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DARING EUROPEAN GRANTS

Mr Fantxoa HASTARAN, AFMR Etcharry, Project leader

1/ Project leader at AFMR Etcharry Training and Development, you’re dealing with skills development. What are the goals of AFMR?

AFMR Etcharry Training and Development is a centre for skills development which intervenes in the monitoring and support of project building. Since 45 years, our organisation has three missions: training, counselling and job seeking support.
Our association welcomes and educate every year more than 1500 students and trainers; firstly in the field of social works (specialised trainers training, instructors, etc.), secondly in the field of territories, organisation and enterprises development through tailor-made training. We then offer consultancy to local authorities, social institutions, consular services, professional associations and enterprises working in the field of spatial planning in order to answer to local needs. Finally, we also support and follow young and adult job seekers.

2/Could you explain how your association have been supported by EU grants?



After having participated to the Welcomeurope training « How to get EU funds » (Module 1) in 2005, I engaged for leading of the LOTU project (which means in Basque « link »). The project was about a partnership strategy aiming at job seeking support for young people under criminal justice control. The project involved 10 partners: among them justice institutions, enterprises, training and housing associations, etc. LOTU project aimed at building an efficient partnership for job integration of young people ex-prisoners. This project has been financed between 2005 and 2008 by the European initiative EQUAL within the European Social Funds.

Nevertheless, collaborating with Slovakian and Italian partners during the LOTU project gave us the chance to build a wider cooperation with them applying in March 2009 for grants with a new project on “Innovation transfer” within LEONARDO for vocational training within the Life Long Learning Programme. This project will provide a training module about partnerships and networks topics which could be integrated to our trainings on social work in Europe. Nowadays we’re waiting for an answer from the selection committee that is forecasted for July.



3/How did the two-day training on “How to access the European Social Fund” held in Paris on 10 and 11 June 2009 enlarged your view?



The previous projects motivated us to get more skilled on European funds in order to tackle with new further initiatives. Given that we haven’t been financed by the ESF yet (previous projects were funded by specific components of this Fund), AFMR association wasn’t able to identify the eligibility to the ESF. Moreover, from my point of view, ESF only financed public bodies and just indirectly the actors on the field. Nevertheless, once I participated to the Welcomeurope training on the ESF projects I understood which opportunities were directly provided from this European grants to associations, enterprises and territorial communities. I thus realised the chance to apply for the ESF presenting two projects in the next months.



4/How would you consider your experience as European project leader?



Many partners around me didn’t understand the potential of European funds. Moreover, managing an EU funded project is quite complicated and needs several technical skills. However, I think that the mission of a project leader is to take his partners in an international rewarding environment and to find out the chances to act as a single body in Europe. Finally, it is necessary to train yourself getting better working practices and new operational and financial management capacities.