Romanian team Career Bus wins EU prize for social entrepreneurship

Career Bus, a team of Romanian social entrepreneurs, won from won the European Social Innovation Competition (EUSIC), launched by the European Commission with the support of Ashoka. The Romanian team will share a EUR 50,000 prize to develop its ideas for social entrepreneurship.

Career Bus proposes a network of professional guidance for young people in urban and rural areas that are affected by unemployment and demographic decline.

In order to correct this situation, the initiators plan to equip an interactive bus that combines innovative technologies and direct communication.

The team will travel in remote areas and provide young people with the professional skills needed to boost their employability.

The concept was developed by Armina Sirbu, founder of the Icebreaker career guidance community, and Dragoş Belduganu, Head of Social Engagement at Scoala de Valori.

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”I felt our project deserved to win. It helped us that there were other Romanians in the room who seemed to understand the best what Career Bus could mean for the villages. Career guidance is something I missed when I was a kid growing up in a small town. Our adventure is just starting out and we will need to work with other organizations and institutions to have a scaled impact. EUSIC is a breath of fresh air brought to Romania, where social innovation is a new subject, ”says Armina Sirbu.

Three European social entrepreneurs will share the prize, including HeritageLab (Slovenia) and Ulisse (Italy).

EUSIC had 729 signed projects, of which 30 were selected for the semifinals. After a series of specific training activities in the field of business development and participation in the social innovation mentoring academy held in Cluj-Napoca, ten finalists were selected, out of which 3 were declared winners.

The Competition is organised by the European Commission with support from Nesta, Kennisland, the European Network of Living Labs, Ashoka and Scholz & Friends.