Collaborative and sharing workspaces: policies for youth in EEA peripheral regions

Cowork4YOUTH is an Analysis and Research project aiming to increase knowledge on the impact of existing policies and offer policy suggestions to enhance youth employment opportunities in less developed EEA regions. 

The project adopts a transnational/ regional perspective by focusing on a binary of non-metropolitan regions across all study countries, especially Greece, Italy, Spain, and Ireland: tourism-dependent, island or remote coastal regions, on the one hand, and regions facing energy transition, decarbonization or intense industrial decline on the other.

This binary suffers from relatively high NEET rates and its comparative study will allow for deeper understanding of the impact of employment policies on youth and for designing more effective policies through socially oriented platform economy and collaborative work practices. The latter are seen as a way of providing alternative means of access to a living wage.

Cowork4YOUTH will deliver 14 outputs, including a Research Network, an Observatory, papers, and policy suggestions. Through an integrated multi scalar methodology, these outputs will help accomplish 5 outcomes. The direct target groups are the, usually ignored, NEETs aged 25-29; particular emphasis is put on young mothers and the long-term unemployed.

The project explores the employment prospects for these end beneficiaries through collaborative practices, co-working spaces as ‘learning middlegrounds’ and other alternatives. 

The project’s transnational added value is the combined effect of its:

• Multi-scalar approach

• Transnational Research Network & Observatory

• Partners’ common effort towards formulating adequate policy suggestions

For this purpose, the partnership is composed of a Lead, 5 Beneficiary and 2 Expertise partners, organized in adequate research and operational subgroups and spread across the countries under focus.