CENN hosts the first EU-supported regional Green Camp in Georgia

On 10 December, the closing ceremony of the Regional Green Camp, organised by CENN within the EU-funded regional project ‘EU4Youth: Social Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Development (SEED) for Green Growth’, was held at the Bulachauri Green Center.

The ceremony was opened by Alexandre Darras, Attaché, Team Leader – Connectivity, Energy, Environment & Climate Change from the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia and Nana Janashia, CENN’s Executive Director, who awarded the participants with gifts and certificates of participation.

“It’s wonderful for me to be here, to visit the green camp, and meet this dynamic young person with plenty of ideas. This is exactly what the European Union intends to promote. These young people have ideas on how to build a green and digital transition and that’s why we are happy to gather them together from Armenia and Georgia to support cooperation in order to move things forward and build a better world for all of us,” said Alexandre Darras during his welcome speech.

A total of 30 young people participated in the camp, which aimed to strengthen cooperation between young people living in Georgia and Armenia, to raise their awareness around climate change, environmental challenges, and circular solutions, and to share knowledge about social entrepreneurship, which in the long term will contribute to inclusive and green growth in the South Caucasus Region.

During the Green Camp, participants were trained in entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, environmental issues, sustainable development topics, the circular economy, and green growth. Furthermore, they visited social enterprises operating in Tbilisi and Gori Municipality, went to the Gori Innovation Knowledge Hub, and became acquainted with the initiatives that have been implemented by the Hub since 2021.

As a result of the Green Camp, the participants worked on social business ideas with their mentors and pitched them to the jury. The objective was to strengthen the connection between Armenian and Georgian youth and motivate them to become social or green entrepreneurs and contribute to the social and economic growth of the South Caucasus Region.

The EU-funded regional project ‘EU4Youth: Social Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Development (SEED) for Green Growth’ is implemented by CENN in partnership with KRDF in Georgia and the Green Lane NGO in Armenia. The project empowers disadvantaged youth in Georgia and Armenia to successfully transition from education to work through developing their social entrepreneurship and green innovation skills.