HorizonCraft - Sailing towards Mediterranean expertise building

HorizonCraft – Sailing towards Mediterranean expertise building, the international project carried out as part of the Interreg NEXT MED Programme, is entering its operational phase. HorizonCraft, which will last 24 months, aims to help young people enter the world of work through courses designed to strengthen employability and competitiveness. All this is part of a transnational collaboration between organisations in the Mediterranean area.

The project activities will be carried out in Italy, Lebanon and Egypt, mainly in the areas of southern Sardinia (Cagliari), Beirut and Alexandria, with a total budget of €1,103,275.00, 89% of which is co-financed by the European Union.

The project involves the creation of training modules and capacity-building workshops for young people and company tutors, with a specific focus on transferable skills and skills for the green and digital transition. This will lead to the training of at least 105 young people (30 in Lebanon, 30 in Egypt and 45 in Italy), whose learning will be validated by a specific certification. Sixty young people will then be selected for cross-border internships. The others will benefit from assistance and mentoring services and will take part in international youth mobility initiatives within the framework of European programmes in the sector.

To facilitate the matching of aspiring interns and companies, the “Euromed Internships Matching Platform” will also be developed, which will also serve to store data and documentation on courses already completed, providing inspiration for those currently underway or not yet started. The internships will be accompanied by ongoing mentoring, assistance and intercultural mediation, in accordance with the relevant local regulations.

A further strategic component concerns sustainability and the use of results. The dedicated Work Package involves impact analysis, the definition of a valorisation strategy and the development of policy recommendations with a focus on social inclusion and skills acquisition, which will be discussed directly with local and regional decision-makers and policy makers to encourage the adoption of the evidence emerging from the trials.

Based on the results of the project, a collection of recommendations and guidelines on youth employability and combating the marginalisation of the younger generation will also be developed and shared with policy makers, stakeholders and institutional representatives as a contribution to the definition of guidelines and the design of interventions in the sector.

The project consortium is composed of the lead partner, Associazione TDM 2000 (Italy), and partner organisations Mediterranean Initiatives for Development and Leadership (MIDAL) (Lebanon), Have a Dream NGO (Egypt), Confederation of Egyptian European Business Associations (EU-Egyptian Chamber of Commerce) (Egypt), Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Beirut and Mount Lebanon (Lebanon), Confartigianato Imprese Sud Sardegna (Italy).

The composition of the partnership stems from the intention to promote, on the one hand, cross-border collaboration and, on the other, cross-sectoral planning between entities operating in different capacities in the economy and training.

Contact: Mr Dory Abou Saab it@ccib.org.lb

Project web site: https://www.interregnextmed.eu/project-page/horizoncraft/about/

The contents of this press release are the sole responsibility of Chamber of Commerce , Industry and Agriculure of Beirut and Mount Lebanon and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union or the Programme management structures.