Partner Article

European third sector managers visit North East

A delegation of senior managers from social enterprises across Europe has visited Newcastle to mark the start of a project which aims to strengthen third sector organisations in five EU countries.

Newcastle-based social enterprise PNE Group hosted the visit for its consortium of international partners. PNE aims to support the partners in delivering a training programme to meet the needs of third sector organisations in their own countries.

PNE will support the 10 managers from Austria, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, and Turkey to work together and deliver the project, which will strengthen policies, practices and systems for the management of volunteers.

The €280,000 project, led by PNE Group, is being funded by the European Union’s Leonardo Transfer of Innovation scheme. The two-year project will enable PNE to train people in each country and provide them with the skills and resources to deliver programmes to develop people and their organisations.

One of PNE’s consortium partners is Greek social enterprise Hellenic Regional Development Centre (HRDC) which specialises in training and regional development. Sofia Fakou of HRDC said: “There is a vibrant third sector in Greece, but the lack of an official framework for vocational education of managers is limiting its development.

“This programme is very important as it will enable the transfer of vocational guidance from the UK which will allow us to provide an innovative programme of training and qualifications for the development of the sector in Greece.”

Tracey Moore of PNE Group said: “It was important for all the members of the consortium to meet up and share their experiences and expertise. We have an exceptional international team in place and a fantastic opportunity to strengthen third sector organisations in Europe, using expertise developed in the North East.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .