Business with a Mission: Learning Social Entrepreneurship Through Youth Exchange in Lithuania
In November we participated in the Youth Exchange “Business with a Mission” at the village of Luoba in Lithuania. The project brought together 41 participants from six countries: Bulgaria, Greece, Czechia, Turkey, Lithuania and Romania. The main theme of the exchange was social entrepreneurship, and through the activities we learned many interesting things about this field. We also had the chance to discover new cultures through the cultural nights that took place every evening.
In the first few days, we focused on getting to know each other. After arriving at the venue in groups -some coming from Riga and others from Vilnius- we played various ice-breaker games so as to learn each other’s names, such as lining up in alphabetical order. We also set some ground rules to ensure smooth cooperation during the following days. Some of these rules were: being on time at the activities and keeping the shared spaces clean. Finally, in order to make sure that these rules would be followed, we split into seven sub-groups. Each group was responsible for something different each day, such as checking whether the space was clean enough or preparing an energizer activity.
The next days were dedicated to social entrepreneurship. We were introduced to the concept through presentations, videos, and several practical activities. After this introduction we were divided into business teams based on a personality test. The goal of each team was to create a social enterprise from scratch. With the support of the organizers, every team developed its business idea. All the ideas were very inspiring—for example, one team proposed a café employing people with disabilities. Afterwards, each team prepared a promotional video and a business-plan PowerPoint. Finally, the presentations were shown to a small committee of two experienced young professionals, who gave feedback to each team, highlighting both the strengths and weaknesses of the business plans, and awarded the team with the best idea.
Another important aspect of the project was learning more about the participating countries. Each evening, a different national team prepared a traditional dinner. It was a unique experience because cooking for 42 people was something none of us had ever done before. After dinner, the teams presented a PowerPoint with interesting facts about their country and offered local snacks. Last but not least, we learned the traditional dances of each country, which was sometimes quite challenging but always very fun.
All in all, what truly stood out from this experience were the connections we built and the knowledge we gained. Beyond the activities and workshops, the exchange gave us the chance to collaborate with people from different backgrounds and broaden our horizons. These are the elements that will stay with us long after the project has finished.
