29 June 2022 - Cyprus Launch Event

Objective

The objective of the launch event was to make the project more known and to interact with the youth, business owners and the policy makers (target groups and stakeholders), to introduce the project and show how it can benefit everyone.

Attendants

• 68 - youth ages 18-30
• 4 - (policy makers and business owners)
• 4 - OTI Staff
• 6 – Volunteers (part of the research team)

Outcomes

The event was received with great enthusiasm by all the attendees.  Youth were eager to explore new avenues of employment and to discover new ways to explore employment opportunities.  We saw that many youths were new to both remote and hybrid work, showing great motivation to embark on this new effort.  We reconfirmed the statistics from our research with the youth and also received additional input and feedback about their needs and concerns.

Stakeholders were hopeful for the project and expressed their support in the project as it develops into a useable platform and encouraged the development of a strong knowledgebase for unemployed youth.  They also informed the participants of possible future opportunities which will be offered through a variety of government initiatives and the NextGenerationEU initiative as part of the EU and Cyprus COVID recovery plan.

Business owners at the event were also eager to meet with youth and policy makers, expressing their eagerness to start with remote and hybrid work.  They expressed their concerns with regard to remote work, also mentioning problems that occurred, with remote work, during the COVID pandemic and more specifically the lockdown periods.