YIE Concluding Seminar or “The Great End for a New Beginning”

Being as one of the major point in ENPI Kolarctic programme, Young Innovative Entrepreneurs (YIE) project has been making an enormous impact on social development and on the economic situation for the whole Barents region. More attentively, YIE has paid attention to specific developing aspects in High North, such as entrepreneurship and employment level in local economic region, by bringing new ideas into the business sphere and establishing an active cooperation between young innovative entrepreneurs and already existing seasoned entrepreneurs around the Barents region.

Project’s final event included a business workshop on 30^th October and a concluding seminar on 31^st October. Through the business workshop, our young entrepreneurs in the Barents Regions had a chance to introduce their products and services directly to people in Rovaniemi by having individual promotion stands. An inspiring mini workshop was also held by Victoria Timofeeva from ARTishock, where participants can create beautiful paper flowers themselves. The aim of the seminar on the next day was to share our achievements and results and to strengthen cross-border entrepreneurship network in the Barents Region.

Main Part of the Seminar

           

Opening words were given by Leena Alalääkkölä, director of Culture and Business in Lapland UAS. She had an aim to adjust young and creative generation for future entrepreneurship relations and tell them that there is nothing to be afraid of.

Other speakers included for example Risto Mäkikyrö from Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment for Lapland – regional support for innovating businesses – TEKES, and Tiina Hoskari, graphic facilitator from Kuvitellen Ltd.

Project manager Eila Seppänen from Lapland UAS explained that the main target of the YIE project was to establish a safe, innovative and entrepreneurial learning environment to everyone. Seppänen gave thanks to InnoBarentsLab (IBL), the organization who was the main organizer of the Concluding Seminar. She pointed out that IBL is an useful and efficient tool for progressing skills and entrepreneurial training.

Group discussions

           

YIE team members shared their own acquired knowledge while working together during the project. As a summary of all received experiences, YIE guests were pleased to share with us some inspirational videos. One of them came from Norway, from Heidi Andreassen. While watching movies, seminar’s participants recognized that each individual has its own mindset to see him/herself in the various stages of life and thanks to YIE there was the chance to participate and experience, in order to achieve new business contacts.

Through the active discussion it was clearly understandable that members of this project, no matter where they came from – Sweden or Finland, Norway or Russia –will try to reach that next level of entrepreneurship.

The concluding words by project coordinators Anzelika Krastina and Saila Puukko were that a great job was done, but there is no reason to stay on the now reached level. This is not the final destination for us, who joined from the beginning of the project.

Even when YIE comes to its end and closes the door behind, in the same time it opens a window for InnoBarentsLab to start the next generation.

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Stay tuned and see what happens after the YIE project: InnoBarentsLab