DO IT

DO IT contributes to youth employment and to create new jobs in the social economy by nurturing in young pupils seeds for active social innovation: entrepreneurial mind-sets, knowhow and skills. The project empowers primary and secondary school pupils (6-16 years) alongside educators to apply open innovation methods, digital maker tools and collaboration skills to tackle societal problems.

It will develop DO IT toolboxes for children as well facilitators, which provide complementary knowhow and support. They are designed for experiencing being a social innovator in mobile and fixed child-friendly makerspaces and are easily accessible at the interactive DO IT webplatform. DO IT novel resources cover inspirational experimentation, design, prototyping and basic business modelling knowhow needed for sustainable product and service innovation.

The DO IT children’s social innovation and entrepreneurship program is piloted and evaluated across 10 European countries, in schools, innovation labs, maker spaces and social enterprises. It offers intergenerational workshops and training events targeted at different learner needs and learning settings. DO IT’s online idea competition, open to all children in Europe, will inspire them to pursue an entrepreneurial career path.

The project consortium comprises experienced actors across the social innovation value chain with links to related European initiatives fostering young entrepreneurship education. DO IT relates to Waag’s research and projects on maker education.

The European partners in this proect are: Salzburg Research Forschungsgesellschaft (AT), Lappeenranta University of Technology (FI), Zentrum für Soziale Innovation (AT), Mediale Pfade - Verein für Medienbildung (DE), eduCentrum (FYXXI, BE), ZAVOD Kersnikova (SI), Polyhedra (RS), Capital of Children (LEGO Foundation, DK), University of Zagreb (HR), Institut d'Arquitectura Avançada de Catalunya (IAAC / Fablab Barcelona, ES), European Social Entrepreneurship and Innovative Studies Institute (LT), YouthProAktiv (BE).