Reflection on The Mobility in Santiago de Compostela
Kaja – Youth Worker from the Netherlands
As someone interested in entrepreneurship, I was excited to join the “Let’s Find Entrepreneurs” project in Spain. The project took place in Santiago de Compostela and lasted five days. I had the opportunity to collaborate with representatives from Spain, Portugal, and Greece, each representing different organisations involved in the initiative.
On the first day of the project, we visited the city of Vigo and attended presentations of projects and ideas developed by young participants from the ATLIC initiative. The ATLIC project focuses on developing and promoting entrepreneurship and employment in the blue economy sector among youth. The ideas presented were genuinely inspiring. I was amazed that they came from such young people. The ones that stood out to me most were Cb12g, a project aimed at producing a fully vegan B12 vitamin, and PRANA, a project involving the development of robots designed to clean beaches from trash and pollution. After the presentations, we visited the beautiful city of Vigo and the Sea Museum of Galicia, which gave us insight into the region’s maritime history, local marine ecosystems, and the cultural importance of the sea.
On the second day, we visited several local initiatives in the province of Pontevedra. I especially remember meeting the promoters of the Rural Hackers initiative, where I had the chance to speak with the founder. It was a truly inspiring conversation that helped me better understand how we can encourage elderly people in rural areas to welcome international visitors and collaborate with them on community-focused projects. We also attended an event hosted by the Beautiful Bees Galicia project, an important initiative that empowers young women from rural Europe to develop their leadership skills and become changemakers.
Over the next few days, we participated in a series of meetings with the partners of the Let’s Find Entrepreneurs project. The meetings were inspiring and productive – I learned a lot, we shared ideas, and worked together on planning the final event. On our final day, we explored Santiago de Compostela with an organised guided tour. The city was truly beautiful, and the tour was both informative and inspiring. It was a memorable experience that gave us a deeper appreciation of the city’s history and cultural heritage. I was especially impressed by the iconic Cathedral of Santiago. We also visited the local market, filled with fresh seafood and regional products. I loved the vibrant atmosphere of this place; it felt authentic, lively, and closely connected to the daily life of the local community.
This project made me realise how important it is to support entrepreneurship not only by developing business ideas, but also by fostering collaboration across cultures, generations, and local communities. I also understood how much potential young people have to create meaningful change when given the right support and space to grow. What’s more, it also helped me improve my communication and collaboration skills while gaining practical insights into how entrepreneurial projects are developed, presented, and supported at the European level.
