On 3rd June, the Social Impulse Hub hosted an interactive workshop on EU Values and Social Entrepreneurship with participants from a youth exchange organized by the fellow organization Next Level e.V. The session introduced young international participants to the concepts of social entrepreneurship, inclusion, and EU values, while encouraging them to collaboratively develop ideas addressing real social challenges faced by migrants and young people across Europe.
The workshop began with a short welcome and introduction led by Mariana Matoso, followed by presentations from Guadalupe Farah and Sharon Susan Saj introducing CGE Erfurt, the Social Impulse Hub, and the TASK4ISI project. Participants were invited to write their names on post-its and briefly introduce themselves, creating an open and collaborative atmosphere from the beginning of the session.
Mariana then introduced the concept of social entrepreneurship and its connection to EU values. Participants explored how entrepreneurial tools can be used not only to create businesses, but also to respond to social and community challenges. The discussion highlighted how TASK4ISI works with migrants, international students, women, and young people to support inclusion, participation, self-confidence, and connection to local ecosystems through entrepreneurship.
Building on this introduction, participants engaged in an activity connecting EU values to real-life barriers. Working in groups of three, they reflected on values such as inclusion, democracy, equality, sustainability, and human rights, discussing what these values look like in practice for young migrants or international people living in a new country. They also identified barriers preventing these values from becoming reality, including language difficulties, lack of networks, discrimination, limited access to opportunities, and social isolation.
The session then moved into a Social Enterprise Sprint, where groups worked with challenge cards addressing issues such as access to information, labour market integration, communication barriers, and lack of community spaces. Using a simplified social enterprise canvas, participants developed ideas focused on solving these challenges through socially impactful and sustainable solutions. The exercise encouraged participants to think about target groups, social impact, sustainability, and how their ideas could be replicated across borders within Europe.
To conclude the workshop, each group presented a short pitch introducing their social enterprise idea and explaining which EU value it supported. Participants exchanged feedback by highlighting strengths and suggesting possibilities for making the ideas more realistic or inclusive. The session ended with a closing reflection on how social entrepreneurship can contribute to inclusion and community-building, while also demonstrating one of the first steps used within TASK4ISI to help participants identify and shape socially driven entrepreneurial ideas.
The project has been co-funded under the Interreg Central Europe program of the European Union through the project “TASK4ISI” – Transnational Action to advance SKills and competences FOR Inclusive entrepreneurship and Social Innovation.