Peer Review Meeting offered participating partners a deeper insight into the existing local system, different entrepreneurial techniques and social innovation support measures for youth entrepreneurship. Participants defined challenges found through the NGS project and, besides, they exchanged views, experiences and innovative measures found in different regions amongst partner countries in NGS project. They received ideas and inspiration as well as the basis for comparison and arguments for similar initiatives in their city where they would also consider incorporating in their Local Action Plan.

The Maribor Peer Review Meeting took place in Tkalka, Cooperative for the Development of Social and Technological Innovations before the 2nd New Generation Skills Transnational meeting Maribor (24th-26th January 2018). Municipality of Maribor and PRIZMA Foundation were the hosting NGS project partners while participating project partners were Nowa, Akzente and City of Graz from Austria, Sofia Development Association and Sofia Municipality from Bulgaria, North-West Regional Development Agency from Romania.

Hosting partners presented the basic idea of Maribor Local Action Plan that was prepared in accordance with the local-level comparative case study of Maribor and Podravje region, Strategic program promoting the innovative potential of young people in Maribor and the Podravje region, Youth Innovation Agenda and the Local Innovation Advisory Group discussions. The presentation based on SWOT analysis and activities with measures. In the debate that followed the presentation certain concerns were expressed regarding sustainability like place of Innovation Lab and focus on fields where the network is already set up and planning measures to bundle resources – “One-stop-shop”.

Local cases & EU best practices were presented to participating partners together with some site visits and workshops:

• Tkalka/Weaver that is a „BOTTOM-UP” project and a creative – entrepreneurial – cooperation and co-working centre in the city of Maribor with activities as: financing (fund raising), managing co-working facilities, research and development of social & tech innovation, education & training & counselling/ mentoring/ coaching, promotion and advocacy. It also offers community spaces. Currently, in Tkalka there are 20 organisations/businesses and 50 individuals.

• KREATOR LAB of Institute Citylab Maribor, is located in the Weaver and it is the first and the biggest Slovenian fabrication laboratory (FabLab) and co-founder of other FabLabs in Slovenia. FabLab is an open, non-commercial space for community and creativity, where individuals can use technologies that are also used in industrial production. The intention of the Kreator:Lab is to offer the general public access to modern forms of creation. It is designed as a platform for education, intergenerational integration, creation, support for creative creators and start-ups.

• Foundation SONDA, Foundation for Theory and Practice of Audio-Visual Arts, is located in the city centre with the premises in the size of 1000 square meters called GT22. The former warehouse-factory and the former nightclub were converted into an artistic community and education laboratory. Various organizations are established with different activities which are carried out in these premises.

• Project Model M aims to empower young people through training, networking, counselling and active participation in society to create their own Success Models. Through the program, through the practical advice of various professionals and entrepreneurs, and based on the evaluation of their own cultural potentials (knowledge, education, skills), social potentials (social environment, social class, social status) and psychosocial potentials (personality traits and orientations), they will create their own career plan (individual business or employment plan).

• My Generation at Work was a project about where cities, with their partners, promoted the employability and employment of young people in a changing labour market, with special focus on enterprising skills and attitudes. Through URBACT project within the European Cultural Capital 2012 offered an opportunity to young people to gain practical knowledge, to show their skills and improve them.

Karina Šenveter

Municipality of Maribor