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Partnership for circular economy – sustainable SMEs growth and regional development

7/7/2020

 

In June 2020, YES Foundation (Macedonia) in partnership with the Albanian Socio Economic Think Tank (Albania) and Foundation for innovation and technology development (Bosnia and Herzegovina) started implementing the project “Partnership for circular economy – sustainable SME growth and regional development”, co-financed by the Western Balkans Fund.


The circular economy differs from a linear economy by focusing on repairing, reusing, refurbishing materials, and fosters sustainable development. This type of economic system replaces the “end-of-life” concept with reusing, recycling and recovering materials during production, distribution and consumption. This includes simultaneously improving environmental quality, economic prosperity and social equity, for the benefit of current and future generation.


The overall objective of the project is to contribute to regional cooperation and strengthen regional cohesion in the Western Balkans region.


The specific objectives include: strengthening regional cooperation by implementing networking and capacity building activities of SMEs and CSOs; introducing circular economy concept and building skills among businesses and CSOs for transition to circular economy; creating job opportunities and raising awareness for the benefits of circular economy for the businesses, among key stakeholders.


Main target groups of the project are the Small and medium enterprises, Civil society organizations and public institutions.


Within the 12-month project, several activities are foreseen:
-    Capacity building activities – training program for SMEs and CSOs in the 3 countries;
-    Creation of a short online course on circular economy;
-    Organisation of a Regional conference on circular economy, which will serve to improve cooperation, networking and sharing experiences, and improve regional policies for circular economy;
-    Creating an informative brochure for the benefits of introducing the concept of circular economy into businesses.


The project results will positively impact the long-term regional cooperation, as it is essential for the Western Balkans region, having in mind the EU membership aspiration. The results will impact the overall regional economy, by promoting the circular economy concept, transferring knowledge, best practices and fostering dialogue.

 

http://westernbalkansfund.org/