M.O.T.H.E.R. stands for Mobility Opportunity Training for a Higher Employment Rate and it’s a dream coming true, granted in 2020 to JUMP Association of Soverato, Calabria, Italy!
M.O.T.H.E.R. Project was born, in fact, many years ago, indirectly, thanks to one of the partners, FACE organization from Skopje. It has been during meetings among coordinators of another great Erasmus Project titled “SO-VET” that it came to Erika Gerardini and Pietro Curatola the idea behind this new strategic partnership.
M.O.T.H.E.R. has a deep meaning explained in the project proposal. M.O.T.H.E.R.
The single word also means “mother” because partners, all together, aim at accompanying youths of our territories solving their actual situation of unstable workers and unemployed young people in Europe.
The main ambitious aim of the project is to contribute to increasing the employment rate. Keywords are: Opportunity, exploring, informing and opening to youths new opportunities, through Training (2nd key word) and Mobility (3rd Key word). The main important elements of M.O.T.H.E.R.
In EU projects titles and acronyms are also important. M.O.T.H.E.R. is one single and powerful word, containing key fundamental indications on how the project is structured.
In line with the digital transformation happening in our lives and in line with the very last EU guidelines, M.O.T.H.E.R. combines “digital” and “human relationship needed” to foster inclusion. Partners are 6 experienced organizations representing Italy and the Calabria region, Portugal, North Macedonia, Hungary, Lithuania, and Greece.

JUMP already worked as said, from 2016 to 2018 with FACE and IED in a project on social entrepreneurship.
The project is not just keywords and a good composition of partners representing their local contexts, but it’s a learning process for all to create a concrete tool for youth to receive guidance, training and to network with other peers in Europe.
The M.O.T.H.E.R. Social Platform for Youth for Business.
Another important element is the new professional figures called “e-coaches” who can be youth, digital skills and quite experienced, or young adults with coaching and mentoring competencies and the vocation to help our target group to improve their actual life and professional situation.
The target group is the most peculiar aspect of the project.
The partnership aims to connect Free Workers Online, also called Smart Workers (a term already known by everyone in the world during this terrible pandemic year) and so-called “Mother workers”.
These types of youths Both categories are new and undefined, precarious, not well paid, mostly self-entrepreneurs, trying to develop their profession. Smart Workers more in the digital field, Mother workers in fields connected with the land, not just the soil, but in a more extended concept, the “Motherland”.

Partners started to meet, share project goals, divide tasks and develop the website, www.motherproject.eu containing the draft of the external platform.
The platform is designed to be a learning and meeting space, not just for the youths but at the moment for Team Leaders and e-coaches.
Stay tuned to follow M.O.T.H.E.R. for the launch of the platform. An open call for youths will be launched to select 40 participants per Country (240 is the minimum number to be reached). These youths will be involved, guided, trained and some of them, of course, will travel! What Erasmus is it if you don’t move from your Country.
Written by:
Erika Gerardini – JUMP Team Leader and Project Manager