform will be able to register their information in the frame of the digital forum featured on the platform, and engage in networking, exchange of information, experiences and problems with their colleagues and peers.A3. Piloting of the online platform. 10 young aspiring entrepreneurs will test the online platform, and provide feedback for its finalization. The testing will be done online, and the partner organizations will provide the testers with the necessary equipment and Internet access. A4. Developing of a training methodology for educators and organizations which support entrepreneurship. The methodology will contain online training modules to be implemented by experts in order to train step-by-step the young participants for the improvement of entrepreneurial skills in green business and digital tools.A6. Developing a collection of good practices for entrepreneurs and for youth educators (e.g. successful entrepreneurs in the green sector/online businesses share their stores).A7. Organization of a series of multiplier events (one in each partner country) to present PR3 and PR4 to stakeholders, business incubators, youth educator, associations which work with youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds.A8- Final Conference (in parallel with final translational meeting) will be organized to present project results and invite the best 5 young participants (one per partner country) who in the project developed the best green business ideas to share their stories.A9. Learning & Training activity: 2 youth educators per country will join a 3 day learning activity in Palermo, hosted by CESIE. Here they will learn more about green entrepreneurship to be started by youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds, and improve their skills to support and guide these youngsters to boost their motivation and start their own business and successful green businesses (the participants will go to Palermo and be trained by CESIE experts.<< Results >>The project aims to achieve the following outcomes:Outcome 1. Strengthened provision of educational opportunities on green entrepreneurship for young Roma and other disadvantaged youth. The project will support the attainment of this outcome through development of educational resources (training methodology and learning materials) which will be offered to relevant stakeholders (non-formal educational providers, business hubs, youth workers and organizations working with young Roma and other disadvantaged youth) to introduce/update learning programs in the scope of their work. Furthermore, at least ten educators/youth workers will be supported through training in implementing the training programme, thus directly contributing to the increase of provision of quality capacity-building on green entrepreneurship in the target countries. Furthermore, the project will directly support entrepreneurial learning, through distance learning opportunities on the web portal on green entrepreneurship established in the frame of the project.Outcome 2. Learning and networking among young green entrepreneurs supported.This outcome is based on the assumption that peer-to-peer learning and exchange of information can have a positive impact on the success of the entrepreneurial endeavors by the project target group. To this end, a project web portal will serve as a learning platform and space for exchange of experiences and relevant information, with the potential for development of national and transnational cooperation and partnerships. The following direct outputs (project results) will be produced:PR1. Learning materials for aspiring entrepreneurs in green business produced and disseminated.PR2. An online platform for aspiring entrepreneurs developed and functional.PR3. Training methodology for educators and organizations which support entrepreneurship developed and disseminated. PR4. Collection of good practices for entrepreneurs and for educators produced.